Bulls Rally Past Bucks 132-125 After Trailing by 15 in Milwaukee
Chicago erased an early deficit, survived a 34-point night from Tyler Herro and closed on free throws and a late steal.
The Chicago Bulls came from 15 points down on Friday to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 132-125 at Fiserv Forum, getting back on track three days after a heavy opening-night defeat.
Milwaukee, playing its home opener, started the better of the two. According to Field Level Media, Tyler Herro's early three-pointer opened a 19-6 lead, and AJ Green's three at the first-quarter buzzer made it 32-17.
Chicago's 16-0 run
The Bucks stretched the margin to 44-31 in the second quarter, but Chicago answered with a 16-0 run that ended with a Buddy Hield three-pointer and a 55-51 Bulls lead. Kyle Kuzma's layup with three seconds left sent Milwaukee into the break up 62-61.
The lead kept changing hands after halftime. Jalen Smith's dunk at the third-quarter buzzer trimmed Milwaukee's advantage to 104-102 heading into the fourth.
A fourth quarter decided at the line
Chicago opened the final period with six straight points and went ahead 108-104 on a Caleb Wilson dunk. Hield's three-pointer later pushed the Bulls' edge to eight with 7:19 left. Herro then hit back-to-back threes and Milwaukee retook the lead after trailing by five.
The game turned in the last 80 seconds. Wilson's free throws put Chicago up 124-123 with 1:16 to play. Tre Jones then intercepted a Ryan Rollins pass, and more Wilson free throws made it a three-point game. Herro missed a three-pointer, Norman Powell's two free throws made it a five-point lead with 20 seconds left, and a Wilson steal followed by two Jones free throws sealed it.
Who produced
Powell led Chicago with 25 points. Wilson, a rookie, added 21 and Leonard Miller 19, while Smith finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds and Hield had 13. Jones contributed 11 points and eight assists.
Herro scored 34 for Milwaukee. Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Kuzma scored 14 and Myles Turner 12.
What it means
Both teams had opened the season with a loss on Wednesday. Chicago fell 135-92 at Toronto, a 43-point margin, while Milwaukee lost in Washington. The Bulls' response was a road win in which they trailed by double figures; the Bucks are now 0-2.
WTMJ reported that the game was played four hours earlier than originally scheduled because the Brewers hosted Game 1 of the World Series in Milwaukee that night. Before tip-off there was a moment of silence for Don Nelson, the Bucks' winningest coach, who died Aug. 9 at age 86, and a video tribute was shown at halftime. Milwaukee next plays at Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Torch Newsroom. Sources: Field Level Media, WTMJ.