DeRozan scores 41 as Bulls find their playoff legs with win at Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - Those Bulls players who started this series with zero playoff experience? Well, now they have a playoff win under their belts.
DeMar DeRozan followed through on his promise of a better shooting night, scoring 41 points, and the Bulls carried a double-digit lead most of the night before holding on for a 114-110 victory in Game 2 at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
DeRozan went 6-for-25 from the field in Game 1, then guaranteed in his postgame interview that wouldn't happen again.
"I looked at all my missed shots from Game 1," DeRozan said after Game 2. "I was in here last night shooting, just getting my rhythm. I just got to my spots and just understanding I never let a miss deter me from taking my net jump shot or not being aggressive. I just knew it wasn't going happen."
Does it take any special connections to get inside a building like Fiserv Forum for nighttime shooting practice?
"I just snuck in through the back and got some shots up," he said. "The lights were already on. They went off just as I left."
The Bucks made a late run and got within 112-109 after a Brook Lopez 3-point play with 56.4 seconds left. On the Bulls' next trip, they missed two shots, but grabbed both offensive rebounds and finally DeRozan scored on a driving lay in to make it a 5-point lead with 18.2 seconds left. Alex Caruso took a charge against Giannis Antetokounmpo with 4.9 seconds left to seal the win.
Antetokounmpo finished with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists, but didn't get enough help as both Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis left the game with injuries. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Middleton has an MCL sprain and will get further tests Thursday.
Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, Zach LaVine added 20 points. Caruso with 10 assists and Patrick Williams with 9 rebounds were key contributors.
After the game, the Bulls talked about how they used their week of practice before the playoffs for a reset. They slumped late in the season and had lost 16 of their last 17 games against Milwaukee.
"We had a long season. We had a lot of adversity," Caruso said. "It was almost a little bit of like, maybe we were just trying to start the playoffs already. We got our spirit back, we talked to each other about the opportunity we had in front of us."
Caruso won a championship with the Lakers in 2020. DeRozan, who was a playoff regular in Toronto, agreed with his teammate.
"It's the playoffs. Brand new start, brand new mindset," DeRozan said. "It doesn't matter if we lost 20 times to these guys, this is a new opportunity for us to go out and compete and we've got to take advantage of it."
What has been clear in these first two games is the Bulls' attention to defense has returned after disappearing completely at times in the regular season. They've been able to keep Antetokounmpo from going crazy, and create enough turnovers to keep the Bucks off-balance.
"I think if you show the same thing over and over and over, I think after a while they kind of get a bead on it," coach Billy Donovan said. "So we've tried to sprinkle some things in where we give guys some latitude and freedom."
Caruso is generally regarded as the team's defensive catalyst, especially since Lonzo Ball went out with a knee injury. Caruso had 2 blocks and 2 steals in Game 2.
"It's pretty obvious, you don't have a chance against these guys if you don't play defense," Caruso said. "I think we've done a decent job the first two games. I think we can be a little better."
The Bulls outscored Milwaukee 34-21 in the second quarter and held a double-digit lead well into the third until an attempt at small ball backfired. With Derrick Jones Jr. playing center, Budenholzer left Antetokounmpo on the floor for the entire third quarter.
After Milwaukee used a 15-2 run to pull within 3, DeRozan finished the third quarter with 4 points, then the Bulls scored the first 9 of the fourth quarter. A jumper by Vucevic sent the lead to 96-80.
Not long after, Vucevic picked up 2 quick fouls, one for an illegal screen, and took a seat with five. But he never picked up the sixth foul.
At the start, the Bulls turned the tables in Game 2, jumping out to a 9-0 lead after they fell behind 9-0 to open the series. They forced 4 Milwaukee turnovers in the opening two minutes, which was a good sign for their defensive plan.
As expected, the Bucks shot it better from long range than they did in the opener. But after the home team hit 4 of their first 6 from long range, the Bulls stepped up their shooting game and were 8-for-12 from 3 before missing two on the final possession before halftime.
One effective strategy used by the Bulls in the first half was using screens to get DeRozan off Jrue Holiday and match him up with Middleton. DeRozan, LaVine and Vucevic all shot better than 50 percent in the first half.
Portis was shaken up early when he took an accidental forearm to the face from Tristan Thompson. Portis did not return due to a right eye abrasion.
LaVine, Williams, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu made their playoff debuts in Game 1. The series shifts to the United Center for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday afternoon.
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