Credit: USA Today – Scanpix
Credit USA Today – Scanpix

DeMar DeRozan scored a postseason-career-high 41 points as the visiting Chicago Bulls earned a 114-110 (29-28, 34-21, 24-31, 27-30) win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night in Game 2 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Player of the Game
DeMar  DeRozan
EFF
35
DeMar DeRozan
Points 41
Accuracy 16-31
Rebounds 7
Assists 4

The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 heading to Game 3 in Philadelphia on Friday.

DeRozan sank 16 of his 31 field-goal attempts and all nine of his free-throw attempts.

He also made a critical layup with 18.2 seconds left to play after Milwaukee had trimmed a 16-point, fourth-quarter deficit to three.

Nikola Vucevic supplied 24 points and 13 rebounds while Zach LaVine chipped in 20 points for Chicago.

Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 33 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists on 11-of-20 shooting. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Bucks’ all-time playoff scoring leader.

Brook Lopez went for 25 points, Khris Middleton tallied 18 points and eight assists, Jrue Holiday contributed 15 points and Wesley Matthews had 11 as all five Milwaukee starters scored in double figures.

Chicago opened up an 18-point lead in the third, but Milwaukee trailed by just seven heading into the fourth. Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined for 25 of Milwaukee’s 31 points in the third period.

The Bulls opened the final frame on a 9-0 run. Although the Bucks nearly came back, Chicago never surrendered the lead after the first quarter.

A 17-7 run over the last 4:54 of the second quarter sent the Bulls into the break with a 63-49 lead. Chicago was able to build the margin thanks in part to its efficient 3-point shooting, as it went 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

DeRozan led all scorers with 17 first-half points, while LaVine added 14.

Antetokounmpo put up 14 points and Lopez had 13 as the only Bucks to score in double figures through the first 24 minutes of action. The hosts hit half of their 14 3-point attempts before intermission.

Milwaukee’s 10 first-half turnovers proved to be costly, as they translated into 13 points for the Bulls. Overall, the Bucks gave the ball away 15 times while Chicago had 13 giveaways.

Both teams shot 50 percent from the field in the first quarter. Chicago jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes but wound up leading just 29-28 heading into the second.

Bulls: DeMar DeRozan 41 (7 REB), Nikola Vucevic 24 (13 REB), Zach LaVine 20, Patrick Williams 10 (9 REB).

Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo 33 (18 REB, 9 AST), Brook Lopez 25 (6 REB), Khris Middleton 18 (5 REB, 8 AST), Jrue Holiday 15 (6 REB, 6 AST), Wesley Matthews 11.

DeMar DeRozan's performance

Full game highlights

Comments:
We want to hear from you. Be the first to comment!
Thank you for reporting a comment

Add comment

We have the right to remove comments which are offensive, contains abusive language, or violates other rules of the website
Milwaukee Bucks
Chicago Bulls
46%
38/83
Field goals
49%
44/89
54
Rebounds
48
27
Assists
25
4
Steals
7
17
Fouls
20
15
Turnovers
13

Best players

Giannis  Antetokounmpo
33 PTS
11/20 FG
11/18 FT
DeMar  DeRozan
41 PTS
16/31 FG
9/9 FT
Giannis  Antetokounmpo
18 REB
15 DREB
3 OREB
Nikola  Vucevic
13 REB
10 DREB
3 OREB
Giannis  Antetokounmpo
9 As
3 TO
40 MIN
Alex  Caruso
10 As
1 TO
38 MIN
Giannis  Antetokounmpo
41 EFF
61% 2P%
0% 3P%
DeMar  DeRozan
35 EFF
55% 2P%
0% 3P%