NBA
Pyrrhic Bucks win in Chicago at 30 by Lopez, agony for Giannis
With the early retirement of Giannis Antetokounmpo with a wrist injury that overshadowed the game, the Bucks headed to Chicago and won easier than the bottom line with a 112-100 win over the Bulls, ending their 12-game winning streak. The first tests of “Greek Freak” are encouraging.
The Bucks go into All Star Weekend on a 12-game winning streak. In a night marred by the second-half departure of Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a right wrist injury, the first encouraging news saw the Bucks easily edge the Chicago Bulls 100-112 in a match they even managed to lead and by 25 points difference.
Brook Lopez led by 33 points, Jevon Carter by 22 points and Jrue Holiday by 15 points.
For the Bulls, Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 16 rebounds and Zach LaVine had 18 points (but 5/16 shooting).
At 41-17 the Bucks (24-5 h, 17-12 a) record, firmly in 2nd place East, at 26-33 for the Bulls (16-13 h, 10-20 a) . ) even seeing the play-ins of the east being removed.
The Bucks’ next game now comes a week after Utah’s All Star Weekend when they host the Miami Heat in the early hours of February 25 (02:30 GMT).
Antetokounmpo’s account
A historic night for Giannis was ‘tainted’ by his injury. The night the “Greek Freak” became the first passer in Bucks history, he left the game early with an injury and couldn’t enjoy his performance.
2 points
1/3 two points
0/1 three-hand
7 setbacks
3 assists
1 mistake
1 foul
+9 to +/-
in 9 minutes and 20 seconds
The race
After a 5 minute acknowledgment, the Bucks decided to show their intentions and so they managed to go 10-25 thanks to an 11-0 run, gaining the upper hand early in the game and constantly feeding Brook Lopez.
The Bulls fought back in the 2nd quarter and began to eat away at the lead, cutting it to 28-34. Eventually came the injury from Giannis, which seems to have discouraged the Bucks, who broke out and went 33-47 while maintaining a safety margin through the end of the first half that put them 49-61 ahead.
In the 3rd period, the game continued at the same monotonous pace, with the difference always being between 8 and 14 points. However, this changed in the 4th period. Milwaukee decided to step on the gas, and with Carter and AJ Green backing Lopez, he put on a 12-0 run, ran away with a 78-102 win and never looked back, driving to an easy win.
THE DODECALPTA: 24-34, 49-61, 73-85, 100-112
CHICAGO BULLS (Billy Donovan): Williams 16 (3 threes, 5 rebounds), Vucevic 22 (8/20 shooting, 2/6 threes, 16 rebounds), White 8 (4/14 shooting, 0/5 threes, 5 rebounds), LaVine 18 (5/16 shooting, 1/5 trebles), Dosumnou 7 (3/11 shooting, 1 treble), Hill 5 (1), Terry 13 (1 treble, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), Drummond 5, Bradley 5 ( 1), Simonovich, Jones 1
MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Mike Budenholzer): G. Antetokounmpo 2 (7 rebounds), Lopez 33 (3 3-pointers, 7 rebounds), Holiday 15 (5/15 shooting, 2/8 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 9 assists), Allen 10 (2/6 3-pointers), Mamoukelashvili 2 (5 rebounds), T. Antetokounmpo 1, Matthews 5 (1), Ingles 5 (2/8 shots, 1/6 3-pointers, 7 rebounds), Green 15 (5 /7 3-hand), Beauchamp 2
Chicago Bulls team stats: 27/65 2-pointers, 10/32 3-pointers, 16/21 shots, 51 rebounds, 19 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 5 fouls
Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 22/41 2-pointers, 18/47 3-pointers, 14/18 shots, 52 rebounds, 24 assists, 4 steals, 7 blocks, 8 fouls
Source: sport 24
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