Bulls miss opportunity in 79-74 loss to Bucks

As much as the Bulls struggled offensively against Milwaukee on Tuesday, the situation seemed tailor-made for a big fourth-quarter finish by Derrick Rose.

The Bucks lost center Andrew Bogut, who ranks second in the league in blocked shots, after his elbow-crunching fall to the court last weekend against Phoenix.

That left 37-year-old Kurt Thomas as Milwaukee's last line of defense. But Rose couldn't get to the rim, the Bulls couldn't knock down many outside shots and walked off the floor with a puzzling 79-74 loss to the Bucks at the United Center.

"No one could get in a groove tonight," Rose said. "If anyone would have gotten in a groove, we definitely would have won this game."

This was a colossal missed opportunity for the Bulls. Toronto lost in Cleveland earlier in the night, so a win would have pulled the Bulls (37-40) even in the race for the final playoff spot in the East.

Instead, they remain 1 game back with five left to play and already have lost the season series to the Raptors.

The Bulls host the Cavaliers on Thursday, while Toronto faces Boston at home Wednesday, most likely without star forward Chris Bosh, who suffered broken bones in his face after taking an elbow early in Tuesday's game.

Rose finished with 12 points, 11 assists and 6 turnovers. Ex-Bull John Salmons scored a game-high 26 points for Milwaukee (43-34).

After falling behind by 12 points in the final minute of the third quarter, the Bulls put on a burst and took a 65-63 lead on Kirk Hinrich's jumper with 6:13 left.

Bucks coach Scott Skiles called a timeout and his team methodically took control back. Usually, Rose carries the Bulls in close games with his drives to the basket. But his only points in the final eight minutes came on a baseline jumper.

"They were just taking the ball out of my hands as soon as I got down to the paint," Rose said. "The big man was on me and the guard was on me, forcing me to pass the ball back out. That's the way they played the whole game."

After the Bulls took the lead midway through the fourth, Milwaukee's defense forced them to miss 7 of their next 9 shots.

"Our goal, like any of the good ones and twos, is to make him play in a crowd and get multiple bodies there, make him a passer," Skiles said of the defense against Rose. "He got to the rim a couple times on us, but for the most part he didn't."

Brad Miller's 3-point play off a fastbreak brought the Bulls within 72-70 with 2:34 remaining. After the Bulls missed a chance to tie, Thomas hit a baseline jumper and Salmons finished a lay-in to give the Bucks a 6-point lead with a minute remaining.

The Bulls had a chance trailing by 3 with 13.2 seconds left but ended up with Miller trying to drive against Thomas and getting called for a travel.

"I don't like looking at stat sheets when you have 11 free throws," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We need to attack the basket and make plays for teammates and get after it a little bit more than we did after the first quarter."

The Bulls shot just 2 free throws in the second half and scored a paltry 24 points in the second and third quarters after jumping to an early 13-point lead.

"We have five more games. I think we still have a shot," Rose added. "We've just got to play as a team. We can't go out there and play like we did tonight."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker

<p class="News">Bucks 79, Bulls 74</p>

<p class="News"><b>Defensive domination:</b> When trying to figure out how the Bulls managed to lose such an important game, it's tough to ignore how they scored a total of 24 points in the second and third quarters. After falling behind by 12, the Bulls managed to take a brief lead midway through the fourth quarter but were badly outplayed down the stretch.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Winning return:</b> Bucks guard John Salmons, traded by the Bulls on Feb. 18, scored a game-high 26 points. The Bulls got two players back in the trade, but Hakim Warrick didn't score in four minutes and Joe Alexander was inactive.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Spinning wheels:</b> Chris Bosh was knocked out early by an elbow to the face and Toronto lost at Cleveland 113-101, but the Bulls failed to pull into a tie for eighth place. Milwaukee clinched a playoff spot with the win.</p>

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