The Chicago Bulls are trying to pull out of a brief slump as they host the upstart Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. The Bulls are tied for third in the Eastern Conference and had been one of the hottest teams in the league before losing consecutive games for the first time since late November. They'll try to stop the slide with a fifth straight victory against Milwaukee, which has won two in a row and five of its last seven overall.
The consecutive losses alone might not be cause for concern for the Bulls, but they have been blown out by a combined 36 points against Utah and Washington and haven't performed well at either end of the floor. "The way we're playing is bothersome," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "It's concerning, but you get into things together, and we've got to get out of things together." The Bucks, who are coming off a 98-84 win over visiting Minnesota on Friday, have won five straight road games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee), WGN (Chicago)
ABOUT THE BUCKS (20-18): Milwaukee has been locked in at the defensive end, holding 11 straight opponents under 50 percent shooting and keeping eight of its last nine foes under 100 points. That defensive performance and a balanced, efficient offense — the Bucks had five players in double figures and shot 52 percent against the Timberwolves — has been a solid formula for Milwaukee. Point guard Brandon Knight (18.1 points, 5.1 assists) has been the most consistent scorer, while second-year swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo (11.9 points, 6.2 rebounds) is developing into a impact player at both ends of the floor.
ABOUT THE BULLS (25-12): Chicago's offense has been abysmal over the past two games, as the Bulls followed up their season-low 33.3 percent shooting against Utah with a 38.6 percent clip in Friday's 102-86 loss at Washington. Leading scorer Jimmy Butler (21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds) struggled to 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting against the Wizards, but point guard Derrick Rose (16.9 points, 4.8 assists) broke out of a shooting slump with 19 points. The Bulls likely will again be without forward Mike Dunleavy, who has missed four games with an injured right ankle and is scheduled for an MRI on Saturday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Bucks have held opponents under 90 points an NBA-best 13 times and are undefeated when doing so.
2. The road team has won nine of the last 10 games in the series with Chicago claiming the only home victory during that span in the final meeting last season.
3. Milwaukee's last six-game road winning streak was from Feb. 5-27, 2010.