Bulls top Bucks 116-111 in Damian Lillard’s return to lineup

On December 29, 2024By Littum

CHICAGO – Even with all-star point guard Damian Lillard returning to the lineup from an illness, the Milwaukee Bucks were unable to bounce back from a disappointing loss Thursday night as they fell to the struggling Chicago Bulls, 116-111 , at the United Center on Saturday night.

Chicago scored 33 points in the decisive fourth quarter and held Milwaukee to just five points over the final 3 minutes, 40 seconds of the game, outscoring the Bucks 14-2 in that period. Milwaukee fell to 16-14, while Chicago improved to 14-18.

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Lillard scored 11 straight points early in the fourth to give the Bucks a 99-95 lead, but he didn’t score again after that. He finished with 29 points and 12 assists.

The key play in the final moments came after Khris Middleton had given the Bucks a 108-106 lead with 90 seconds left when Bulls guard Coby White drove into the middle of the court and was nearly tied by three different Bucks. But White somehow dug the ball out and kicked it to a wide-open Josh Giddey in the corner, who hit the three-pointer for a 109-108 lead. The inability to get one last stop was indicative of the Bucks’ problems all night, as the Bulls led by as many as 13 points on a couple of occasions.

With the Bucks looking to tie the game at 111-111 with 43 seconds left, White hit an open pull-up jumper from 18 feet to effectively clinch it. Giddey finished with a triple-double with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, while White had 22 points. Nikola Vučević added 23 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bucks just beat the Bulls at home, 112-91, on December 23rd. This will be the fourth and final regular season game between the teams. Chicago (13-18) has lost three in a row and five of eight. Milwaukee (16-13) has won five of its last eight.

Lopez had 22 points and Middleton added 21 points in 28 minutes, a season-high workload. Bobby Portis Jr. had 14 points.

Damian Lillard returns to play against the Bulls

The All-Star point guard began the day questionable to play with the ailment that has been making the rounds in the locker room for most of December — but Lillard said at shootaround Saturday morning that he’d like to give it a shot. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers then said pregame that Lillard will play and will not have a minutes restriction.

“It’s just watching (him),” Rivers said before the game. “I don’t know what this thing is going on, but a lot of people have had it. Everyone has different views on it, but the one group that had the chest seems to be more difficult, because as far as we know Breathing is really important in this game. He looked good (Friday).

Lillard played nearly 36 minutes, and after perhaps a predictably sluggish start, caught fire late.

Playing the final 10 minutes, 20 seconds of the fourth quarter, Lillard scored 11 in the frame and finished with 29 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including a 3-for-9 mark from behind the three-point line. He also dished out 12 assists and pulled down six rebounds.

The Bucks had gone 2-2 without Lillard in the lineup over the past week.

“A couple of days ago I tried to work out – the night before the Brooklyn game (Dec. 26) – because I wanted to play against Brooklyn, but I mean, the whole time I was working out, it just kept making me cough, coughing up (expletive),” he said during the shootout. “I got through the training but I couldn’t breathe well.

“So, the last couple of days, that’s all I’ve been doing. I’ve just been trying to figure things out and it’s still been like having me super-confused, but I mean, I think at some point, you just have to get out there and burn it out, so at least that’s what my plan is.”

Lillard acknowledged that he lost a few pounds because he didn’t eat for a few days and stayed hydrated. He also said he was sweating profusely when he recovered. It was anything but just sitting at home and resting.

“I wish it was,” he said. “I’ll tell you. I just told them earlier like I’ve never been this sick before in my entire life. Like I’ve never been this sick before in my entire life. I didn’t throw up, nothing I just ate not for two days, I didn’t get up, it was bad.

Lillard hasn’t played a regular season game since Dec. 14, when the Bucks beat Atlanta in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas, and it was in that game when he aggravated his right calf muscle. He played on it—and tweaked the muscles again—in the NBA Cup Finals against Oklahoma City on Dec. 17.

He was then immediately ruled out for the Bucks’ next two regular season games with a calf strain on the 20th-21st. December. While he admitted in Las Vegas that anytime he suffers a calf injury there can be some concern (he strained his calf in 2022 in Portland and strained his right Achilles last playoff), he said this wasn’t that bad, and he is recovered from it.

“It wasn’t; it was a mild strain to begin with,” Lillard said. “I did it against Atlanta in Vegas. It happened against Atlanta. I just tweaked it in the championship game where it was like I was going to miss; depending on when our next one is and how I feel like I’m going to to miss it and the one after that. But we figured it out.

“We had been on top of it straight away, so even when I tried to get back on the court it was like a little bit tight because I hadn’t moved, but it was okay. I had no problems.”

Lillard missed three previous games with a concussion from 12-16. November.

Third time’s a charm for Lillard, who makes mistakes

Lillard hasn’t gotten to the free throw line as often this year as he hasn’t benefited from follow-up calls on his shots, leading to frustration from the Top 75 player. He handled it quite a bit on Saturday, too, until he finally got a whistle for his fourth-quarter effort — it took just three tries.

At the 9:55 mark, he went up for a three-pointer and was fouled by Dalen Terry, but it was ruled on the ground. At 9:02 he did the same to Josh Giddey and again it was ruled to the floor. Finally, at 8:57, he went up over Torrey Craig and made the three free throws.

Lillard made all three from the charity stripe, which started a personal 11-0 run that included two more trips to the free throw line, which turned a 95-88 Bulls lead into a 99-95 Bucks lead.

Khris Middleton has an injury scare in the second quarter

Khris Middleton had a scary moment late in the second quarter when he landed on Lonzo Ball’s foot on a three-point attempt, and Middleton yelled and immediately rolled over and hit the court after crumpling to the ground. Middleton had surgery on both of his ankles this offseason after landing on opponent’s feet at two different points last season.

Middleton gingerly got up and made the free throw after the play was ruled a flagrant 1 on Ball for crowding Middleton’s landing area. Middleton didn’t appear to need any medical attention on the bench, but he sat out the final 62 seconds of the quarter.

As unlucky as the play was, Middleton’s four-point play and ensuing possession (a Damian Lillard layup) helped the Bucks cut a 9-point deficit to three.

Chicago led 62-60 at halftime after leading by as many as 13.

Middleton returned to action in the third quarter and finished the game for the Bucks, but unfortunately lost his footing with 54 seconds left, leading to a turnover and a layup for the Bulls that gave Chicago a 111-108 lead with 50.6 seconds left. He then missed an 18-footer that would have tied the game at 113 with 12.7 seconds left, leading to two Chicago free throws that went the other way.

Middleton finished with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting — with only four coming in the second half. He also had six rebounds and four assists.

5 tracks

1-11: Shooting start to the third quarter for the Bucks, who overcame it by limiting the Bulls to 21 points. That helped give Milwaukee an 86-83 lead entering the fourth quarter, matching their biggest lead of the game.
5-9: Bucks road record this season. They were 18-22 on the road last season. From 2018-23, they were one of the best road teams in the NBA, compiling a 123-74 (62.4%) record away from the Fiserv Forum.
5-4: Bucks record with Khris Middleton in the lineup this season. The Bucks were 31-24 with him on the floor last year.
56-42: Advantage in paint scoring for the Bulls over the Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
27: Play back where point guard Ryan Rollins could be active after Saturday’s game. The Bucks have 52 games left in the regular season. Rollins is currently a two-way player, and players signed to those deals can only be active for 50 games in a season — but head coach Doc Rivers said there’s a chance the team makes a roster move for to fully guarantee Rollins’ deal for the rest of the season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out with illness

The Bucks’ MVP candidate has been out of action since Dec. 20, first with back spasms (Dec. 21-23) and then with illness (Dec. 26-28). He began the day as questionable to play with that illness, but he was not seen for the afternoon shootaround. Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo traveled to Chicago initially but was sent home when he was ruled out when the team arrived at the United Center.

What is the Bucks’ record without Giannis?

3-3

Buck’s injury report

AJ Johnson, out (non-COVID illness)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (non-COVID illness)
Damian Lillard, questionable (non-COVID illness)
Andre Jackson Jr., probable (right ankle sprain)
Khris Middleton, probable (offseason surgery on both ankles)

Bucks starters

Guards: Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr.
Forwards: Bobby Portis Jr., Khris Middleton
Center: Brook Lopez

Bucks vs. Bulls odds, over/under

Milwaukee is a 3.5 point favorite over Chicago and the over/under for the game is 230.5 points per game. BetMGM.

What channel is Bucks on?

The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Steve Novak and Melanie Ricks on the call.