Milwaukee Bucks Drop Preseason Game

MILWAUKEE—Larry Sanders scored a team high 14 points for Milwaukee, but it was not enough as the Bucks lost their preseason home opener to the Chicago Bulls 91-85 on Oct. 9.

Before the game, Milwaukee’s first -year head coach, Jason Kidd, talked about how the team can compete even with one of the league’s youngest rosters. Jabari Parker, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, scored 11 points in his first game at the Bradley Center.  Kidd told reporters his expectations for the 19-year-old and what he can do for a team trying to re-establish its roots in the NBA.

“He’s doing a great job. We are throwing a lot of stuff at him,” said Kidd. “We are asking him to be a play-maker on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Again we are talking about a kid who is 19 -years -old who is working extremely hard on his craft.”

Kidd did not address the media after the loss as he is not required to do so after a preseason game. The Milwaukee Bucks record sits at 1-2 after the home loss.

Chicago started the game on a 10-0 run forcing a young Bucks team to play from behind early. Rookie guard Doug McDermott led the Bulls on the early run with two 3-pointers.

After going scoreless for three minutes, the Bucks finally scored when Jabari Parker hit a jumper over Jimmy Butler. After the slow start, Milwaukee looked toward its bench to close the gap on the Bulls. The bench came into the game mid-way through the first quarter down 20-8. By the end of the quarter the bench cut the Bulls lead down to four, as Chicago led 24-20.

Milwaukee came the closest all night to taking the lead during the second-quarter, with the score at 34-35. The Bucks never were able to take the lead as Chicago pulled away after a 9-0 run going into the half which gave the Bulls a 51-41 lead.

Pau Gasol led all scorers with 20 points, and Jimmy Butler added 18 for the Bulls. Chicago’s star point-guard, Derrick Rose, had 16 points and four assists in 23 minutes for Chicago. The Bucks knew the challenge they faced in Chicago as they go into the season with a healthy Derrick Rose and were able to add a former all-star forward, Pau Gasol. NBA title hopes are high in Chicago this year, and Kidd knows what a healthy Derrick Rose can do for a team that has already succeeded without him in the past.

“We’re talking about a guy who has played at a high-level and former MVP. He is a smart player,” said Kidd.

Milwaukee was still able to keep pace with a talented Chicago team throughout the night. Jared Dudley cut the lead to single digits early in the third-quarter, but the Bulls never let Milwaukee come within five points in the second half.

Another 19-year-old star for the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo, finally showed life after a third-quarter dunk that gave him his first points of the game. Giannis finished the night strong ending with 11 points on 5-8 shooting in 27 minutes.

Milwaukee out-scored the Bulls 24-17 in the fourth-quarter but Chicago never fell behind the entire night. Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler were able to take over in the fourth and the Bulls duo scored 15 of the teams 17 points in the final 12 minutes leading the Bulls to a 91-85 victory.

The Bucks ended the game shooting 35 percent from the floor compared with 42 percent for Chicago. Milwaukee dropped to 1-2 this preseason but received some credit after the game from Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau.

“Very, very talented,” said Thibodeau about the Bucks. “Their young guys will learn and grow and I think they have a very bright future.”

Larry Sanders and ZaZa Pachulia put together productive outings for Milwaukee as they scored 14 and 12 points respectively. Pachulia added 11 rebounds while Sanders had 8. Ersan Ilyasova played in his first preseason action after sitting out the first three games with the flu. Ilyasova showed some rust and finished the game shooting 4-20 from the field.

The come-back attempt came up short, but players on Milwaukee were pleased at the outcome of the game against a Chicago team that has been in the playoffs for six consecutive years. After the loss Jabari Parker talked in the locker room about how his team matched-up against the Bulls defense.

“Collectively we did good,” said Parker. “We are just learning a little bit more, especially us. We had our younger guys in and I think they mostly had their veterans in at the end of the stretch.”