Bucks 106, Bulls 101
MILWAUKEE -- Guard Jimmy Butler scored 30 points, but it wasn't enough for the Chicago Bulls, who fell 106-101 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in front of a decidedly pro-Bulls crowd at Bradley Center.
Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 29 points, and shooting guard Khris Middleton added 16, including five over the final 2:30 of the fourth quarter as the Bucks mounted a late rally.
Butler scored 10 of his points in the third quarter and gave Chicago the lead twice down the stretch, but each time, Milwaukee had an answer.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Bucks, who shot 46.2 percent from the field despite a 3-for-13 showing from beyond the arc.
Chicago made 12 of 29 3-point tries but was just 35-for-85 (41.2 percent) overall. The Bulls gave up 30 points off 17 turnovers, while Milwaukee lost the ball just five times the entire game.
Down by as many as 11 in the first half and five at the break, Milwaukee scored on its first five possessions of the third quarter and finally tied the game at 56-56 on a 17-footer from center Greg Monroe (17 points, 12 rebounds).
Parker gave the Bucks their first lead of the night when he hit a short jumper at the 9:02 mark, all part of a 17-3 run that put Milwaukee ahead by eight with 6:06 left in the quarter.
Chicago, though, rallied with an 8-0 run and knotted things up at 67-67 when guard Aaron Brooks' 3-pointer from the corner got a friendly bounce and fell in with 4:01 remaining.
Butler made two free throws to give Chicago an eight-point lead with 6:52 left in the game before another Milwaukee rally tied the game at 93-93 with 3:25 to go.
The Bulls played the final quarter without point guard Derrick Rose, who left with a sore left patellar tendon after scoring nine points with three assists in 20 minutes of action.
NOTES: Bucks SG O.J. Mayo returned after sitting out Milwaukee's 100-88 loss at New York on Sunday with a sore left hamstring. He scored five points in 26 minutes Tuesday. ... The Bulls defeated the Bucks 117-106 at the United Center on Jan. 5. Chicago has won nine of the past 11 regular-season meetings with the Bucks and is 9-4 in its past 13 visits to the Bradley Center. ... The Bulls have scored 100 points or more in a franchise-record 12 consecutive games, averaging 106 per game during that stretch. ... Bucks SG Khris Middleton came into the game having scored 20 or more points in his past three games and seven of his last 10. In those games, Middleton was shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 51 percent from beyond the arc. He shot 6-for-16 while scoring 16 points Tuesday.