The BreakdownGrind
Bulls outlast sharper-shooting Bucks at the line and off the bench
Milwaukee hit 19 threes to Chicago's 12 and still fell 132-125, as the Bulls went 28 of 30 from the free-throw line.
The Bucks shot better from the field and far better from three on Friday night in Milwaukee. The Bulls won 132-125 anyway.
On the surface, the two teams matched almost line for line. Each made 46 field goals, each finished with 44 rebounds, and each handed out 29 assists. Milwaukee made those field goals at 50.0 percent to Chicago's 46.9. From deep the gap was wider: the Bucks hit 19 threes, while the Bulls took 45 and made 26.7 percent of them.
Tyler Herro led all scorers with 34 points on 12-of-24 shooting, 5-of-10 from three, with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. The margin was built somewhere else.
| CHI | Stat | MIL |
|---|---|---|
| 46.9 | FG% | 50.0 |
| 26.7 | 3PT% | 41.3 |
| 44 | Rebounds | 44 |
| 13 | Off. rebounds | 11 |
| 98 | FG attempts | 92 |
| 14 | Turnovers | 19 |
The free-throw line belonged to Chicago
The Bulls went 28 of 30 at the line. The Bucks went 14 of 26.
Norman Powell made all nine of his attempts. That carried him to 25 points on a night he went 2-for-12 from three. Tre Jones went 5 of 5, and Isaac Okoro and Leonard Miller were perfect as well. On the other side, Jaime Jaquez Jr. made 3 of 6, while Kel'el Ware and Brayden Burries each missed both of their tries.
Milwaukee gave the ball away more often
The Bucks committed 19 turnovers to Chicago's 14. The Bulls also had 10 steals to Milwaukee's five.
The takeaways came from several hands. Jalen Smith had three steals to go with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Noa Essengue matched his three steals in 17 minutes. Jaquez filled the box with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but he also turned it over six times, and Ryan Rollins added four turnovers.
The second unit did the scoring
Chicago's bench outscored Milwaukee's 59 to 35.
Miller scored 19 off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting. Buddy Hield missed once in 15 minutes, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-6. Okoro added 12, and Jones scored 11 with 8 assists. Jones finished at +24, the highest plus-minus on either side.
The Chicago starters told a different story. Josh Giddey had 9 assists but finished at -15. Matas Buzelis, who averaged 16.3 points last season, scored 7 on 2-of-9 shooting.
The Bucks' reserves had their moments. AJ Green and Ware each scored 11, and Ware was +10 in his 15 minutes.
Line up the totals and the shooting points one way. The free throws, the turnovers and the bench points all point the other, and the final score went with them.