MCW leads Milwaukee Bucks to home win over Bulls—no foolin’!
By Phil Watson
On any other day of the year, the Milwaukee Bucks beating the Chicago Bulls at the BMO Harris Bradley Center would have elicited some surprise, since it’s been a rare occurrence of late.
But on April Fool’s Day? There had to be some double-checking of the scoreboard.
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Michael Carter-Williams scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Wednesday night and the Bucks (37-38) gave the Bulls (45-30) something to consider if they meet again in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 95-91 victory that snapped a nine-game losing streak to Chicago at home.
The Bucks hadn’t beaten the Bulls at home since Feb. 26, 2011—more than four years ago.
It was Milwaukee’s third win in its last 11 games and kept the Bucks 2½ games ahead of the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets for sixth place in the East.
Chicago had won seven in a row against Milwaukee overall before Wednesday night.
The Bucks trailed 74-70 entering the fourth quarter, but tied the game at 76-76 on O.J. Mayo’s layup with 10:08 remaining and the teams played patty cake with the lead for much of the rest of the game.
The fourth period featured six ties, with the Bucks taking their first lead with 4:04 remaining on Khris Middleton’s reverse layup.
Aaron Brooks tied the game for the Bulls with a drive and a layup, but Middleton dropped in a 17-footer to put Milwaukee back on top 90-88 with 3:30 remaining.
Apr 1, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard O.J. Mayo (00) shoots against Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 95-91. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
After the Bulls turned the ball over when Joakim Noah was called for an offensive foul, Mayo knocked down a 17-footer to give the Bucks a 92-88 edge.
E’Twaun Moore scored a layup after getting a steal and after Ersan Ilyasova missed a jumper, Pau Gasol was fouled and went to the line with 1:41 remaining with a chance to tie the game yet again.
Gasol knocked down the first but missed the second and Ilyasova tipped in a miss by Zaza Pachulia with 1:07 remaining to make it a three-point game, 94-91.
The Bulls missed their final five shots from the floor, including four three pointers, and the Bucks held on for the victory.
“Any win, no matter at what point here or there, can help,” coach Jason Kidd told the Associated Press.
The loss dropped the Bulls into a third-place tie with the Toronto Raptors in the East, with Toronto holding the tiebreaker.
The Bucks are 1-2 against the Raptors this season and went 1-3 against the Bulls.
“It doesn’t matter who we’ll see,” John Henson said. “We’ve just got to be ready. We’ve got to be ready for anything.”
Ilyasova added 16 points for the Bucks. Middleton scored 14 points, Mayo had 13 and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Henson each scored 11. Six of Henson’s came in the fourth quarter and he also blocked three shots.
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Pachulia had four points, but grabbed 10 rebounds, while Jerryd Bayless finished with three steals to go with four points.
Jimmy Butler led Chicago with 25 points and also had three steals. Gasol scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds, Taj Gibson scored 12 points, Mike Dunleavy added 11 points and five assists and Brooks also scored 11 points to go with three steals.
The game was close throughout—neither team ever led by double-digits.
Next up for the Bucks is a matchup with the surging Boston Celtics (34-41, who have won two straight and are 14-10 since the All-Star break. Boston beat the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night, 100-87.
The Bucks won the first meeting between the teams at home on Feb. 7. They will play again in Milwaukee to close the regular season on April 15.