Bulls-Bucks Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Feb 04 2012 12:15AM

After the Chicago Bulls were able to regroup from one of their worst losses of the season, the Eastern Conference leaders hope to continue their recent success against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bulls look to move above .500 on their nine-game road swing with a sixth consecutive victory over the Bucks on Saturday night.

One night after Chicago (19-6) put forth a lackluster effort in a 98-82 loss at Philadelphia, All-Star Derrick Rose had 32 points and 13 assists Thursday to help the Bulls hang on for a 105-102 win at New York. Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver each added 16 points as Chicago shot 52.7 percent and remained strong down the stretch to improve to 2-2 on its nine-game trip.

"I loved the resilience, the resolve, the bounce back ability," coach Tom Thibodeau told the Bulls' official website. "We've got great leadership. You can (make excuses) or find a way to win."

Rose, the team's undisputed leader, has averaged 30.6 points in his last five games. That stretch began with a 34-point effort in a 107-100 home win over Milwaukee (10-12) on Jan. 27. Rose had 30 and 17 assists in a 95-87 victory over the Bucks on March 26, the teams' last meeting at the Bradley Center.

"Every time I step on the court, they're coming at me," said Rose, who will start his second straight All-Star game later this month. "I love it where it's a challenge like that. I'm not backing away from it, and I don't want them to back away from it. It's just `be on' every night."

The Bulls, who are looking for their third straight win at Milwaukee, have held the Bucks to an average of 84.4 points on 39.6 percent shooting during their five-game winning streak in the overall series.

Though the Bucks are coming off an 88-80 loss at Detroit on Friday, they return home looking for a fourth straight win at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee has averaged 102.7 points during its three-game home winning streak that includes victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami.

For the season, the Bucks are averaging 100.3 points and shooting 46.6 percent while going 7-2 at home, compared to 89.8 per game with a field-goal percentage of 40.7 on the road where they are 3-10.

Milwaukee shot 35.1 percent against the Pistons, leaving coach Scott Skiles extremely unhappy with his team's performance against one of the East's worst teams.

"We were terrible in every aspect of the game," Skiles said. "Our effort was horrible - as bad as I've seen since I've been here - and our execution was very poor on both ends of the floor. We've played two good quarters out of the last eight. The other six have been pitiful."

Brandon Jennings had 20 points at Detroit, and is averaged 23.7 over his last 10 games. Though the third-year point guard scored 25 at Chicago last month, he's averaging 9.3 points on 28.9 percent shooting (13 of 45) in four career home games against the Bulls.

Deng scores 21 in return from injury

Posted Feb 05 2012 12:26AM

MILWAUKEE (AP) Derrick Rose knows how important Luol Deng is to the Chicago Bulls.

Rose scored 26 points and had 13 assists and Deng added 21 points in his return after missing seven games due to injury, as the Chicago Bulls easily beat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-90 Saturday night.

"He makes the game easy," Rose said of his teammate. "He makes everybody comfortable out there. It feels good when we have all our leaders out there."

Playing before a sellout Bradley Center crowd that seemed to be filled with more fans rooting for the Bulls, Deng scored on a layup from Rose just 76 seconds into the game.

The Bucks trailed by 24 at halftime and never threatened in the second half, resting all five starters in the fourth quarter.

Deng was averaging 15.9 points and 7.5 rebounds before tearing a ligament in his left wrist Jan. 21 against Charlotte. He consulted with doctors before deciding against surgery, and his initial return against the Bucks appeared promising.

"He got out there and did everything," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The veteran forward made 9 of 19 shots and had nine rebounds in 41 minutes.

"I felt it, (and) I'm going to feel it," he said of the wrist injury. "As the game goes on, I forgot about it. I really was cautious at the start of the game. As the game went on, just playing basketball, I didn't really think about it until I fell (in the fourth quarter)."

Deng iced the wrist for several minutes after the game, but said doctors told him he couldn't make the injury any more severe by playing.

Kyle Korver had 18 points, Joakim Noah had 14 points and C.J. Watson added 13 for Chicago.

The Bucks were coming off an 88-80 loss to hapless Detroit on Friday night. Coach Scott Skiles said before the game Saturday his team would get blown out in the first half against Chicago if it played just as poorly.

He was prophetic. The Bucks trailed 67-43 at halftime, allowing the Bulls to shoot 62 percent to the Bucks 36 percent in the first half. Chicago also held a 28-13 rebounding advantage in the first half.

"We've got eight straight quarters of pretty poor defense," Skiles said. "To me, the biggest stat on the sheet is we have eight fouls in a game where Derrick Rose is penetrating and penetrating and penetrating."

The Bulls scored 113 points despite only going 3 of 4 from the free throw line.

"If you had told me before the game they were only going to shoot four free throws, I would have thought it would be in our favor," Skiles said. "But it was a layup drill for them for a good portion of the game."

Leading scorer Brandon Jennings was in foul trouble for much of the game, and played 10 minutes in the first half and 22 overall. He didn't score until hitting a baseline jumper midway through the third quarter and was held to eight points.

"It just seemed like we couldn't stop them at all," Jennings said.

Drew Gooden scored a season-high 24 points. Rookie Tobias Harris was the only other Bucks player in double figures with 19 points.

Rose scored 18 in the first half with eight assists and no turnovers. Korver came off the bench to score 15 in the first half.

Watson's long baseline jumper gave the Bulls a 46-25 lead, their first lead of at least 20 points, with 5:51 left in the second quarter.

With Jennings on the bench for much of the first half, the Bucks turned to Gooden. He scored 18 points, making all 10 of his free throws, to lead the Bucks, in the first half.

NOTES: Rose said his back tightened in the second quarter, but he didn't think it would be anything serious. . The Bulls received a much louder response from the crowd than the Bucks, with their fans breaking into numerous chants throughout the game. . The 67 first-half points tied the most points scored by the Bulls in the first half this season. . Bucks G Stephen Jackson did not play due to a coach's decision for the third time in four games. . Bulls G Richard Hamilton missed his fourth consecutive game due to a groin/thigh injury.

Notebook: Bulls 113, Bucks 90

By Rick Braun, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday February 5, 2012 12:40AM

THE FACTS: Derrick Rose led a first-half blitz and finished with 26 points and 13 assists, and Luol Deng added 21 points and nine rebounds in his first game back from a wrist injury as the Chicago Bulls blasted the Milwaukee Bucks 113-90 Saturday night at the Bradley Center.

The Bulls (20-6) jumped on Milwaukee early, as Rose hit his first five shots and had 16 first-quarter points to match Milwaukee's entire team and lead the Bulls to a 30-16 lead.

Chicago reserves increased the margin to 67-43 at the half, and the Bucks never got closer than 17 in the second half.

The Bucks (10-13) suffered their second loss in two nights -- both of which they failed to shoot 40 percent.

QUOTABLE: "He was great. I can't say enough about him. He stays in great shape and he got out there and did everything."
-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on Deng, who missed the previous seven games with a torn ligament in his left wrist

THE STAT: There are so many stats that indicate the Bulls' dominance, but the most glaring was the Bulls' 14-1 edge in made 3-pointers. That translates to a 42-3 scoring edge from behind the arc. Chicago was 14-for-30, while Milwaukee was 1-for-12. Kyle Korver made four, and Deng, Rose and C.J. Watson made three each for the Bulls.

TURNING POINT: After Luc Richard Mbah a Moute gave the Bucks a 2-0 lead on the opening possession, Rose scored 13 points in a 15-2 run that gave the Bulls a 15-4 lead. They would never lead by less than seven the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "It's not the first time it's happened. We knew that's what was going to happen. Every time we play the Bulls here it's almost like an away game."
-- Mbah a Moute on the fact that three-quarters of the Milwaukee crowd was cheering for the Bulls

HOT: No one player exploded for the Bulls, but as a team they made a season-best 48 field goals in 90 attempts (53.3 percent)

NOT: Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova was 1-for-10 from the field.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Bucks center Drew Gooden had 24 points, including 10-for-10 on free throws.

INSIDE THE ARENA: While it was a home game for the Bucks, the crowd appeared to be about 3 to 1 in favor of the Bulls, whose fans took advantage of the relatively short drive north to Milwaukee.

ROOKIE WATCH: Bucks forward Tobias Harris tallied a career-high 19 points in one of the few bright spots for Milwaukee.

NOTABLE: When Rose's 16 first-quarter points matched Milwaukee's team output, that marked the second straight home game for the Bucks where an opposing player matched or bettered the Bucks entire team in the first quarter. On Wednesday, Miami's LeBron James had 24 first-quarter points to 23 for the Bucks, but Milwaukee came back in the second half to win that game. ... Point guard Brandon Jennings, the Bucks' leading scorer at 20.5 points per game, was shut out until he hit a 15-footer from the left baseline with 6:11 left in the third quarter. He finished with eight points on 4-for-10 shooting. ... The Bulls set a franchise record for fewest free throw attempts with four. The Bucks committed just eight fouls all night, offering little defensive resistance.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, Monday @ New Jersey, Wednesday @ New Orleans, Thursday @ Charlotte. For the Bucks, Tuesday vs. Phoenix, Wednesday @ Toronto, Friday @ Cleveland.

• Bulls: --
• Bucks: Bogut

• Bulls: --
• Bucks: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #34 Kevin Cutler
• Attendance: 18717
• Duration: 1:56