While Bulls roll to victory, Milwaukee mourns suburban native who became 'Mr. Bucks'
They cleared out the Harry Styles stage and laid down the basketball court at the United Center for a final Bulls preseason game Tuesday.
Anyone hoping to get a look at Bulls all-stars DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine was disappointed, since both took the night off. With the Bucks using just eight players and none of their starters, the Bulls pulled away late and won 127-104 to finish preseason with a 3-1 record. They have a week off before opening the season on Oct. 19 in Miami.
There weren't any meaningful take-aways from this game, but it was a chance for certain Bulls to expand their typical usage. Patrick Williams scored a team-high 22 points, while Coby White hit 4 of 6 shots from 3-point land in the second half for 15 points.
"If I played well, if I didn't play well, it's one game. You can't really look too much into it," Williams said. "I would say the same if we lost or if I played bad. Obviously, it's good to play well. Everybody wants to play well."
The Bulls centers enjoyed not having Giannis Antetokounmpo or Brook Lopez in their way. Nikola Vucevic contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Andre Drummond added 16 points and 9 boards - but went 0-for-1 from 3-point range to end his run of 3 straight makes.
Veteran guard Goran Dragic looked much better than he did in the preseason opener, scoring 13 points. Alex Caruso had 9 assists and 3 steals.
"We have to be careful because this game tonight, this was - how would I call it - a trap game," Dragic said. "You win these kind of games, but the regular season is going to be completely different."
Bulls coach Billy Donovan confirmed after the game he plans to continue to start Ayo Dosunmu at point guard. There weren't really any other candidates to fill in for the injured Lonzo Ball, so that's not surprising news. Donovan said all along he'd use the veteran Dragic off the bench.
Most of the Bucks regulars sat out. Milwaukee started Proviso East grad Jevon Carter, Jordan Nwora (25 points), Marques Bolden, MarJon Beauchamp and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The Bucks played their first two preseason games against Atlanta in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The day featured sad news on both sides of the state border. Longtime Bucks executive John Steinmiller, a Mount Prospect native, passed away Tuesday at age 73 after a brief battle with cancer.
The Bulls held a moment of silence for the St. Viator High School graduate before the game.
Steinmiller's career spanned both of the franchise's NBA titles. He was just graduating from Marquette when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson led the second-year expansion team to the championship in 1970. He was also on hand when the team won its second title in 2021.
Steinmiller became the team's public relations director in 1972 and spent more than 30 years as director of business operations.
"John was my friend, colleague and one of my most trusted advisers," former Bucks owner Herb Kohl said in a statement. "He was respected and loved by every employee of the Bucks. I would refer to him - and the community regarded him - as the all-time Mr. Milwaukee Bucks."
Appropriately, a celebration of Steinmiller's life will be held Friday at Major Goolsby's in downtown Milwaukee, starting at 3:30 p.m.
Steinmiller's son, John Henry, is senior director of media relations for the Blackhawks. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, he credited his father for helping him settle on a career path.
"It was never just a job for him - it was our family," the younger Steinmiller said. "He was the best dad. There's nothing I could say that would do it justice. He made that team part of our lives and it was always very special for us."
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