Bulls run over Bucks
los angeles — Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic came off the bench to score 24 points and spark the vis- iting Bulls over Milwaukee 115-106 in an NBA matchup on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Montenegro- born Spaniard made 9-of-18 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, and grabbed eight rebounds to spark the Bulls to their 11th win in 33 games.
“Great game by us. We really stepped up,” Mirotic said. “We’re moving in the right direction.”
Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (17-15) with 28 points.
“We executed really good against Giannis,” Mirotic said. “Offensively they really found me. We were pumped up. Defensively we Detroit 107 Dallas 98 Miami 107 Chicago 115 San Antonio 109 Denver 107 Phoenix 99 Clippers 122 Indiana Toronto Orlando Milwaukee Brooklyn Utah Memphis Sacramento 83 93 89 106 97 83 97 95 rebounded really well. Offensively we need to keep improving.”
J.J. Barea led Dallas with 20 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 as the Mavericks upset visiting Toronto 98-93.
The Mavericks took only their third win in 11 games to stand 10-25, still the worst record in the Western Conference.
The Raptors, led by Kirk Lowry’s 23 points, saw their six-game win streak snapped and fell to 23-9 with just their second loss in 14 games.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey lamented his club shooting only 33.7 percent from the floor.
“None of us came out in the right disposition, ready to compete,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Any time you shoot 33 percent you’re not going to beat too many people in the league.
“Defensively, I thought we tried to lock it down the stretch. But again, the way they started the game going coast-to-coast, we were still on Christmas break.”
Tobias Harris scored 30 points, 26 of them in the first half, and the Detroit Pistons routed visiting Indiana 107-83. —