The Chicago Bulls entered Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks riding high. With the series level 1-1, Khris Middleton sidelined until early May and home court advantage in hand, there was an opportunity to jump into the driver’s seat against the defending champs.
Two games later, consider that opportunity squandered. The Bucks jumped ahead 3-1 in the series on the back of 30- and 24-point victories at the United Center, setting up a do-or-die Game 5 in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Here are five observations from the latest defeat, which came by a score of 119-95 on Sunday afternoon:
Grayson Allen game (again)
No Bucks player is better embodying the “next man up” mentality in the absence of Middleton than Grayson Allen.
Allen, who faces vociferous boos during every trip to the United Center, followed up a playoff career-high 22 points in Game 3 by one-upping himself with 27 points and 3 steals in Game 4. That included a 6-for-7 line from 3-point range and a few crowd-silencers as the Bulls attempted a run in the third quarter.
"We gotta rotate a little bit better," Billy Donovan said of Allen's long-range shooting. "I thought there was some situations we could have closed harder to him."
NBA
Worse yet, it was a performance that once again highlighted the Bulls’ lack of depth. Besides back-to-back 3-pointers by Ayo Dosunmu that threatened the Bucks’ lead in the third quarter, the reserves were quiet, committing as many turnovers (7) as they made field goals as a group.
With a 39-17 advantage in Game 4, the Bucks now lead the Bulls 110-67 in bench scoring for the series. They’ve scored 86 of those points in the last two games.
Dissipating depth
If the Bulls’ rotation wasn’t thin enough already, Alex Caruso left this game in the second quarter with a face injury and, according to the team, is being evaluated for a possible concussion.
Dosunmu started the second half in his place and performed well, considering he’s been on the fringe of the rotation for the majority of the series. But with Coby White once again struggling — to the tune of 2 points on 1-for-5 shooting — a guard room that was once a marked strength is now a weakness.
In fact, a woeful first stint for White may have relegated him from Billy Donovan’s rotation entirely before the Caruso injury. White committed two turnovers and missed a 3-pointer in a three-minute first-quarter stint, was pulled for Dosunmu, and didn’t return until Caruso had exited.
Sharp shooting
The Bucks shot 32.4 percent from 3-point range in Games 1 and 2 of this series, but caught a spark in the Chicago contests. Milwaukee followed a 15-for-41 (36.6 percent) performance in Game 3 by shooting a scalding 17-for-33 (51.5 percent) from long range in Game 4.
This positive regression should have been expected. The Bucks ranked fifth in the NBA in both 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage during the regular season, and even while shooting below their standard early in the series, were generating open looks. That trend continued on Sunday, especially off of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday’s touches, which typically draw multiple defenders. Each of them slung 7 assists.
The Bulls, meanwhile, have failed to make double-digit 3-pointers in three of four games this series despite averaging 33 attempts. Their 9-for-36 line in Game 4 drops them to 28 percent from beyond the arc for the series.
Super size
That’s a problem because the 3-point shot is about the only thing the Bucks' paint-packing defense concedes.
Starting a monstrous frontcourt of Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez, Milwaukee again inhibited the Bulls’ ability to puncture the interior, holding them to 32 points in the paint and 13-for-24 shooting at the rim. DeMar DeRozan, specifically, was crowded all game in the in-between area.
"They definitely pack the paint, show length, try and take a lot of my space away," DeRozan said. "They locked in defensively, all five guys, whenever we do something. Not just myself, Zach (LaVine) as well. Just trying to make it tougher on us. Take away our easy shots, where we like to get to our spots. The length, you definitely see it there, but we just gotta keep being aggressive."
At the other end, Portis (14 points) and Antetokounmpo (32 points, 12 free-throw attempts) consistently played over the top of smaller Bulls defenders in the post and on drives. And for the fourth game in a row, the Bucks won the rebounding battle by a convincing margin.
Talent gap
By stealing a game in Milwaukee, the Bulls teased a more competitive series than many expected. But in two blowouts in Chicago, the Bucks reasserted their dominance.
In this one, Antetokounmpo posted a ho-hum 32 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists. Holiday hit stabilizing bucket after stabilizing bucket en route to 26 points (5-for-8 from 3-point range). Portis continued to step up in Middleton’s absence, posting his second consecutive double-double.
Meanwhile, Zach LaVine followed a scorching 12-point first quarter with 8 the remainder of the game. DeRozan notched 23 but failed to find the type of consistent flow he rode in Game 2. Nikola Vučević went scoreless in the second half. The bench disparity was what it was.
Ultimately, it’s a case of the superior team revealing itself — even without a piece of their “Big Three.”
"I felt, even on the bench tonight, the frustration from our guys. I think they were really working hard," Donovan said. "I think that their physicality and the level of want-to and try was really there. There were times where I think we gave really, really good effort, and they (Milwaukee) still scored. I think there were times we moved the ball and generated pretty good looks for each other and the ball didn't go in the basket."
Next up for the Bulls: A win-or-go-home Game 5 in Milwaukee on Wednesday.