Bucks at Bulls
THE STORY: Making Derrick Rose angry is not an easy task to achieve. But the Indiana Pacers managed to put the normally reserved point guard in a foul mood Wednesday. “I'll never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game,” Rose said following Chicago’s 95-90 loss to the Pacers. “I can't wait to play them again.” It was a rare setback for one of the league’s top teams and figures to motivate the reigning league MVP. Rose and the Bulls will try to win a fifth straight game against the Milwaukee Bucks when the Central Division rivals meet on Friday night. Both teams will be missing key players because of injuries. The Bulls will be without Luol Deng and the Bucks are down Andrew Bogut.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports North, WCIU
ABOUT THE BUCKS (7-10): Bogut left Wednesday’s 105-99 win over Houston in the first quarter with an ankle injury. The news got worse a day later when it was revealed that the former No. 1 pick has a fractured left ankle and is out indefinitely. Bogut is averaging 11.3 points and 8.2 rebounds on the campaign. His absence will be noticed as the Bucks are 0-5 without him this year. Drew Gooden, who will likely fill a bulk of the vacant minutes, had 11 points in 28 minutes vs. the Rockets.
ABOUT THE BULLS (16-4): Deng has a torn ligament in his left wrist but has decided to put off surgery. He won’t be in uniform for this one, with Ronnie Brewer likely to earn another start. Brewer had season highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds while starting against the Pacers. Chicago, owners of the East’s top record, plays three games in four nights. The Bulls held the Bucks to an average of 80.5 points in winning all four meetings last year.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Milwaukee forward Ersan Ilyasova had a career-high 19 rebounds off the bench after Bogut went down Wednesday.
2. Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings is averaging 26.0 points and 6.8 assists in his past five outings.