Hinrich, Thomas mix it up with Warrick, Bogut
MILWAUKEE - The last time the Bulls-Bucks rivalry featured some genuine feistiness, Norm Van Lier and Oscar Robertson were probably on the court. Things have been pretty tame lately between these teams, at least since Ron Artest's body slam of Glenn Robinson in 2001.
Friday's game featured a four-way skirmish that livened things up early in the fourth quarter.
The play started with Milwaukee guard Luke Ridnour fouling Kirk Hinrich near the 3-point line. It was Ridnour's third foul in 11 seconds, which was odd in itself, but not the cause of any anger.
As Hinrich continued toward the basket after the whistle, he appeared to take a forearm to the head from Bucks forward Hakim Warrick. Hinrich responded with a two-handed shove of Warrick.
"I was still going to the lane and Warrick gave me a forearm like three seconds after the whistle," said Hinrich, who was already sporting a black eye. "That's what that was about."
Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut was standing nearby and pushed Hinrich. Tyrus Thomas pulled Bogut away and added a shove of his own. No punches were thrown and after watching the replay, officials handed out 4 technical fouls, to Hinrich, Thomas, Warrick and Bogut.
A few seconds earlier, Hinrich and Ridnour were called for a double foul, then Ridnour got an offensive foul before the ensuing inbounds play.
"That really had nothing to do with it," Hinrich said. "I kind of baited him into getting an offensive foul. It wasn't anything dirty, it was just a physical exchange. I don't know if Warrick took exception to that."
Another brutal start: Three of the last four Bulls' road games have followed the same general storyline. The Bulls came out flat and fell behind early, then buckled down and mustered a comeback that ultimately fell short at New York, Charlotte and Milwaukee.
Friday's sluggish start was worse than most. After grabbing an early 12-10 lead, the Bulls missed 9 straight shots, 4 straight free throws and were blitzed for a 19-0 run by the Bucks.
The Bulls did recover quickly. The 17-point deficit was gone by the eight-minute mark of the third quarter when Derrick Rose tied the score at 51-51 on a shot in the lane.
Bull horns: The Bucks are 11-1 when center Andrew Bogut scores at least 17 points. The former No. 1 pick piled up 27 points and 13 rebounds on Friday. - Luol Deng changed his shoes during a third-quarter timeout after asking assistant trainer Jeff Tanaka to retrieve a new pair from the locker room. - Michael Redd passed Bobby Dandridge on Wednesday for fourth place on the Bucks' all-time scoring list.