Eastern Conference playoffs

The Bucks surrender late lead, trail Bulls 2-0 in series

April 21, 2015 By Bill Scott

Khris Middleton

The defense was holding the Bulls in check, and the Milwaukee Bucks led 74-71 early in the fourth quarter.

Then All-Star Jimmy Butler and his Chicago teammates put it all together, ran off a 13-0 run, and seized Game 2 with a 91-82 victory. The Bulls now lead the best-of-seven series two-games-to-none.

Butler, a Marquette product, scored 14 of his playoff career-high 31 points in the fourth quarter. Derrick Rose scored all of his 15 points after halftime.

Khris Middleton led the Bucks for a second consecutive game, tallying 22 points. Michael Carter-Williams added 12. [Read more…]

Bucks seek to even series with Bulls tonight

April 20, 2015 By Bill Scott

Michael Carter-Williams

In a surprising turn of events Saturday night in Chicago, it was offense that ruled the day in a series that pits two of the NBA’s best defensive teams against each other.

The Bulls took advantage of poor Milwaukee Bucks defense to score 60 first half points, en route to a 103-91 win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Playoff Series.

Marquette alum Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 25 points, while backcourt mate and former MVP Derrick Rose added 23. Rose finished 9-of-16 from the floor, connecting on a flurry of fierce drives to the basket and deep 3’s.

Khris Middleton paced the Milwaukee attack with 18 points. Ersan Ilyasova added 15, with three others scoring in double figures. [Read more…]

Bucks hold off Pacers for second-straight home win

March 27, 2015 By Bill Scott

Ersan Ilyasova

Ersan Ilyasova missed just two shots, connected on five 3-pointers, and scored a career-high 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks held off a second half charge by the Indiana Pacers to win the Central Division battle, 111-107, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Milwaukee built a 23-point first quarter lead as they began the game on a 34-11 run. During that stretch, the Bucks made 14-of-19 shots, including eight straight, as they won for the second consecutive game. It’s only the fifth win in the past 18 outings.

All five Bucks scored in double-figured, led by Ilyasova. Khris Middleton had 17 points, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 16. As a team, Milwaukee outshot Indiana 53-percent to 42-percent.

The Pacers rallied back to within two in the final 20-seconds and trailed 110-107 when George Hill’s attempt to tie the game rattled out of the basket with less than two seconds remaining. Hill (24) and backcourt mate C.J. Miles (26) combined for 50 points.

Milwaukee returns to .500 with a 36-36 record and maintains its position as the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bucks trail fifth-seeded Washington by four, while moving 2.5 games ahead of Miami. The loss drops Indiana a half-game back of Boston for the eighth and final playoff spot. [Read more…]