How Bulls fared against the Bucks this season
Here's a look at the season series between the Bulls and Bucks, which featured no team ever scoring 100 points:
Nov. 6 at Bradley Center
Bulls 95, Bucks 86
Derrick Rose returned from two games off with dual sprained ankles and played 31 minutes but didn't seem healthy and ended up sitting out the next two games. The Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter by limiting Milwaukee to 33 second-half points and this game started a trend of the Bulls scoring inside. Taj Gibson led the team with 23 points and Pau Gasol added 22. Joakim Noah didn't play.
It was the only time this season the Bulls played against Bucks rookie Jabari Parker, who scored 8 points on this night and suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 15. Coming off a 15-win season, there was no evidence yet Milwaukee would become one of the league's biggest surprises.
Jan. 10 at United Center
Bulls 95, Bucks 87
Rose skipped this game due to left knee soreness and Gasol rose to the occasion by scoring 46 points, his highest point total in an NBA career that spans 983 games. Gasol hit 17 of 30 shots, 12 of 13 free throws and added 18 rebounds. The only other Bulls player to hit double figures was Kirk Hinrich with 16 points.
Point guard Brandon Knight led the Bucks with 20 points. One notable omission in the Milwaukee lineup was power forward Ersan Ilyasova, out with a concussion. The Bulls jumped to a 12-point lead in the first quarter, fell behind briefly in the third, but were never seriously threatened down the stretch.
Feb. 23 at United Center
Bulls 87, Bucks 71
This was the third game Milwaukee played after trading Knight to Phoenix and his replacement, Michael Carter-Williams, was out with a foot injury.
So the Bucks were pretty bad, shooting 33.7 percent from the field and scoring 71 points, a season low for a Bulls opponent.
This was also the last game Rose played before having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The Bulls first announced the injury the following day. Two bench players led the Bulls in scoring: Tony Snell with 20 points and Nikola Mirotic with 16. Noah grabbed 16 rebounds. The Bulls had a 62-41 edge on the boards.
April 1 at Bradley Center
Bucks 95, Bulls 91
The Bulls' nine-game winning streak in Milwaukee finally came to an end. In front of a typically Bulls-heavy crowd, the visitors faltered down the stretch and were outscored 25-17 in the fourth quarter. Derrick Rose didn't play and the Bucks took advantage of the size difference between the 6-6 Carter-Williams and Bulls backup Aaron Brooks, generously listed at 6-feet. Carter-Williams went into the post often and scored 21 points, to go with 10 rebounds.
The Bulls coughed up 22 turnovers and gave up 20 offensive rebounds. While Milwaukee's interior defense is suspect, they have enough long arms with guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson and Zaza Pachulia to tip plenty of rebounds. Butler, who spent his college years playing at the Bradley Center for Marquette, led the Bulls with 25 points.