DeMar DeRozan lied on the floor, held his midsection in pain and grimaced.
The happiest grimace there could be.
After two Bulls offensive rebounds, DeRozan drove straight through the paint, absorbed a mid-air collision with the powerful Giannis Antetokounmpo and twisted in a layup to cap a 38-second possession with 18 seconds left. DeRozan fell to the floor and almost seemed to enjoy getting a moment to lie down and catch his breath. Even if he hurt.
DeRozan scored 41 points to lead the Bulls to a 114-110 win over the Bucks in Game 2 of their first-round series Tuesday.
Tied 1-1, Milwaukee is still heavily favored to advance. The established difference between these teams is too great to be overly swayed by a two-game sample. But Chicago has made the series more interesting entering Game 3 Thursday.
Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 20 points.
Antetokounmpo (33 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and a steal) did his part. His aggressiveness created many of the Bucks’ successes.
But this was far too incomplete of an effort from Milwaukee. Compounding problems, Khris Middleton (left knee soreness) and Bobby Portis (right eye abrasion) left the game early.