The good & bad from Milwaukee Bucks Game 1 Victory
By Todd Welter
It was not pretty but the Milwaukee Bucks won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls.
The Milwaukee Bucks were expected to cruise through this first-round matchup. Instead, the Bucks had to grind out a 93-86 victory over the Bulls.
Whether it is winning ugly or pretty, it does not matter so long as a win is achieved once the buzzer sounds. Although, this win was pretty hideous looking.
Mike Budenholzer sums up the 93-86 Bucks win with a simple phrase:
— Stephen Watson (@SWatsonTV) April 18, 2022
"Sometimes you gotta win ugly."
The Bucks looked great in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 34-21 lead. It was all downhill from there. The Bucks regrouped and played well enough down the stretch to squeak out the victory.
The Milwaukee Bucks shot 40.5% from the field and went 10-of-38 from three-point range. The Bucks turned the ball over an eye-popping 21 times.
The Chicago Bulls got going offensively in the third quarter with a 24-11 run to go up by five. The Milwaukee Bucks clamped down on defense and outscored the Bulls 29-17 to close out the game.
The Bulls got plenty of open looks throughout the night but bricked a lot of shots. Chicago shot an eye-sore 32.3% from the field and went 7-of-37 from beyond the arc.
The Bulls did have one last chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, but Zach Lavine missed a 30-foot three-pointer. Lavine finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Bulls’ big man Nikola Vucevic scored a team-high 24 points but shot 9-of-27 from the field. The Chicago Bulls other star, DeMar DeRozan had a quiet 18 points.
Despite the struggles on both sides of the ball, the Milwaukee Bucks had three good performances, one okay showing, and one bad showcase.