Milwaukee falls to hot-shooting Bulls in home opener
In their 2024-25 home opener, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Chicago Bulls, 133-122.
Damian Lillard continued the momentum out of the gates that he ignited in the season opener against Philadelphia. In the opening frame, he tallied 13 points, going 2-of-4 from deep. Zach LaVine chipped in with 11 of his own for the Bulls, but Milwaukee was able to squeak out a 32-30 lead going into the second quarter.
Chicago wouldn’t go away in the second quarter. Coby White was feeling it from downtown, hitting several threes in the opening half en route to 17 points. Zach LaVine also matched that output, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo. At halftime, the Bucks clung to a small 64-63 lead.
The third quarter Bucks showed up to start the third quarter. Chicago strung together some baskets and in the blink of an eye, flipped the script to put themselves in front. Milwaukee’s defense couldn’t gather a stop, resulting in the Bulls flirting with a double-digit advantage. They’d actually break it past that margin at one point, but the Bucks sliced it to 102-95 going into the fourth. Coby White was an absolute menace, totaling 29 points through several quarters.
Milwaukee was unable to drum up anything to prevent the hot-shooting Bulls to begin the fourth. Coby White continued to do his thing and so did the rest of Chicago. It shaped out to be the same story throughout the fourth, as the Bucks were unable to combine stops with points. The Bulls would hold them off and escape town with a 133-122 victory.
Stat That Stood Out
Coby White was absolutely lethal for the Bulls. Milwaukee simply didn’t have an answer for him. Whenever a Bucks run was produced, White was there to stop it on the other end with a shot of his own. He was massive for Chicago in the third quarter when the Bucks were unable to develop any type of defense. A Bulls fan I know texted me that he passed Ben Gordon tonight on the all-time Bulls 3PM list. With his performance tonight, he definitely seemed to be Ben Gordon in that 2009 Boston series with his 35 point showcase.
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