Bulls-Bucks Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 30 2013 1:28AM

While the Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls are surely glad to have leading scorer Luol Deng back, they're plenty excited about Jimmy Butler's recent emergence, too.

His continued production could prove key during a six-game road trip.

Butler looks to build on yet another outstanding effort Wednesday night as the Bulls begin their trek by going for a sixth consecutive road win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

After receiving inconsistent minutes for much of the season, Butler broke out in a big way during Deng's five-game absence due to a strained right hamstring. The former Marquette standout averaged 14.2 points - more than double his season mark - and 8.6 rebounds while starting each of those contests.

Butler returned to a reserve role Monday with Deng back, but he didn't miss a beat, posting a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a 93-85 win over Charlotte.

"Jimmy is playing great for us right now. We need that," said Deng, who's averaging 17.3 points but scored 12 on 3-of-8 shooting Monday. "He just has to keep growing and get better. He plays so hard. He's been patient and he's been working hard on his game.

"I'm just so happy for him because it takes time to understand the NBA game. There are still a lot of areas he can get better at but what he's shown so far is just his hard work and he's going to keep getting better."

Though it wasn't clear how Butler would respond to coming back off the bench, that doesn't appear to be an issue.

"It's all the same to me," Butler told the Bulls' official website. "Just come in off the bench with energy, rebounding, guarding, making open shots, getting to the free-throw line. That's what my teammates need me to do. So when I'm out there, starter or off the bench, whatever it may be, I'm still the same player bringing the same things to the table."

Winners of seven of nine, the Bulls (27-17) will be looking for Butler to keep things going as they kick off their longest trip of the season at Milwaukee (24-19). While Chicago has dropped back-to-back home games in this series, it has limited the Bucks to an average of 88.4 points in five straight wins at the Bradley Center.

Milwaukee returns home seeking a sixth win in seven games after cruising to a 117-90 rout at Detroit on Tuesday. Brandon Jennings scored 20 of his 30 points in the third quarter - including a 16-0 run by himself - as the Bucks matched their season high in points.

"He really has the ability to get into a rhythm, into a zone, and he can do it quick by making a couple of shots," Mike Dunleavy, who added 17 points off the bench, told the league's official website. "Then everything's just falling. You can't get caught up in it as a teammate but it's always fun to watch."

Jennings shot 11 of 19 against the Pistons and is averaging 23.8 points over his last five games. The Bucks have gone 21-6 when he makes more than 36 percent of his shots compared to 3-13 when he doesn't.

Jennings is averaging just 11.3 points on 33.3 percent shooting in seven career home games against Chicago, though he scored a season-high 35 in a 104-96 road win Jan. 9.

The Bucks are 8-3 since Jim Boylan took over for former coach Scott Skiles.

Robinson scores 24 to lead Bulls past Bucks

Posted Jan 31 2013 12:33AM

MILWAUKEE (AP) The Chicago Bulls weren't about to squander another second half lead against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Twice this season, the Bucks have rallied in the second half to beat the Bulls, including storming back from a 27-point deficit late in the third quarter at Chicago in November.

"The fact that we lost a couple of leads against these guys before, we didn't want to let our guard down," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They are a very good team and they keep coming at you. You have to stay ready. We had a lot of guys step up."

One of those guys was Nate Robinson, who scored 16 of his 24 points in the second quarter, leading the Bulls to a 104-88 victory Wednesday night.

"Nate played with great energy, which was a huge plus," Thibodeau said.

Another key for Chicago was Jimmy Butler, a second-year pro from Marquette, who added 18 points, one shy his career high set in the Bulls' previous game, and five rebounds in a return to the arena where he played college basketball.

Thibodeau credited Butler with being valuable whether starting or coming off the bench.

"He's a big lift," Thibodeau said. "He can guard, he can score and play multiple positions and make hustle plays. He's doing a lot for us. He's a big part of this team."

Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds for the Bucks. Ersan Ilyasova added 18 points and seven rebounds.

Chicago broke open the game midway through the second quarter, using a 20-4 run to take a 49-30 lead. The run included a long 3-point shot by Robinson, who capped the rally with a driving layup. He was fouled on the play by Brandon Jennings, and converted the free throw.

Robinson, who also had a breakaway dunk during the run, shot 7 for 9 from the floor during the quarter to help Chicago take a 55-37 lead at the half.

"My teammates have been teasing me all season, talking about how I'm a three-time slam-dunk champion and I didn't get no dunks," Robinson said. "My fans have been asking me when I'm going to dunk again so hopefully they'll get off my back now."

The Bulls shot 51 percent from the field in the first half, while the Bucks made just 39 percent of their attempts. Jennings and Monta Ellis, the Bucks' top scorers, combined for just 11 points in the half on 4-for-14 shooting. Jennings finished the game with 15 points, while Ellis had 12.

The Bucks stormed back in the third quarter, using a 25-14 run at the start of the period to pull within seven points. Jennings, who was ejected late in the game after being called for a technical foul keyed the comeback, scoring 11 points in the quarter.

The Bulls used a 10-6 run to close the period to take a 79-68 lead.

Chicago scored 10 of the first 14 points in the fourth quarter to extend the lead, highlighted by a breakaway dunk by Butler.

"They started to make a run, but we slowed them down, stopped them in transition and contested their shots and they started missing and we went down and capitalized," Butler said.

Chicago's big second quarter forced Milwaukee to play "uphill" for the remainder of the game, Bucks coach Jim Boylan said.

"We just didn't have enough in the tank. It was their typical game; they're a good, physical team and they play a physical brand of basketball and it took its toll on us tonight," he said.

Ilyasova admitted that the Bucks weren't effective on offense throughout much of the game.

"Offensively, we looked a little tired. We couldn't make some open shots," he said.

The Bulls scored a season-high 66 points in the paint.

"We needed to stop the guy with the ball in the paint," Ilyasova said. "We have to play a little more aggressive next time defensively."

The Bulls took a 23-19 lead at the end of the first quarter, paced by Taj Gibson's six points and four rebounds. The Bucks were led by Dalembert's seven points and five rebounds in the period.

Boylan said he didn't think Jennings, who wasn't available for comment after the game, was forced off his game because of his heated head-to-head battle with Robinson.

"Even though he and Brandon are going at it, I don't think it's taking away from Brandon's game," Boylan said.

Butler viewed it differently.

"They were going at it. Brandon Jennings is a big-time player but you get frustrated, a lot of different things can happen and he definitely got frustrated," Butler said.

NOTES: Bucks forward Larry Sanders sat out Wednesday's night game due to illness. Milwaukee coach Jim Boylan said Sanders was ill during Tuesday's game in Detroit against the Pistons, where he was limited to 16 minutes and scored three points. Samuel Dalembert started a hamstring injury suffered in Tuesday night's game against Charlotte. Gibson replaced him. ... Boylan said he thought Jennings should have been named to replace injured Celtics guard Rajon Rando on the All-Star team. "I thought Brandon deserved to be selected the way he's been playing recently," Boylan said. Brooklyn's Brook Lopez was chosen over Jennings. ... Due to an engine issue with the team plane, the Bucks returned to Milwaukee around 11 a.m. Wednesday. The team had expected to fly out of Detroit on Tuesday night. ... Chicago has won six consecutive games at the Bradley Center. The Bulls' last loss in Milwaukee was 96-93 on Jan. 8, 2010.

Notebook: Bulls 104, Bucks 88

Rick Braun, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:21 PM - Updated Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:21 PM

THE FACTS: Nate Robinson scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in a pivotal second quarter as the Chicago Bulls cruised to a 104-88 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Robinson had his way as the Bulls (28-17) built a 20-point lead and never allowed the Bucks to get closer than seven the rest of the way. Jimmy Butler added 18 points off the bench and Luol Deng (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (12 and 12) had double-doubles.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks (24-20) with 18 points but made just 6-for-18. Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and 13 rebounds in his first start since Dec. 12.

QUOTABLE: "My teammates have been teasing me all season, talking about how I'm the three-time slam-dunk champion and I'm not getting any dunks. I don't dunk off one foot, so that kind of surprised everybody, including myself. My fans have been asking when I'm going to dunk again, so hopefully they'll get off my back now that they've seen me dunk and I don't have to dunk the rest of the season."
-- Nate Robinson, who at 5-foot-9 hadn't dunked yet this season but did so on a back-door cut and pass from Deng with 1:23 left in the half

THE STAT: Chicago dominated inside all night long on its way to a season-high 66 points in the paint.

TURNING POINT: Robinson played all but the final eight seconds of the second quarter and scored half of Chicago's 32 points. That helped turn a 23-19 lead after one quarter into a 55-37 edge at the half. Robinson's 16 second-quarter points nearly matched the Bucks' total of 18.

QUOTABLE II: "I've seen weirder things in this sport, but it just shows you that mindset is everything."
-- Joakim Noah on the fact that the road team won all four games in the season series

HOT: Robinson shot a blistering 81.8 percent as he made 9-for-11 shots. Butler wasn't too far behind, going 8-for-12.

NOT: Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis and Ilyasova, Milwaukee's top three scorers in the starting lineup, each shot 33.3 percent. Jennings and Ilyasova were each 6-for-18, and Ellis was 4-for-12.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The crowd of 17,640, the Bucks' second-largest of the season, was probably about 40 percent Bulls fans who made the two-hour drive up from Chicago.

ROOKIE WATCH: Bucks first-round pick John Henson had six points and three rebounds in eight minutes.

NOTABLE: The teams split the season series, 2-2, with the road team winning all four games. ... Bulls forward Carlos Boozer sat out with a shoulder injury suffered in Monday's victory over Charlotte. He is day-to-day. ... Bucks center Larry Sanders missed the game with illness and wasn't in the arena. ... The Bucks couldn't get out of Detroit after Tuesday night's victory because of mechanical troubles with their charter plane and flew in at 11 a.m. Wednesday. ... The Bucks are now 4-7 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... The Bulls have won eight of their last 10 and now lead the Bucks by 3 ½ games in the Central Division.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, Friday @ Brooklyn, Saturday @ Atlanta, Monday @ Indiana. For the Bucks, Friday @ New York, Saturday vs. Orlando, Tuesday @ Denver.

• Bulls: Rose
• Bucks: Lamb, Sanders

• Bulls: --
• Bucks: Jennings

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
• Officials: #9 Derrick Stafford, #28 Zach Zarba, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 17640
• Duration: 2:00