After losing each of their 11 February games and matching the third-longest skid in club history, the Chicago Bulls await the fresh start of a new month.
To make their March merrier, the Bulls will aim to improve their poise and execution late in games, beginning with Sunday’s visit from the Milwaukee Bucks.
“It’s the winning-play stuff,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “The missed blockouts, the turnovers. It’s fouling when there is no need because you are reaching in and somewhat undisciplined. … We have tried to work hard on that, the winning-play stuff. We’ve got to be able to compete better when the adversity hits.”
Milwaukee can sweep the four-game season series with a victory. The Bucks are 7-3 in the past 10 games against their Central Division rival, including a 131-115 home victory against the Bulls on Feb. 3.
Kyle Kuzma (31 points, 10 rebounds) and Ryan Rollins (21 points, 10 assists) both registered double-doubles for the Bucks. Matas Buzelis led Chicago with 22 points.
A jaunt to nearby Chicago marks a rare appearance away from Fiserv Forum for Milwaukee. The Bucks concluded a 2-2 homestand with a 127-98 loss Friday to the New York Knicks and will play five straight at home after Sunday.
Milwaukee is fighting for the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference and the final spot in the East play-in tournament. Still without star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has missed the last 14 games with a right calf strain, the Bucks produced five double-figure scorers against the Knicks but shot 42.9% while committing 16 turnovers.
“We just got to execute our sets,” said Rollins, who accounted for five of those turnovers. “And when we don’t have fast-break opportunities, still find ways to penetrate and get the ball in the middle and create offense from there.”
Myles Turner led the Bucks with 19 points while Kevin Porter Jr. had 11 points and 10 assists.
“Where we’re at right now, we can’t harp on anything. Even our wins, we got to get to the next game,” Rollins said. “Each game is its own battle, so we got to flush this. We got a great opportunity Sunday.”
Only four losses during the Bulls’ 11-game slide have not come by double digits, including Thursday’s 121-112 home loss to Portland.
After drawing within 108-105 on a Leonard Miller dunk with 3:37 to play, Chicago was outscored 13-7 the rest of the way.
Buzelis scored 20 points to pace the Bulls and has been the team’s top scorer in the past three games, taking increased responsibility after Chicago’s flurry of activity at the trade deadline.
Josh Giddey scored 15 points, finishing in double figures for just the second time in five games since returning from a hamstring injury on Feb. 19.
Giddey has averaged 14.8 points, 9 rebounds and 7.8 assists in his past five games against the Bucks, but he missed the Feb. 3 game due to injury.
Chicago has not lost four straight to Milwaukee since the 2021-22 season.
–Field Level Media
