» Bucks win again:
Back-to-back games swept against rival
The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Chicago Bulls for the second night in a row, this time in an even more dominating fashion, 95-69 in Chicago.
Chicago – This doubleheader stuff seems to suit the Milwaukee Bucks.
They swept the Chicago Bulls in a two-game set played on consecutive nights, and the second victory was easier than the first as the Bucks cruised to a 95-69 decision before an unhappy United Center crowd Friday night. The sellout crowd booed the Bulls off the court after the game.
The Bulls battled back from a 27-point deficit Thursday before losing by 11 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but there was no comeback this time.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg substituted freely in the fourth quarter and his team fell behind by as many as 30 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his stellar play with 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and six Milwaukee players scored in double figures.
The Bucks (13-12) edged ahead of the Bulls (13-13) in the Central Division after their two convincing victories over their I-94 rival. Milwaukee stopped a string of five straight losses to the Bulls in Chicago.
Greg Monroe had 14 points, Mirza Teletovic added 13, Jabari Parker 12 and John Henson and Tony Snell 10 each.
The Bucks outscored the Bulls in the paint, 50-36.
Dwyane Wade led a listless Bulls team with 12 points and Bobby Portis had 10. The Bulls shot just 30.4% from the field (28 of 92) while the Bucks shot 46.3% (38 of 82), making 10 of 25 three-pointers.
The Bucks will play another doubleheader next week when
they face Cleveland on consecutive nights. They swept Brooklyn earlier this month when they played the Nets two times in a three-day span.
Milwaukee led by as many as 24 points in the first half as it mirrored the start of the previous night at home.
Antetokounmpo had 10 points, four assists and three rebounds in the opening quarter as the Bucks built a 34-15 advantage.
Teletovic hit a triple to begin in the second quarter and a three by Antetokounmpo made it 40-17.
The Bucks’ biggest lead in the half came at 5531 on a driving layup by Parker.
Wade then led a 6-1 Bulls spurt that brought Chicago within 56-37 at halftime.
Antetokounmpo had 16 points, Parker 10 and Monroe eight in the half and the Bucks shot 53.5% (23 of 43). Milwaukee made 6 of 11 three-point attempts.
The Bulls struggled while shooting just 29.1% (16 of 55) overall and 3 of 9 from three-point range.
Wade had nine points and Taj Gibson eight for a sluggish Bulls team.
Things didn’t improve for the Bulls in the third quarter as the Bucks pushed their lead to 27 points, the second straight night they had such a cushion.
A steal and dunk by Parker gave Milwaukee a 66-39 lead with 7:25 left in the quarter.
Snell sank a pair of three-pointers as the Bucks extended their margin to 28 points.
The Bucks settled for a 74-52 lead entering the final quarter.
Milwaukee was able to coast to the finish with coach Jason Kidd clearing his bench in the final minutes.