CHICAGO (670 The Score) – The Bulls thought they understood the force the Bucks would respond with in Game 3 of their first-round series Friday.
They didn't.
Reminding everyone they're still the reigning champions, the Bucks embarrassed the Bulls on national television and in front of their home fans, rolling to a 111-81 win at the United Center to take a 2-1 series lead after Chicago had earned a hard-fought win in Game 2. The 30-point loss was the worst the Bulls had ever suffered in a home playoff game, according to NBC Sports Chicago.
The game was a laugher more or less from the start, with the Bucks racing out to a nine-point lead just more than four minutes in, leading by 16 at the end of the first quarter and eventually by as many as 37.
"They responded the way they should've," Bulls star DeMar DeRozan said. "Give them credit. We didn't come out and compete the way we should've, and that's a lesson on us. There are no excuses. We've got to go out there and compete better. We can't let our missed shots dictate us offensively. But give them credit. They did what they were supposed to do."
The Bucks stifled the Bulls' winning formula from Game 2, which largely revolved around DeRozan's heroics in scoring 41 points. The Bucks gave DeRozan extra attention, sending a help defender at him more often and also forcing he and fellow Chicago star Zach LaVine to their left often. While that wasn't a tactic that was new to the Bulls, they didn't adjust well or quickly.
For the Bulls, nothing came easy. They had just five fast-break points. They got to the free-throw line just 10 times. They only had 14 points in the paint on 7-of-19 shooting in the first three quarters as the Bucks walled off the rim. Most significantly, DeRozan was held to 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Chicago shot just 39.3% overall and was 9-of-34 (26.5%) on 3-pointers as no one else stepped up when DeRozan got the ball out of his hands at the first sign of extra attention.
"Without question, they were the aggressor tonight," Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
"I thought we lost our way when we had a hard time scoring and making shots."
Perhaps most disappointing for the Bulls was their lack of tenacity.
"We didn't have that same competitiveness, I didn't think, that we had the first two games in Milwaukee," LaVine said. "We took a punch the first game when we went down (9-0). We responded right away. We didn't respond the right way. So we need to look at the film and figure out how we can do a better job of matching force with force."
Despite the nightmarish outcome, DeRozan kept an even-keeled attitude as Game 4 awaits Sunday at noon at the United Center.
"A loss is a loss, whether it was one or it was 30," he said. "A loss was a loss. With that, we got to come back regardless. Whether we lost by 30 or we lost by one point, we got to come back and compete and protect our home floor and tie this thing up. So regardless, a loss is a loss. I would've felt the same way. Now, we got an opportunity to tie this thing up Sunday on our home court, and that's what we're going to go out there and do."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
