Jimmy Butler goes off for 31, Milwaukee Bucks trail Bulls 2-0
By Phil Watson
The NBA Playoffs got physical for the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls Monday night in Round Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
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In a game featuring seven technical fouls and the ejection of Bucks center Zaza Pachulia late in the fourth quarter, the Bulls held serve at the United Center with a 91-82 win over the Bucks to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
The action shifts to Milwaukee Thursday night for Game 3 and the Bucks may be without Pachulia, who could be facing a suspension after his set-to with Chicago’s Nikola Mirotic in the fourth period.
Butler, the former Marquette standout, set a new playoff career-high with 31 points—topping the mark he set with 25 points in Saturday’s series opener—and the Bulls pulled away from the young Bucks, who lost their composure in the late going.
The Bucks took a 74-71 lead on O.J. Mayo’s mid-range jumper with 9:53 remaining in the game.
From there, it was a disaster.
Milwaukee missed 18 of its final 21 shots of the game while the Bulls took control behind 14 points from Butler over that span.
The leading contender for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award was 4-for-5 from the floor down the stretch, including 3-for-3 from long range.
Meanwhile, the Bucks scored eight points—as a team—over the final 9:53.
“I thought we played a pretty good game on the road, giving ourselves an opportunity to win,” coach Jason Kidd told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I think we were 2-for-15 going down the stretch and Butler was a one-man show being able to shoot the 3 and also get to the basket.
“We’ve got to make open shots and finish at the rim. We missed a lot of bunnies in the paint.”
Meanwhile, the teams were playing the feud early and often in Game 2 as it appears familiarity has already bred a degree of contempt. This is the third meeting between the teams since April 1, with at least two more to go.
There were two dust-ups during the game. The first was early in the second quarter after Bucks center John Henson ran over Bulls guard Aaron Brooks.
Henson stood over Brooks as Chicago’s Joakim Noah and Butler got involved. Then Mayo showed up for Milwaukee and the pushing and shoving commenced.
Henson and Noah were assessed double-technical fouls, as were Butler and Mayo.
The second incident occurred with less than three minutes remaining. Mirotic and Pachulia were chasing a loose ball, elbows started to fly and a double-technical resulted.
Pachulia had been T’d up just more than a minute earlier and was ejected for a second technical.
However, former NBA disciplinary czar Stu Jackson, seems to believe Pachulia won’t be in uniform Thursday.
I love @zaza27, his grit, hustle and competitiveness but he will not be with the @Bucks in game 3 Suspension pending for shot to @threekola
— Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) April 21, 2015
But the Bulls may not have Mirotic either. The rookie forward was limping after the battle with Pachulia and the Chicago Tribune’s K.J. Johnson indicated it might be something serious.
Bulls are officially calling Mirotic's injury a left quad strain. Will be re-evaluated Tuesday morning.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 21, 2015
Afterward, though, Pachulia didn’t want to talk about “the incident” so much as he did the Bucks’ offensive performance, which could be described as, well, offensive.
Apr 20, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) dunks the ball against Milwaukee Bucks center Zaza Pachulia (27) during the second half in game two of the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs at the United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 92-81. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
“Thirteen assists, come on guys, it’s terrible for our team,” Pachulia said. “We’ve been playing all year long, sharing the ball, 25 or more assists.
“Where was it? It was definitely gone [Monday]. You have to give them credit. They are a good defensive team. We can’t play on one side. We’re just trying to make the home run plays and we weren’t moving the ball from side to side.”
The Bucks led 16-11 after one quarter, with the Bucks shooting 25 percent (6-for-24), but taking advantage of seven Chicago turnovers and the Bulls’ own putrid 5-for-21 accuracy (or lack thereof).
Chicago rallied to lead 39-38 at the half and was up 71-68 after three periods.
Milwaukee, for the second straight game, didn’t move the ball well and got killed on the glass, this time by a 64-48 margin.
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Khris Middleton scored 22 points to lead the Bucks, who shot 32-for-90 (35.6 percent) for the game. Michael Carter-Williams had 12 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo had team highs of 11 rebounds and four assists as well as blocking two shots, but had just six points on 2-for-11 shooting. He’s now 6-for-24 for the series.
Jared Dudley had four steals off the bench and Pachulia and Henson each logged two blocks.
Derrick Rose added 15 points and nine assists for the Bulls, Mike Dunleavy scored 12 points and Pau Gasol went for 11 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. Taj Gibson blocked three shots in 11 minutes and Noah yanked down 19 rebounds.
The Bucks’ postseason losing streak extended to eight with the defeat, stretching back to a win in Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.
Game 3 is set for 7 p.m. from the BMO Harris Bradley Center and will be carried nationally on NBA TV and regionally on Fox Sports Wisconsin.