The Chicago Bulls will face the Milwaukee Bucks within the first spherical of the NBA playoffs, staying near residence to start their first postseason look in 5 years.
The best-of-seven sequence will begin at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee with TV protection on TNT.
The Bulls (46-36) — who accomplished the common season Sunday night time with a 124-120 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves — turned locked in to the sixth seed within the Eastern Conference final week after starting 2022 on the prime of the convention standings.
The defending NBA champion Bucks (51-31) had been neck and neck with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers however dropped to the third seed Sunday after resting most of their starters in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The rivalry between the Bulls and Bucks appeared to realize a brand new edge after Alex Caruso’s damage by the hands of Grayson Allen in January, nevertheless it has been a lopsided sequence ever since. The Bulls misplaced all 4 conferences with the Bucks this season, together with 28- and 21-point blowouts within the final two video games.
“They’re champions for a reason,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan stated. “They’re battle-tested. They’ve been through this. We will have to play very, very good basketball on both ends of the floor.”
Despite going through the toughest schedule within the league after the All-Star break, the Bucks posted a 15-7 report as they chase back-to-back titles.
Giannis Antetokounmpo poses an inconceivable downside for many groups, however the Bucks have thrived in current wins over the Bulls on the energy of different gamers similar to Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday.
“They have a really good team and a complete team,” Zach LaVine stated. “I think we do as well. We just have to attack them and figure out a way we can beat them. … We have to try to bring the fight to them because if we’re back on our heels, it’s not going to be good.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com