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SF Luol Deng drops 21 points in in his return as the Chicago Bulls resumed their rivalry with the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, this time handing the Bucks a substantial loss.
The Chicago Bulls have jumped to an early lead against the Milwaukee Bucks, who will be looking for a much stronger half from Brandon Jennings.
Derrick Rose (18 points), Luol Deng (13 pts), Joakim Noah (13 pts) and Kyle Korver (15 pts) have all crossed into double-digit points will a half remaining. The team as a whole has dominated from the three-point mark, dropping 9 of 16 for a .563 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. The impressive effort gave the Bulls a 14 point advantage in the first quarter, leading to a 67-43 lead at halftime.
Meanwhile, the top Bucks talent, PG Brandon Jennings, is still looking for his first points of the game, having only 4 assists to his credit through 10 minutes of play.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of this matchup, head over to Blog a Bull and Brew Hoop. For more from around the NBA, check out SB Nation's NBA news hub.
The Chicago Bulls pretty much expect Derrick Rose to win his head-to-head matchup at point guard, but the Milwaukee Bucks are starting to hope Brandon Jennings can do the same, and especially on the bigger stages. The Central Division rivalry between the Bulls and Bucks continues on Saturday night in Milwaukee, and although the contests always seem to be tight, Chicago has won five consecutive games in the matchup.
After dropping a tough road game to the Philadelphia 76ers back on Wednesday 98-82, Derrick Rose and the Bulls responded with a well-deserved win against the Knicks in front of a national TV audience. Rose has now scored 30+ points in four of the last five games, including his 34-point performance in a win over the Bucks last Friday.
As for Brandon Jennings and Milwaukee, they are still under .500 but have saved their best performances for top teams -- with wins over the Spurs, Heat (2x) and Lakers, but losses to the Bobcats and Pistons mixed in. Jennings has been the catalyst in wins, averaging 23.7 points on 43.5 percent shooting and 5.9 assists over his last ten games, highlighted by a 31-point game (with 7 made threes) in a win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday. Even so, the Bucks still managed to lose to the lowly Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
Luol Deng will be a game-time decision (torn ligament in left wrist), and the Bulls defense has been noticeable less impactful with their starting SF on the sidelines. Chicago's first-round pick, Jimmy Butler, filled in for Deng admirably as a wing defender in crunch time against the Knicks, and he returns to Milwaukee -- where he played college basketball at Marquette -- for the first time on Saturday night.
Here is some basic information to help you find the game:
Game day/time: 7:30 PM CT, Saturday, February 4, 2012
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
TV: WGN, FSN-WI
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of this matchup, head over to Blog a Bull and Brew Hoop. For more from around the NBA, check out SB Nation's NBA news hub.
Bulls Vs. Bucks Recap: Big First Half Leads To 113-90 Bulls Win
The Chicago Bulls (20-6) could do no wrong on offense against the Milwaukee Bucks (10-13). The Bucks entered the game on a impressive three-game winning streak, but looked lost against a hot-shooting Bulls team.
Chicago jumped ahead early, carrying a 17-point lead to the end of the first quarter. They quickly parlayed that early advantage into a 67-43 lead at halftime, but afterwards found themselves unable to fully pull away as the Bucks drew nearly even in the second half. Nonetheless, the Bulls found themselves comfortably ahead, content to shoot for threes and dish out fouls.
The story of the game took place beyond the three-point arc for both teams. While the Bulls shot an impressive 14 for 30 (.467), the Bucks could not find a rhythm, hitting only 1 of their 12 attempts (.083).
The Bulls were also heavily buoyed by the return of SF Luol Deng, who landed 21 points, snatched 9 rebounds and played a team-leading 41 minutes in his first game back. The South Sudanese dynamo was recently diagnosed with a torn wrist ligament, but has elected to play through the pain.
PG Derrick Rose had another excellent game, scoring 26 points while dishing out 13 assists and collecting 7 rebounds. He and Joakim Noah (14 pts), C.J. Watson (13 pts) and the three-happy Kyle Korver (18 pts) all hit double digits in points.
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage of this matchup, head over to Blog a Bull and Brew Hoop. For more from around the NBA, check out SB Nation's NBA news hub.
Feb 04 10:10p by Bradley Woodrum