Bulls looking to take big step forward in postseason battle vs. Bucks

If the Bulls' season series with the Bucks was a prize fight—and many wanted it to be after Grayson Allen's flagrant foul injured Alex Caruso in the first meeting in January—the Bulls would be behind on all the cards and facing a unanimous decision loss.

So when the teams open the NBA first round series in Milwaukee Sunday, the Bulls likely have to go for the knockout.

Which against the defending NBA champions would be Ali-Liston, Spinks-Ali, Schmeling-Louis or Douglas-Tyson. It could be the talk of the sports world.

We know the recent Bulls/Bucks history with the reigning four-time Central Division champions having swept the Bulls 4-0 this season and won 16 of the last 17 between the teams. In that span with the shortened seasons, the Bucks have played at a 57-win annual pace. Nobody ever says something hard is going to be easy. But this season's series was somewhat more competitive than it looks now after the last two dominating Bucks wins.

So let's go back and experience Bulls/Bucks 2021-22.

This season's series vs. the Bucks was more competitive than it looks now.

In a curious scheduling anomaly, the first game between these division rivals—OK, maybe I-94 neighbors lately—came more than halfway through the season. And oh what a season it had been to then for the Bulls, who recently were coming off a nine-game winning streak featuring DeMar DeRozan's historic every day game-winners in Indianapolis and Washington.

The Bulls stumbled a bit after that with a tough schedule against Brooklyn, Golden State and in Boston and Memphis. But they reciprocated against Cleveland with an easy win, were second in the East ahead of Milwaukee at 28-15 and led the Bucks by one point entering the fourth quarter.

"Fun game," DeMar DeRozan would say afterward even though he couldn't deliver the haymaker with 35 points and 17 of 18 free throws. "Those are the games you want to be in, defending champs, we were shorthanded (no Zach LaVine and Javonte Green with Tyler Cook starting); didn't go in there with any excuses. Went out there and competed in a hostile environment, gave ourselves a chance even though we were missing shots (both teams shot below 20 percent on threes). We competed defensively, we tried to make things difficult for them. And to have a chance late in the game."

Trailing by two with 25 seconds left, DeRozan got a pass from Nikola Vucevic for—what! another game winner?—but fumbled the ball and then got off an awkward shot that hit the front rim. The Bucks closed it with free throws.

The Bulls lost their first matchup to the Bucks by four points despite 35 points from DeMar DeRozan.

It was the game Allen took down Caruso trying to dunk on a run out. Caruso landed hard and the unrepentant Allen was ejected with a flagrant 2. Caruso seemed just shaken and played into the fourth quarter and even defended Antetokounmpo then. The Bulls initially said X-rays were negative, but a subsequent review revealed a fractured wrist. He was out six weeks. It also produced the angriest reaction all season from Bulls coach Billy Donovan.

"It was really, really bad," said Donovan. "For Alex to be in the air like that and to take him down like that, he could have ended his career. He (Allen) has a history of this. That, to me, was really dangerous. I really hope the league takes a hard look at something like that. Because he could have really, really seriously hurt him. Really, really, really dangerous play. There's a right way you can go up and have physicality and do that. Not that way."

The Bulls were believing then they were close to the Bucks.

"You can build from being in these moments and situations," said DeRozan. "Everyone who got in that game competed; you can take a lot from it. This was a fully healthy (Bucks) team (no Brook Lopez) and they were defending their championship and we came in here and it came down to the last couple of possessions. There are no moral victories, but at the same time it's a lot of confidence can come from it. One of those playoff atmospheres. We didn't pull out the win, but it showed a lot about our character."

DeMar DeRozan.

The Bulls were leading by seven points going into the fourth quarter, but were outscored by the Bucks in the fourth quarter 37-24. The Bulls Derrick Jones Jr. did get in a hip check shot against Allen late, resulting in a flagrant foul. That was the game Bulls coach Donovan started Tristan Thompson with Vucevic. But Thompson's lack of mobility and offensive weaknesses proved problematic.

With Thompson staying inside, it forced Vucevic primarily into a perimeter role.

Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 16 rebounds, but Jrue Holiday was the big playmaker for the Bucks in the fourth quarter with scoring and defensive plays. LaVine scored 30 points, DeRozan 29 and Vucevic 19. But no other Bull scored in double figures in the frenzied United Center atmosphere with non-stop booing and verbal harassment of Allen. The loss dropped the Bulls into a third place East tie with the Bucks.

The Bulls were again close down the stretch when Khris Middleton was called for fouling LaVine on a 3-point shot with the Bucks leading by four with 15.2 seconds left. But the Bucks challenged, and indeed, Middleton didn't foul LaVine. It became a jump ball the Bucks won and shot a few more free throws among their 33 to close out their win.

"You learn how hard it is to compete in this league, to beat a team like the Milwaukee Bucks that won a championship," said DeRozan, who had just finished his streak of eight consecutive games scoring at least 35 points and shooting at least 50 percent to win February Player of the Month. "They had to go through plenty of growing pains as well until they got to their goal. We've got to take the growing pains and understand if you really want it, you have to get back up on your feet when you get knocked down. And how hard it is to compete on this league and play every single night; not every couple of games, not just versus the bad teams. Competing versus the good teams. We've got to take on that challenge. It's good for us to get hit and see how hard it really is to win in this league."

Jones denied his screen was intentional, but the Bucks privately were seething and accusing Donovan was elevating the issue. Rivalry again?

The Bulls got more than 20 points each from LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic, but again no one else scored in double figures.

Khris Middleton was out for the Bucks, who got 25 points and 17 rebounds from Giannis and another big game from Holiday with 27 points. It would be in the midst of the Bulls post All-Star weekend slump with their ninth loss in the last 12 games. The Bulls trailed by 13 after the first quarter and 22 going into the fourth quarter.

"Playing against the defending champs, seeing, feeling, understanding how hard they compete, how well they execute, the physicality, everything that comes with it to get what they deserved last year," noted DeRozan. "It comes with heartache and going through what we're going through now. The last couple of weeks have been tough for us. How do we change that around and use that as a benefit for us? That flip has to switch of understanding enough is enough; now it's time to turn it around and show that desperation. At some point we have to get tired of getting our butts kicked like this."

The Bulls fell to fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but they still had some resilience for other crucial games. The previous game they defeated the Toronto Raptors in what then looked like a crucial tiebreaker game to retain fifth in the conference. They would go into Cleveland later that week for a victory to assure remaining out of the play-in tournament. But the losses were piling up against the top teams in the league.

A deep and varied Bucks team with seven players scoring in double figures and a massive size advantage with the likes of Lopez, Serge Ibaka and Bobby Portis hit the Bulls with a 21-6 third quarter run to give Milwaukee a 91-69 lead.

The game was somewhat more physical, which didn't surprise Caruso from his championship Lakers season.

"I think it was called for the most part like a playoff game," said Caruso. "I think they let most of the stuff go in the playoffs they let go."

Which didn't appeal to DeRozan, whose scoring relies on free throws.

"Without a doubt I got hit a few times on a couple of jump shots," DeRozan said. "Same old thing over and over (from the referees), 'I missed it, I missed it.' In my opinion, you get paid to play at a high level, the refs get paid to ref at a high level. And consistently hearing you missed something, you missed something, you missed something. It's unacceptable. Not even shooting one free throw all night was indicative of my frustration and why I got the tech."

But Caruso said the Bulls have to roll with these road punches.

"We have to have a different mindset going on the road, especially when shots aren't going in," said Caruso. "You've got to know what you're in for. You've got to be ready for things not to go your way and respond. Every team's got talent. We've got plenty. It's not a talent issue. It's about executing. Basketball at any level, middle school, high school, college, pro, winning basketball is winning basketball. If you want to win an NBA championship, you want to compete in the playoffs."

Caruso said the Bulls have to have "a different mindset going on the road."

The Bucks led throughout the game, 12 by halftime and 14 going into the fourth quarter despite DeRozan going off for 40 points with LaVine out with his sore knee. Patrick Williams in his first start after early season surgery had 18 points and Coby White broke out of a shooting slump with a trio of 3-pointers. But the story for the Bulls was less the loss than clinching a playoff position for the first time since 2017.

"It's great for all of us, happy to have done it," said Vucevic. "That was our goal from the beginning of the year to get there and after that see what happens. It would have been nicer to happen on a better night, but for sure it means a lot for the players, the organization, the city. So hopefully we can continue to do well. We would prefer it shows through results where we are playing better and winning games, but it just takes time."

And it was usually mild-mannered Vucevic who delivered a hard foul to Allen to the delight of the home patrons.

"We are a new team, a new group, a lot of young guys, and when we play some of those better teams that have been together for awhile and have that experience and have played in big games and big series, sometimes it shows we lack some of those important things, like paying attention to detail," said Vucevic. "So just part of a learning process. I think our main issues are the consistency of doing all those things and hopefully we (still) can take a step forward."