MILWAUKEE -- It wasn't just a game on the line Sunday evening for the Chicago Bulls; their postseason hopes were hanging in the balance, too.

Fortunately for the Bulls, Jimmy Butler answered the call.

Butler hit two clutch shots in the closing minutes as the Bulls held off a furious late charge from the Milwaukee Bucks and escaped from the Bradley Center with a 102-98 victory, allowing them to at least keep pace with Indiana in the race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

"He wants the ball in his hands," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He's done a great job for us closing out games and when we get in a close, low-possession game like that, Jimmy is a guy, when the ball is in his hands, who generally makes the right play. You can see him getting more comfortable in that role."

Up by 19 in the second quarter, Chicago let its guard down in the third as Milwaukee hit 13 of 24 shots for 32 points and made it a six-point game entering the fourth.

The Bucks would inch even closer, finally getting within a point when Tyler Ennis converted a three-point play with 9:15 to play.

Both teams would go cold from there and four minutes passed before Pau Gasol found E'Twaun Moore in the lane for a cutting layup to push the Bulls' lead to three with 5:39 left.

Giannis Antetokounmpo found Miles Plumlee for an open jumper that got the Bucks back within a point but after an Ennis turnover, Butler burned him for a driving dunk then, after another Ennis turnover, Butler drove in for an easy layup and the Bulls had a five-point lead.

"Our backs are against the wall right now," said Butler, who was playing before a vocal mix of Bulls fans and those who watched him in the very same building during a standout three-year run for Marquette. "We have to win every game and play every possession like it’s the last one.

"I think we’ve been doing that extremely well and we put ourselves in great position to win games.”

Milwaukee would challenge once more, getting within two after a pair of free throws from Jabari Parker but Butler answered again, burying a 17-footer with 51.9 seconds left.

"We let them right back in it," Hoiberg said. "But we made the necessary plays down the stretch when they pulled back within a possession and Jimmy just made play after play after play."

Parker and Antetokounmpo tested the Bulls defense, combining for 58 of Milwaukee's 98 points.

Parker finished with 24 and added 11 rebounds and three assists while Antetokounmpo set a career high with 34 points to go along with five rebounds and nine assists.

"We lost, obviously, but it's a big step for our team because we didn't stop fighting," Antetokounmpo said. "We didn't stop fighting. It was playing hard until we got back into the game."

Antetokounmpo got Milwaukee off to a good start scoring 16 points off 7-of-10 shooting in the first quarter. But the Bucks went ice cold from there, hitting just 7 of 21 shots in the second quarter while giving up nine points on six turnovers.

"We had a lot of good looks," Kidd said. "They capitalized and made shots when they had to."

Nikola Mirotic helped Chicago's cause with 19 points off the bench, including three 3-pointers. The Bulls also got 16 from Gasol, who also grabbed eight rebounds with eight assists.

NOTES: Bucks G Jerryd Bayless missed his second straight game because of a hyperextended right knee while G Khris Middleton was a late scratch with a strained left thigh. Damien Inglis started in place of Middleton while Rashad Vaughn made his second straight start in place of Bayless. ... Chicago PG Derek Rose worked out before the game but was inactive against the Bucks and missed his second consecutive game because of a bruised left elbow. The Bulls were also without F Taj Gibson, who missed a third straight game with a fractured rib. ... The Bulls came into the game still fighting for a playoff spot. At an even 38-38, they began the day ninth in the East, two games behind eighth-seeded Indiana, which was facing the Knicks in New York on Sunday night. Both teams have five games remaining after Sunday. ... Chicago clinched the season series with Milwaukee, taking three of four meetings.