Giannis Antetokounmpo matched his season high of 38 points and recorded 16 rebounds and three steals to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 124-115 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Eric Bledsoe scored a season-best 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting for his fifth straight 20-point outing. Bledsoe added eight assists as Milwaukee defeated Chicago for the seventh straight time.
Wesley Matthews tallied 15 points and Brook Lopez added 13 points for the Bucks, who have won six of their past seven games. Milwaukee played its first game without All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who is expected to miss three to four weeks with a left thigh injury.
Rookie Coby White was 6-of-13 from 3-point range and scored 26 points to lead the Bulls. White has made 13 3-pointers in the past five quarters, beginning with the franchise-record seven he made in the final quarter of Tuesday's win over the New York Knicks.
Zach LaVine registered 25 points and seven assists before fouling out with 43.2 seconds left. Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting before fouling out with 9:13 remaining.
Lauri Markkanen and Thaddeus Young followed with 11 points for the Bulls, and Tomas Satoransky chipped in 10.
The Bulls pulled within 117-114 on LaVine's layup with 1:53 remaining. But Bledsoe scored back-to-back baskets and Matthews added two free throws to push the lead to nine with 1:03 left as the Bucks closed it out.
Milwaukee, which committed 22 turnovers, shot 47.7 percent from the field and was just 6 of 33 from 3-point range. The Bucks made 34 of 47 free throws, though Antetokounmpo hit just 11 of 20 attempts.
Chicago shot 40.9 percent from the floor, including 18 of 43 from behind the arc. The Bulls were 21 of 25 from the line but committed 20 turnovers.
Milwaukee controlled the interior with a 70-32 scoring edge in the paint.
The Bulls were leading 80-75 after Satoransky knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:06 left in the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo scored six points during a 13-2 burst that saw the Bucks take an 88-82 advantage with 4:05 remaining.
Bledsoe made two free throws with 48.2 seconds left as Milwaukee led 97-86 after three quarters.
Chicago pulled within 108-105 on Ryan Arcidiacono's 3-pointer with 5:44 remaining.
The Bucks stretched their lead to 114-107 when Antetokounmpo split two free throws with 3:41 remaining.
White made five 3-pointers and scored 19 first-half points as the Bulls led 66-65 at the break.
--Field Level Media
Chicago | Milwaukee | |
Coby White 26 | Scoring | Giannis Antetokounmpo 38 |
Zach LaVine 7 | Assists | Eric Bledsoe 8 |
Lauri Markkanen 8 | Rebounds | Giannis Antetokounmpo 16 |
Zach LaVine 5 | Free Throws Made | Giannis Antetokounmpo 11 |
Kris Dunn 3 | Steals | Giannis Antetokounmpo 3 |
Zach LaVine 1 | Blocks | Kyle Korver 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Chicago | 115 | 40.9 | 18-43 | 21-25 | 25 | 45 | 1 | 14 | 20 |
Milwaukee | 124 | 47.7 | 6-33 | 34-47 | 24 | 58 | 4 | 9 | 22 |