Role players guide Bucks to Game 3 romp over Bulls

Grayson Allen scored 22 points off the bench and Bobby Portis added 18 points with 16 rebounds as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a 111-81 victory over the Chicago Bulls to take a 2-1 lead in a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series on Friday, April 22 (Saturday, April 23, Manila time).

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 18 points with 9 assists and 7 rebounds as Milwaukee regained the advantage in the series after the Bulls fought back from a lackluster defeat in the series opener to win Game 2 at Milwaukee.

The Bucks won without Khris Middleton, who is expected to miss the rest of the series after he sprained a left knee ligament in Game 2.

Nikola Vucevic scored 19 points and Zach LaVine added 15 as the Bulls fell short in their first home playoff game since 2017. Chicago will look to even the series in Game 4 on Sunday.

DeMar DeRozan had just 11 points for Chicago after a 41-point performance in Game 2, which was a career best in his 60th playoff game. Double-teamed often in this one, DeRozan was 4-of-9 from the field after going 16-of-31 in Game 2.

The Bulls didn’t take their second attempt from the free-throw line until 3:52 remained in the third quarter.

The Bucks led 33-17 after one quarter, going up by as many as 18 inside of a minute to go in the period. Milwaukee pushed the advantage to as many as 24 in the second quarter and led 60-41 at the break thanks to 52.3% shooting in the opening half.

When Portis hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the third quarter, the Bucks were up 90-59. The easy victory allowed Antetokounmpo to play just 29 minutes after playing 34 in Game 1 and 40 in Game 2.

Jrue Holiday scored 16 points and Pat Connaughton had 11 as the Bucks improved to 6-1 against the Bulls this season, including the playoffs. Milwaukee’s Luca Vildoza made a 3-pointer with 1:49 remaining, his first career points in the NBA. – Rappler.com