Taking out the Bulls at the United Center last night, the Bucks salvaged the second half of their back-to-back with their second road win in three games—no small feat for this year’s squad. Milwaukee has
defeated Chicago in both of their matchups so far. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
25 minutes, 29 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block, 10/15 FG, 1/3 3P, 8/10 FT, +13
Watching him get cooking in the second quarter was a sight for sore eyes. It didn’t matter how many defenders Chicago threw at him—he got to the rim. In a four-possession stretch encompassing 1:27 of game time, he had four dunks. And to top it off, he was great at the line.
Grade: A+
Myles Turner
27 minutes, 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4/9 FG, 2/5 3P, 3/4 FT, +11
Though he didn’t register a block, he was pretty stout inside, and his minutes largely mirrored Giannis’. Chicago shot just 20/35 in the restricted area, and most of that had to do with him. Both of his threes came early in the third quarter, but were difference makers: each raised the Bucks’ win probability by 4–6%.
Grade: B+
Kevin Porter Jr.
39 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 turnovers, 4 steals, 3/10 FG, 0/3 3P, 2/2 FT, +8
Another rough shooting night, but he was all over the passing lanes: three of his steals came in the second quarter and helped key the Bucks to their biggest lead of the night. At just 7/25 from the field in the last two games, I do wish he’d take fewer trips on the Tough Shot Express, but he’s finding his teammates in the right places so that makes up for it somewhat.
Grade: B
AJ Green
28 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2/9 FG, 2/8 3P, +14
Also not a banner night from the field, but I thought Green got better defensively as the game went on. Nice to see after he really struggled on that end in Memphis the other night. His second triple with just under three minutes left might have sealed the W.
Grade: B–
Ryan Rollins
35 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover, 2 steals, 4 fouls, 7/12 FG, 5/9 3P, -2
The plus-minus gets this one wrong. A sublime second half for Rylo: his consecutive threes on either side of the five-minute mark of the fourth decisively swung the momentum back towards the Bucks after the Bulls cut it to one. Not to be outdone, he snagged two critical offensive boards in the last four minutes; the first may have been just as big as one of the treys. These are veteran plays. Big-time plays. Winning plays. To top it off, he did the lion’s share of work on Josh Giddey, teaming with KPJ to hold the Aussie to 13 points on 4/10 shooting. THIS IS WHY YOU START HIM.
Grade: A+
Kyle Kuzma
23 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 4/10 FG, 0/2 3P, 4/4 FT, –2
When Giannis sat, Kuz was generally taking charge of the offense in the first half, even bringing the ball up a bit. He managed to be a steadying presence in those minutes. But like against the Grizzlies, he ends up on the floor way too much after attacking the rim, looking for fouls. It just didn’t burn them last night.
Grade: B
Bobby Portis
24 minutes, 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 7/16 FG, 2/3 3P, -9
Pretty aggressive in looking for his own shot and very strong on the boards (four of the offensive variety). Rim protection wasn’t half bad either, and he too found his way into the passing lanes. The plus-minus kind of misses here too; I thought he helped more than he hurt.
Grade: B
Jericho Sims
17 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2/2 FG, +4
KPJ found him for lobs a couple times, and he was no small part of the rim protection success. Just needs to control the ball a bit better inside and not take as many—or any—dribbles.
Grade: B-
Gary Harris
22 minutes, 3 points, 1 steal, 1/3 FG, 1/3 3P, x/x FT, +10
Nothing really stood out positively, but definitely nothing stood out negatively either. He guarded up pretty well on the larger Bulls’ wings like Kevin Huerter.
Grade: B-
Doc Rivers
Before the game, Doc talked about why Rollins had been playing comparatively less in recent weeks:
“I split him and Scoot up. I like him and Scoot together when Giannis plays. But when Giannis doesn’t play, I don’t like him and Scoot together. We need that separation, and so starting Scoot means Rollins off the bench.”
Well, this certainly proved as much, though I don’t see why they couldn’t have been staggered, or still getting 30+ minutes for Rollins even as Porter continues playing 38–39 every night. Otherwise, good timeout, challenge usages, and the rotations worked well enough even with Giannis on a minute restriction.
Grade: B+
DNP-CD: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cole Anthony, Amir Coffey, Andre Jackson Jr., Pete Nance
Inactive: Alex Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince, Mark Sears, Gary Trent Jr.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Rollins hit the deck hard on defense late in the second, limped a few times down the court before a stoppage allowed him to sub out. The replay showed knee-to-knee contact; he didn’t head to the locker room until half, though, with a brace on his left knee. But he came out for the second half and shedded the brace, saying post-game that it was only a bruise.
- This wasn’t a terrible rebounding game for Milwaukee (52-47), and while Chicago had a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass, they doubled them up 6-3 in the fourth quarter. Portis and Rollins had four of them. Definitely a reason the Bucks held on.
- Giannis threw down a windmill with two seconds left, and the Bulls (and their fans) took exception to what one could say is poor sportsmanship, resulting in a postgame skirmish. Here’s why Giannis said he did it:
“What, we’re 11th in the East?… 12th? Just gotta keep finding our identity. And if that is to get a little bit scrappy at the end, so be it. Like, we’re not the champs. Why should we play the clock out and have respect and fair play?We’re fighting for our lives right now. This is real talk. I’ve been [in the league] 13 years; if we keep losing, brother, probably half of the team’s not gonna be here. I really don’t care. At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy, and help my team win. And if that’s what has to happen for them—everybody—to wake up and understand we’re fighting for our lives and we gotta get our hands dirty, so be it.”
- Doc excused it too, saying that while Giannis should have dribbled it out, he’s just “happy to be back.”
- It seems unlikely much will come of the “fight” as far as punishment. Coby White and Nikola Vucevic got in Giannis’ face about it, then Portis barreled in as he’s wont to do, but no one swung or made much physical contact. Postgame, Doc called it a “2026 fight” and “far from the Malice at the Palace.” But it will juice up a rivalry that’s never been very bitter (at least on the court) between these two franchises, so that’s fun.
Up Next
Milwaukee will try once again to win consecutive games for the first time since October as they head to Charlotte on Monday. Tip vs. the Hornets is 6 p.m. Central on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
