Chicago trailed by 15 in Milwaukee, then took the game in the second quarter and again in the final 76 seconds to win 132-125. The Bulls are 1-1, eighth in the East and half a game behind sixth.
Same start as Toronto. For 12 minutes it looked like the 135-92 loss in Toronto all over again. Milwaukee won the opening period 32-17 and Tiago Splitter called timeout down 16-6 before the eight-minute mark. The Bucks pushed the lead to 15. A team with less fight folds there. This one didn't.
Sixteen straight. Down 51-39 with 5:44 left in the half, the Bulls scored the next 16 points and led 55-51 at 2:38, which forced a Milwaukee timeout. A 44-point second quarter cut the halftime gap to 62-61. From there it was a fistfight: 10 lead changes, six ties, and the Bulls never led by more than eight.
Seventy-six seconds. Milwaukee went on an 8-0 run that turned 118-113 into a 121-118 Bucks lead. Down 123-122 at 1:16, Chicago closed on eight straight. Caleb Wilson picked off a Tyler Herro pass with 15 seconds left and the Bulls up five, and Tre Jones hit four free throws in the last nine seconds. Herro scored 34, 13 of them in the fourth.
Tre Jones: A. Best plus-minus on the floor at +24 in 24 minutes off the bench. He had 11 points, eight assists and no turnovers, went 5-of-5 at the line, and was out there at the horn. Steady with the ball when the game got loose, and that's his job.
Caleb Wilson: B-plus. The rookie had 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, six rebounds and two blocks, and his seven fourth-quarter points led the team. He also made the steal that ended it. Three turnovers and a -3 in 33 minutes keep him off the top line, but he wanted the ball late and took care of it.
Norman Powell: C-plus. He led the team with 25, but it took 20 shots and he went 2-of-12 from deep. What kept the line respectable was 9-of-9 at the stripe, plus six points in the fourth. Finished -1 in 33 minutes. A volume night that still got there.
Bench carried, starters bled. Reserves scored 59. Leonard Miller had 19 on 7-of-11, Buddy Hield hit 5-of-6 for 13 in 15 minutes, and Noa Essengue was +14 in 17 minutes. Jalen Smith added 13 rebounds and three steals. Josh Giddey was -15 in 25 minutes, the worst on the team, and Matas Buzelis was -10.
How did the Bulls come back to beat the Bucks?
They trailed by as many as 15, used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to take the lead, and closed the game on an 8-0 run after falling behind 123-122 with 1:16 left.
Who led the Bulls in scoring against Milwaukee?
Norman Powell scored 25 on 7-of-20 shooting. Caleb Wilson added 21 and Leonard Miller had 19 off the bench.
