Bulls bullied by Bucks, but clinch playoff spot
The Bulls got the best result they could have hoped for on Tuesday.
They didn't beat Milwaukee, but Cleveland's loss - upset loss? - at Orlando guaranteed the Bulls will not be in the play-in tournament. They'll be either the No. 5 or 6 seed in the East, with a first-round opponent TBA.
It could be the Bucks. That matchup would be a tough task, since they swept four games against the Bulls this season and rolled to a 127-106 victory Tuesday at the United Center.
"It's always an honor to get into the playoffs," DeMar DeRozan said. "The franchise hasn't been here for five years. As long as you're playing good basketball at the right time, anything can happen."
Toronto beat Atlanta on Tuesday, so the Raptors moved past the Bulls into the No. 5 seed. There won't be much difference between finishing No. 5 or 6. After Tuesday's results, Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia are in a three-way tie for the second through fourth spots, so the Bulls' first-round opponent could be any of the three.
DeRozan led the Bulls with 40 points, all of which came in the first three quarters. DeRozan got a brief run in the fourth, but the Bucks seemed determined not to let him get his second 50-point game in five days, sending double teams at him every time.
He was asked after the game if he'll look to take some rest during the final three games.
"No, I don't need no time off," DeRozan said. "It takes that one game to get us going completely in the right direction. For me, I hate sitting too long and I love playing."
Nikola Vucevic had one of his worst offensive nights of the season, hitting 3 of 19 shots for 7 points. Even worse, the Bucks somehow unlocked the Brooklyn version of Brook Lopez and the Bucks center poured in 28 points.
"Just the ball didn't go in," Vucevic said. "I had as lot of really good looks, looks that I've made in the past, especially against Milwaukee. The ball didn't fall. It is what it is, just one of those nights."
Vucevic did make a play that had the fans cheering. In the third quarter, he delivered a hard foul to Milwaukee's Grayson Allen, hitting him across the face with an elbow. Of course, Allen will forever live in infamy at the United Center for his flagrant foul takedown of Alex Caruso in January, which sidelined Caruso with a broken wrist.
Vucevic was actually not given a flagrant foul, but a technical foul, because the play came after the whistle. Lopez was called for an offensive foul off the ball as Allen began his drive. Fans at the UC stood and cheered as the play was shown on the video board. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he thought it should have been ruled a flagrant foul.
"My intention wasn't to foul him to injure or anything," Vucevic said. "I got pushed a little bit and tried to swipe at the ball. I think it looked worse in the moment. When you look at the replay, it's not even that bad. My intention wasn't payback."
In the first half especially, the Bulls had plenty of wide-open looks and just missed. They went 3-for-19 from the 3-point line before halftime and also missed 3 fast-break lay-ins along the way.
With Zach LaVine sitting out to rest his sore knee, Patrick Williams returned to the starting lineup for the first time since missing five months with left wrist surgery.
Williams scored 18 points, his third straight in double figures, and gave the Bulls someone who could at least compete against the size and athleticism of MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was in foul trouble and played just 24 minutes.
After going 2-for-24 from long range in the previous five games, Coby White hit his first two 3-pointers Tuesday and finished 3-for-7 for 13 points.
"I'm hopeful these things will harden us and we'll get tougher and more resilient and more battle-tested," coach Billy Donovan said. "I really think since the all-star break it's been a really challenging schedule. I do think this is good because it's shining a light on what you have to do and where you've got to get to and I think that's a positive."
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