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What we learned from the Chicago Bulls’ lopsided loss to the Milwaukee Bucks

Here are some key points why the Chicago Bulls lost badly to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Stephen Beslic

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The Chicago Bulls capped their three-game homestand with a one-sided 97-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

Chicago won just once in the three-game homestand, suffering their fourth defeat in the last six games behind a sloppy performance in the first half.

The Bulls dropped to 28-32 in the season.

Here’s a couple of takeaways from the frustrating loss.

DeMar’s off night

It was a memorable night for DeRozan as he became the 35th player in NBA history with 23,000 points. DeMar, however, was a virtual non-factor in the match as he scored just 12 points on a dismal 5-of-13 shooting from the field.

DeMar came into the match, averaging a team-best 22.9 points a game. He jumped off to an erratic start after missing his first six attempts. With DeRozan struggling, the Bulls could not get their game going and fell behind at the end of the first period, 24-33.

Chicago still failed to find its rhythm and trailed big at the half, 44-58. The Bulls tried to mount a comeback but the best they could do was to move within eight points early in the fourth, 76-84. The Bucks used a 17-0 run to put the game away.

Frustrated with calls

The Bulls seemed to have been affected by what they deemed to be erratic officiating.

Things got chippy between DeRozan and Bobby Portis Jr. in the closing minutes of the third quarter. DeMar was slapped with a flagrant foul and technical when HE and Portis got into it.

After the match, DeRozan couldn’t hide his disappointment over the officiating.

“I think as far as officiating, just call it fair,” DeRozan said. “I think that’s more so where the frustration comes from. When we come down, we feel like we are getting hit. They come down and we barely touching them but they’re getting the call. That kind of stings. Just the fairness of the calls I kind of think was the main focal of our frustration more so than anything.”

In the fourth quarter, Nikola Vucevic also lost his cool when he thought he was fouled after attempting a missed shot but none was called.

Frustrated with the non-call, Vucevic responded with a hard foul on a driving A.J. Green. Nikola was slapped with a flagrant foul two and was ejected from the game. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

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Stephen Beslic
STEPHEN BESLIC

Stephen Beslic is a writer on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Stephen played basketball from the age of 10 and graduated from Faculty of Economic and Business in Zagreb, Croatia, majoring in Marketing.

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