Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 of his 41 points in the third quarter and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away in the final minutes to beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 122-106 on Wednesday.
Brook Lopez had 21 points and Damian Lillard added 20 points and 10 assists for Milwaukee, which shot a season-high 55 percent from the field and won for the fourth time in its last five games.
After trailing by as many as 18 in the second quarter, Chicago pulled within 104-102 on Julian Phillips’ 3-pointer with 7:56 remaining in the contest.
Milwaukee closed the game on an 18-4 run to even the season series against Chicago at a game apiece. The Bucks never trailed after moving ahead 27-25 late in the first quarter.
AJ Green made five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points for Milwaukee, and Gary Trent Jr. added 11.
Zach LaVine made four 3-pointers and led Chicago with 27 points. Torrey Craig scored 15 in his first start of the season, Nikola Vucevic and Coby White had 14 apiece, and Dalen Terry scored 10.
Antetokounmpo shot 17 of 24 from the field and had nine rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who shot 13 of 36 (36.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
Green made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the first quarter to help Milwaukee take a 36-30 lead.
The Bucks carried the momentum into the second quarter and used an 11-2 run to move ahead 59-41 with 5:53 left in the half.
Milwaukee held a 69-57 advantage at halftime after shooting 59.5 percent from the field. LaVine had 20 points at the half, while Antetokounmpo and Lillard scored 13 apiece.
The Bulls rallied in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 81-80 on Craig’s trey with 4:13 left in the period. Milwaukee maintained a 98-90 lead at the end of the quarter.
Chicago played without forward Patrick Williams, who will miss at least the next three games with inflammation in his surgically repaired foot.
–Field Level Media