Antetokounmpo leads Bucks to third straight win over Bulls
CHICAGO -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and Jabari Parker added 27 as the Milwaukee Bucks took charge in the second half to pull away from the Chicago Bulls 116-96 on Saturday night.
Greg Monroe scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and rookie Malcolm Brogdon had 15 points and 11 boards as the Bucks (16-16) outscored Chicago 36-20 in the fourth quarter and beat the Bulls (16-18) for the third time in three tries this season.
Jimmy Butler scored 26 points for Chicago, which lost its second straight and for the eighth time in 11 games. Robin Lopez had a gritty night, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Coming off the bench, Doug McDermott had 13 points and Nikola Mirotic had 10.
Antetokounmpo had nine rebounds, seven assists and blocked seven shots and was dominant as Milwaukee took charge late in what had been a tight, physical game.
Brogdon started for the second straight night in place of injured Matthew Dellavedova.
Trailing 51-49 at the half, Milwaukee got rolling in the third quarter, outscoring Chicago 31-25 and stretching its advantage to as many as 11 points in what had been a tight, physical game. The Bucks led 77-66 when Brogdon drove in and completed layup with 3:34 left in the quarter.
Mirotic hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth and trim Milwaukee's lead to 80-79, but the Bucks pulled away using a 10-0 run.
The Bulls started guard Michael Carter-Williams in place of Rajon Rondo, after Rondo was benched for the entire second half following a mistake-filled start in a 111-101 loss at Indiana on Friday. Rondo did not play on Saturday.
Unlike the teams' two previous meetings, the Bucks didn't set the tempo and race out to an early lead.
The Bulls built a quick 11-1 advantage in a first quarter filled with scrambles and missed shots. The Bucks failed to connect on their 10 attempts from the floor before Monroe sank a hook shot 4:12 in.
The Bucks started to find the bucket and narrowed it to 27-22 to close the first quarter.
Led by Antetokounmpo, who had 15 points, five rebound and five blocks in the first half, Milwaukee kept coming and took its first lead in the half at 36-34 just over 4 minutes in. Antetokounmpo's gave the Bucks their first advantage on a dunk as he cut to the net.
It was a see-saw wrestling match the rest of the way until halftime, with Milwaukee improving from the cold start to shoot 43.6 percent from the floor and Chicago settling for 40.4 percent. Butler led Chicago with 12 points in the half.
NOTES: PG Rajon Rondo picked up three fouls in the first half of the Bulls' loss to Indiana on Friday -- including two in the first seven minutes -- while making no shots. Coach Fred Hoiberg said starting PG Michael Carter-Williams instead of Rondo was strictly a basketball decision with the goal of "changing the flow of our team." ... Carter-Williams returned on Dec. 26 after missing 27 games because of a left wrist sprain and left knee bone bruise. Against the Pacers on Friday, Carter-Williams set season highs with 12 points and eight rebounds. "He's given us good energy since he's been back," Hoiberg said. "I think he's done a good job of pushing the pace." ... Milwaukee rookie G Malcolm Brogdon started for a second straight night in place of G Matthew Dellavedova, who sat out again because of a strained right hamstring. Before the game, coach Jason Kidd said he didn't know if Dellavedova would be ready for Milwaukee's next game, at home on Monday night against Oklahoma City. ... The 24-year-old Brogdon, the sixth pick in the second round out of Virginia, had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 116-99 loss at Minnesota on Friday in his first NBA start. "His basketball IQ is high," Kidd said. "He knows how to play the right way, knows how to run a team." ... Bucks C Miles Plumlee sat out because of a right index finger sprain.