LDN - Sports

Bucks beat Bulls second day in a row

[December 17, 2016] CHICAGO -- Just like the night before, the Milwaukee Bucks had little trouble defeating the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at the United Center.

The Bucks picked up where they left off Thursday in Milwaukee, handing the Bulls a 95-69 loss for Chicago's biggest margin of defeat this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Milwaukee (13-12), which got double-figure scoring from six players.

"Why not?" Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "We had talked about it. We wanted to duplicate what we did in Milwaukee. The guys came out with that same intent to share the ball. We moved guys around and I think rebounding the ball and defense put us in position to win a game on the road against a very talented team."

Jabari Parker, who is from Chicago, added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks, who got 10 each from John Henson and former Bulls guard Tony Snell. Greg Monroe had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Mirza Teletovic finished with 13 points.

"We weren't composed coming to the game," Parker said. "We were on edge, because we usually lose here. So, that gave us another sense of motivation."

Dwyane Wade had 12 points and Cristiano Felicio had 10 to lead the Bulls (13-13). Chicago is 5-9 since its season-high four-game winning streak Nov. 10-17 and has lost three straight after defeating the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat last week.

"Collectively, we have to find a way to get out of it," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We have to find a way to regroup. We have to do it together and play together through this rough patch."

As they did Thursday in a 108-97 victory in Milwaukee, the Bucks took control early. They opened a 13-6 lead barely four minutes into the game with a 9-2 run, rattled off a 14-0 run in the final 3:48 of the first quarter and led 34-15 with three quarters left.

Chicago failed to cut into the margin in the second quarter, when each team scored 22 points.

The Bucks led 56-37 at halftime, paced by Antetokounmpo's 16 points and Parker's 10. Milwaukee shot 53.5 percent in the first half (23 of 43), including 6 of 11 from behind the 3-point line (54.5 percent).

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"We moved the ball really well," Antetokounmpo said. "Defensively we played really hard and we covered from one end to another. On the back-to-back, you're more tired and your body is exhausted, and you make bad decisions, but tonight we did a good job moving the ball and making good decisions."

Chicago hit just 6 of 27 shots in the first quarter (22.2 percent) and finished the first half shooting 29.1 percent (16 of 55).

In the third quarter, Milwaukee pushed its lead to 28 points on two occasions before the Bulls cut it to 74-52 at the end of the quarter. Chicago's biggest battle in the fourth was trying to avoid a 30-point deficit.

"This team has been outnumbered the last two nights," Wade said. "It's sometimes like that. We weren't able to get anything going."

NOTES: The Bulls announced before the game that reserve F Nike Mirotic was fined for missing a pregame team walk-through. Mirotic dressed but didn't play in the first game of the Bulls' back-to-back set against the Bucks on Thursday in Milwaukee. ... Bulls PG Michael Carter-Williams (left knee bone bruise and left wrist sprain) got the cast off the wrist and could begin practicing as soon as next week. Carter-Williams, who has missed 22 games, is hoping to return to action around Christmas. ... Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the game against Chicago with back-to-back 30-point performances. ... Milwaukee G Tony Snell, who played three seasons with the Bulls, returned to the United Center for the first time since Chicago traded him to the Bucks on Oct. 17 for Carter-Williams.

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