The Chicago Bulls came inches from a Game 1 upset Sunday in their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The game felt like a rallying moment for the Bulls, who battled back from a 16-point deficit and kept the reigning champions within one or two possessions for the entire second half. But despite that promise, the Bulls won’t stand a chance if their star trio — Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević — can’t step up more thoroughly in future games.
The Bulls shot 32.3% from the field in a dismal scoring night for both teams, and their All-Stars fared even worse. LaVine, DeRozan and Vučević finished 21 of 71 (29.6%) from the field, and LaVine and Vučević each shot 2 for 10 from behind the 3-point line.
DeRozan and LaVine scored 18 points apiece, both significantly below their season averages — DeRozan by 10 points, LaVine by six. Vučević outscored his season average by nearly seven points with 24, but that came off 9-for-27 shooting.
DeRozan was frank about the lackluster shooting night: “No way in hell I shoot 6 for 25 again.”
The fourth quarter was particularly ugly, as LaVine, DeRozan and Vučević went 2 for 20 from the field.
LaVine launched a deep 3-pointer with 29.7 seconds left to try to tie the game, but it clanged off the rim. Vučević grabbed a rebound for an unguarded putback with 52.7 seconds left, but it swirled in and out of the basket.
“I thought it was going to go in and it just rimmed out,” Vučević said. “That was a tough one, especially at that moment in the game, to cut it down to one. It happens and it’s part of it. In the playoffs, a lot of stuff happens, but you’ve just got to fight through it.”
The key difference between the teams — and, as a result, the score — came from the way their stars showed up. Even as the Bucks shot 40.5% from the field, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez were finishing above 50% to score a combined 45 points.
Like the Bulls stars, Antetokounmpo also failed to score in the final quarter, but his production in the third quarter provided enough of a boost to stave off the Bulls’ comeback.
The Bucks stars are aided by experience. Four of the team’s starters returned from last year’s championship team, an invaluable edge over players like LaVine, who is playing in his first postseason at 27.
Despite the keen excitement surrounding his first playoff game, LaVine said Game 1 felt the same as any other: “It’s still basketball.”
Coach Billy Donovan said LaVine’s shot selection remained steady throughout the game, including his late attempt at a tying 3-pointer — they just weren’t falling.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence and belief in him as a player because he really tries to play the right way,” Donovan said. “As great of a scorer as he is, Zach is not one of these guys who just jacks up shots.”
Despite pressure from the Bucks’ size in the paint and elite defenders such as Jrue Holiday, Vučević said he didn’t feel their defense was the cause of the Bulls’ shooting slump.
DeRozan pointed to the long layoff between their last game and the opening series as a potential factor. All three players sat out the final game of the season for rest, giving them a nine-day reprieve from game action.
Whether it was rust or strategy, all three players will need to shake the pattern before Game 2 on Wednesday.
“We took good shots,” LaVine said. “If we get those shots again, I think we’ll make a lot more.”
