In the fourth quarter of any sport, the Chicago Bulls are at all times comfy with a single-digit deficit and the ball in DeMar DeRozan’s fingers. That has been a tried-and-true method all through DeRozan’s first season in Chicago.
But DeRozan couldn’t ship late-game heroics in Game 1 of the opening spherical of the NBA playoffs towards the Milwaukee Bucks. He didn’t make a fourth-quarter basket till 2:11 remained within the sport, going 1-for-7 within the quarter and taking solely two free throws within the second half.
And regardless of the Bulls erasing a 16-point first-half deficit, a fourth quarter devoid of DeRozan’s magic allowed the Bucks to flee with a 93-86 win. DeRozan completed with 18 factors on 6-of-25 capturing as neither crew cracked 100 factors in an unsightly evening of bludgeoning basketball.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” DeRozan stated. “Every shot I took felt good. I guarantee me or Zach (LaVine) or Vooch (center Nikola Vučević) aren’t going to miss that many shots again. … Most of the shots I took were wide open. Wide open. No way in hell I shoot 6 for 25 again.”
The Bulls shot 32.3% from the sector and went 7 for 37 from 3-point vary, whereas the Bucks went 15 for 23 from the free-throw line.
The early minutes appeared dire for the Bulls. Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo mixed for a 9-0 opening burst, and the Bucks shortly climbed to a 16-point lead. The Bulls knew they couldn’t counter the dimensions of the Bucks straight up, however in addition they did not capitalize on a key benefit from lengthy vary.
The Bucks sacrifice defending the 3-point line to focus practically all of their defensive consideration on the paint, the place Antetokounmpo and Lopez loom giant to have an effect on each layup and post-up. This left the long-range pictures large open, however the Bulls went 3 for 17 from 3-point vary within the first half, together with a 10-minute stretch with out hitting a shot behind the arc.
The Bulls outscored the Bucks 22-17 within the second quarter, forcing offense by way of free throws to chisel the deficit to 51-43 on the half. They have been bolstered by a poor capturing efficiency by the Bucks, who went 6 for 22 from the sector within the second quarter and 5 for 10 from the road within the first half.
The Bulls wanted all three of their All-Stars to point out out to maintain degree with the Bucks. Vučević fulfilled that process within the third quarter, aggressively backing down Lopez for a post-up bucket, then splashing a tying 3-pointer on the following play. Coby White knocked down a 3 to carry the Bulls right into a 67-64 lead — their first of the evening — with 3:11 left within the third.
“We’ve had conversations all week about just staying together,” DeRozan stated. “There’s going to be elements of the sport the place it’s going to get hectic, they’re going to hit some pictures, the group’s going to get into it and we’ve acquired to tug collectively. We’ve acquired to remain the identical.
“We were prepared for it. It sucked that it happened in the first couple minutes of the game, but we were ready for it and buckled down after that.”
The Bulls stretched their short-lived result in 5, however the Bucks had a easy reply to quell the comeback — substituting Antetokounmpo again into the sport. The Bucks went on a 10-2 run to retake a three-point result in finish the third, with Antetokounmpo ending the quarter with a bulldozer drive to flatten DeRozan on the best way to a layup.
The Bulls stored the sport heartbreakingly shut however couldn’t shut a one-possession hole within the remaining two minutes. Vučević missed an unguarded putback with 52.7 seconds left, and LaVine missed a possible tying 3-pointer with 29.7 seconds left.
“If you can’t learn from it, it’s going to bite us in the ass,” LaVine stated. “I thought we did a good job with us shooting this way and defending the way we did, keeping the game going. We had a lot of missed opportunities.”
After seven years of chasing his postseason debut, LaVine recorded a double-double (18 factors and 10 rebounds) in his first playoff sport. But fouls practically nullified his closing presence after he picked up his fifth within the second minute of the fourth quarter, limiting LaVine defensively by way of the ultimate stretch, and he shot 6 of 19 from the sector (2 of 10 on 3-pointers).
Vučević additionally was 2 of 10 from 3-point vary and struggled with consistency towards sizable matchups in Lopez and Antetokounmpo, however the Bulls middle completed with 24 factors and 17 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 factors and 16 rebounds, and Lopez added 18 factors.
The Bucks turned the ball over 21 occasions to supply the Bulls ample alternatives to even the rating on the break, however the Bulls scored solely 5 factors in transition.
Coach Billy Donovan stored Alex Caruso underneath a slight playing-time restriction, beginning him at level guard however preserving his minutes within the low 30s to assist his restoration from again spasms. Rookie Ayo Dosunmu performed solely 9 minutes in his playoff debut after assuming the position of backup level guard behind Caruso following Lonzo Ball’s season-ending harm.
Instead, Donovan utilized a wider rotation of gamers, together with ahead Derrick Jones Jr., who stuffed in at guard throughout rotations with out Antetokounmpo on the courtroom.
Patrick Williams began in his first playoff sport however didn’t take a shot till the ultimate two minutes of the primary half. The second-year energy ahead completed with 5 factors on 1-of-3 capturing.
The Bulls will return to Milwaukee for Game 2 on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum. Although they practically pulled off a come-from-behind win in Game 1, they aren’t wanting to repeat the feat.
“It’s going to be a very long series if we keep getting down and trying to dig out of a hole,” Vučević stated. “We have to start games better, but we saw what we need to do to play with them.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com