Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee were eliminated from the Bulls’ 3-pointers in the finals

It’s a local derby. The distance between Milwaukee and Chicago is about the same as… Athens – Livadia, that is, this neighborhood rivalry that has been going on for many decades, continued on Thursday night (November 24th) with another big duel. The Bucks and Bulls battled like a playoff game at the Fiserv Forum, with the Bulls scoring three huge 3-pointers in the Finals to earn a huge win (113-118) in a great regular-season game.

The Elafias fell to 12-5 (9-2 at home and 3-3 a) with Giannis Antetokounmpo being “lukewarm” in the first half, dominant and unstoppable in the second but committing a critical offensive foul in the final with the result at 109-109. The Greek freak finished the match with 36 points (15/25 2 points, 6/9 shots, he had 28 points in the second half), 11 rebounds, 7 assists but also 8 errors in 34 minutes while Brook Lopez (20 points, 8 rebounds) waned after his shocking start, Jrue Holiday filled his stats (14 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists) but he wasted his energy on defense and Allen-Portis was far from his best.

The Bulls (5-5 home and 3-5 away) improved to 8-10, with DeMar DeRozan dismantling every defensive plan of Mike Budenholzer and playing basketball to a shockingly high level against an opponent he enjoys facing. The Bulls’ leader finished the game with 36 points (12/21 twos, 2/3 trebles, 6/7 shots), had four rebounds and eight assists, and LaVine – Vucevic with 18 points. Of course, the key player in the crisis was Kobe White, who first hit two 3-pointers from the corners to level the game at 109-109 and then gave his team the lead.

The Bucks’ next opponents are the Cleveland Cavaliers in the early hours of Saturday (11/26) at the Fiserv Forum.

Antetokounmpo’s account

He wasn’t himself in the first part. His phases didn’t work out at the basket, the free shots missed all around him and at halftime he had a lukewarm 8/5/3 with 4/10 two-pointers. In the third period another player appeared, he scored in attack but was stopped by the fourth foul, in the fourth period he burned, he was unstoppable and would have avoided the offensive foul at 109:109 and would have touched the perfect. He again committed eight turnovers and had a career-worst 3.8 for the season. And that’s a part he should put more emphasis on.

36 points
24 points on the racquet
15/25 two points
0/2 three-hand
6/9 shots
11 setbacks
7 assists
8 mistakes
5 fouls
9 earned fouls
5 blocked shots
43.7 USG%
+5 to +/-
in 34 minutes

50-34 bat points, 12-19 surprise points, 28-27 spare points, 13-17 opponent foul points, 16-7 second chance points (offensive rebounding). But what was the match number? The Bulls’ 12 blocks with five players of two each (DeRozan, Williams, Dosunmu, Drummond, Green) against the Bucks’ only three.

The race

With 2/2 3-pointers from Brook Lopez in the first two possessions, the Bucks opened the game, only for Billy Donovan to call the first timeout after 70 seconds and the Milwaukee center returned with his third 3-pointer to make it 14- make. 5. DeRozan and Dosunmu kept the Bulls close, but Budenholzer had plenty of options on the bench this time. Wes Matthews hit a 3-pointer to make it 21-17 while LaVine and DeRozan hit in spurts and impressive parsimony to make it 33-32 in a time when Chicago had six turnovers but Milwaukee had four points off them.

With Yiannis the creator, the Bucks held the lead early in the second but couldn’t break away. Their share of the perimeter dropped while Lopez scored a field goal and maintained a…competitive regularity at 45-38 in a crazy two minutes that saw the ball bobbing without substance. Matthews’ buzzer-hitting 3-pointer went 50-38 midway through the second quarter, after which the Bulls responded with a quick 0-8 run to cut the lead to four. At that pace, the match continued through halftime, with 62-61 leaving promise of an even bigger fight.

With Antetokounmpo on fire early in the second half, the Bucks woke up their crowd, but the Bulls consistently had answers, with either LaVine or DeRozan. He caught Giannis’ fourth foul after 30 minutes, he scored to make it 75:75, he continued to hit the home team after Budenholzer had also put Holliday on the bench. The Bulls capitalized on opportunities and built a six-point lead (79-85) through their defense late in the third, with DeRozan hitting 18 in 12 minutes for an 83-90 that gave Chicago a clear victory lead.

The return of Giannis revived the Bucks’ attack, thanks to him Milwaukee reduced to two (92-94), thanks to him they were 95-95 and thanks to him they wrote 97-95 in 41′. The way he attacked the Bulls was shocking as the umpires made a ridiculous decision on a Lopez basket, flipped it over, fired shots and watched the Bucks center go 0/2 at 105-104. Carter and Giannis from middle distance made it 109-106, White equalizing with a 3-point from the corner at 75″ and immediately after Antetokounmpo fouled Caruso.

An unlikely DeRozan assist led to White’s second straight 3-pointer, this time from the other corner, to defeat the Bulls (109-112), with Budenholzer calling for a timeout and Holiday gaining possession with a tragic rebound from a miscommunication at 41 .4 inches threw with Giannis Vucevic hitting from the top to make it 109-115 and that was the game that literally slipped through the Bucks’ hands but likely ended up in the hands of those who more deserved the result.

THE DODECALPTA: 33-32, 62-61, 83-90, 113-118

MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Mike Budenholzer): Allen 13 (2 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 assists), Antetokounmpo 36 (15/25 2-pointers, 0/2 3-pointers, 6/9 shots, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 turnovers , 5 fouls in 34 minutes), Lopez 20 (5/10 2-pointers, 3/7 3-pointers, 1/3 shots, 8 rebounds), Carter 2, Holiday 14 (2/2 2-pointers, 1/4 3-pointers, 7/8 shots, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals), Portis 9 (1 3-pointers, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks), Matthews 6 (2), Hill 10 (2), Noora, Connaughton 3 (1/5 3-hand)

CHICAGO BULLS (Billy Donovan): DeRozan 36 (12/21 2-pointers, 2/3 3-pointers, 6/7 shots, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks), Williams 11 (2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) . , 2 blocks), Vucevic 18 (4/10 3 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), LaVine 18 (3/11 3 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Dosunmu 9 (1), Green 11 (2) , White 14 (4/7 3-pointers), Caruso, Drummond 2 (8 rebounds)

Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 29/53 2-pointers, 12/38 3-pointers, 19/25 shots, 59 rebounds, 24 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 19 turnovers, 17 fouls

Chicago Bulls team stats: 25/45 2-pointers, 18/42 3-pointers, 14/18 shots, 45 rebounds, 30 assists, 9 steals, 12 blocks, 13 turnovers, 20 fouls