A way of dread accompanied the Chicago Bulls up Interstate 94 for his or her first postseason recreation in 5 years.
No one was giving them a shot of their first-round collection with the Milwaukee Bucks. Even probably the most optimistic Bulls followers had been simply hoping to see just a few good video games earlier than heading into the offseason and turning their consideration to the baseball season.
Changing the narrative in Game 1 towards the Bucks was seemingly crucial if the Bulls wished to make this a aggressive collection. But when Giannis Antetokounmpo hit a 3-pointer a minute and a half into the sport to provide the Bucks a fast 9-0 lead, it appeared like the sport was determined earlier than the primary State Farm industrial
There was no want for any spoiler alerts. We’d all seen this film earlier than.
But a humorous factor occurred on the best way to a blowout on the Fiserv Forum.
The Bulls bounced again from a 16-point deficit to make it a recreation, solely to observe the Bucks maintain on for a 93-86 win.
Nikola Vučević’s 24 factors and 17 rebounds weren’t sufficient because the Bucks breathed a sigh of reduction in a wild recreation. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 factors and 16 rebounds, dominating like he did in final yr’s postseason.
Bulls Nation was well-represented in Game 1, with sufficient road-tripping followers available to loudly boo Grayson Allen when the Bucks guard entered within the first quarter and each time he popped off the bench. You can’t blame Bucks followers for treating this first-round collection like an afterthought and placing their tickets on the resale market.
They’re pacing themselves for June, and with snow within the forecast for Monday, that appeared like an extended, great distance away.
The Deer District — that sizzling spot exterior Fiserv Forum that Milwaukee made well-known throughout final yr’s championship run — was largely empty earlier than tipoff. Temperatures within the 30s and an early night beginning time on Easter Sunday had been seemingly components, to not point out an opponent nobody on the town was taking significantly. Bucks followers at one level started chanting, “O-ver-ra-ted,” on the Bulls as if they had been dealing with a university crew.
The Bulls didn’t care concerning the extraneous noise. They knew the duty at hand and {that a} Game 1 win would mute all of the speak about a brief collection.
If the Bucks had been going to lose a recreation within the collection, this was presupposed to be one there for the taking. The Bucks had been 1-6 in Game 1s during the last two postseasons, however Bulls coach Billy Donovan mentioned he didn’t make it a degree to “go back and talk about something that happened a year or two or three years ago in a Game 1 of a first-round playoff series and say this is a trend.”
The Bucks assuredly had been conscious of their current report in Game 1s and got here out decided to indicate it was a fluke. After all, they gained the title final yr, so why would it not matter whether or not they needed to bounce again most of the time?
After they pounced on the Bulls to take the short 9-0 lead, Donovan instantly known as a timeout, however nothing was going to cease the Bucks’ momentum they usually constructed the result in 16 factors within the first. The Bulls missed 11 of their first 14 photographs whereas digging themselves into an early gap and trailed by 13 at quarter’s finish, taking pictures 2 for 11 from past the arc.
They pulled to inside eight on the half, trailing 51-43, however Antetokounmpo already had 17 factors and 11 rebounds and the Bulls had shot 31.7% from the sector and an abysmal 17.6% from 3-point vary. The collection was enjoying out as most had envisioned.
But the Bulls slowly chipped away within the third, and when Vučević sank a 3 with 4:39 left within the quarter, the sport was tied and Bulls followers erupted in unison, making Fiserv Forum sound like United Center North. Coby White hit a 3 to provide the Bulls their first lead and transformed a driving layup on the subsequent possession.
From then on it was a back-and-forth thriller to the top. The Bucks led by three coming into the fourth, and LaVine was charged along with his fifth foul a minute and a half into the quarter. The Bucks led 87-82 with 2½ minutes left when DeRozan hit a jumper and rebounded a Brook Lopez miss. A backdoor go from Vučević to Caruso led to a layup that sliced the deficit to at least one.
The Bulls had possibilities within the remaining minute, however Vučević missed a putback and LaVine misfired on a 3-point try with 30 seconds remaining. Jrue Holiday’s two free throws with 15.3 seconds left proved to be the dagger,
The Bulls handled Sunday’s opener like a one-game highway journey, which made sense with two days off earlier than Game 2 on Wednesday. After the sport they headed again to Chicago, and Donovan mentioned the proximity of the 2 cities is most welcome right now of yr.
“Obviously we’re not having to deal with getting on a plane for a couple-hour flight,” Donovan mentioned. “That a part of it’s nice. There are two days between Game 1 and Game 2. The journey goes to be very comparable for them as effectively. … The comfort of location has been good no less than from the journey standpoint late within the yr. That’s one factor I believed was nice within the bubble in the course of the playoffs — no journey, simply the bus from the lodge to Disney and again.
“And there is something to be said for that. If we had a day in between, we’d definitely have stayed here. But because we have two days (off), we have a chance to get home at a decent time and those guys can sleep in their own bed, practice (Monday) and Tuesday and come back up.”
The Bulls can sleep effectively figuring out they made the Bucks work for his or her Game 1 win. But in the event that they need to make this an extended collection, they must do some bit extra.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com