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Nothing good happens after 9 p.m. at the United Center.
At least, that’s what Giannis Antetokounmpo proved Friday night with his utter dominance in the Bulls’ 113-97 loss to the Bucks.
The Bulls had no answer for him from the moment the ball was tipped, proving that this border battle is better characterized as bullying by the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo was bigger, faster and stronger than anybody the Bulls deployed to defend him. He had 23 points at the half and finished with 46 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, validating the case Bucks coach Doc Rivers made before the game for his MVP candidacy.
The one quality of the game that warranted the rivalry characterization was its chippiness. Even with the Bucks in control, both teams had much to say to each other.
“We have to look at how we can respond in those situations better and control the emotional level better,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
DeMar DeRozan and Bobby Portis Jr. exchanged words in the final minute of the third quarter after the Bucks forward sent DeRozan to the floor going for a defensive rebound. While DeRozan was on the floor, Portis took an extra second to stare him down.
When DeRozan got up, he fouled Portis in transition and was issued a technical foul. It was the glance from Portis that DeRozan took issue with.
“I don’t play the games, staring down somebody,” DeRozan said. “I’m always competing, doing your thing, all that. I feel anything disrespectful in any type of way I don’t accept that.”
DeRozan also expressed frustration with the officiating. The Bucks took 32 free-throw attempts compared to the Bulls’ 16.
“I don’t think [the Bucks] were trying to get under our skin,” DeRozan said. “I think as far as officiating, just call it fair. That’s more where the frustration came from.”
The teams continued to clash in the fourth quarter.
With just under 10 minutes to play, Nikola Vucevic sent AJ Green to the deck as he drove to the rim. A brief dust-up under the basket left Portis and Vucevic chirping at each other.
Vucevic was ejected after his foul was upgraded to a flagrant 2 following the officials’ review.
“I commented to the officials early in the game about where this was going,” Donovan said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Vucevic left the game with 17 points and nine rebounds. Coby White led the Bulls with 22 points, and DeRozan added 12 points and nine assists. On his way out of the arena, Vucevic went looking for Green to apologize.
He didn’t acknowledge that any one moment provoked his hard foul. Instead, he attributed it to a build-up of frustration throughout the game.
“We weren’t playing as well as we wanted to,” Vucevic said. “We weren’t making shots. They got going a little bit and were able to build a lead.”
The Bucks put the game on ice with a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter. After notching 10 straight points in the quarter, Patrick Beverley — a product of Marshall High School — pridefully yelled, “This is my city,” to the fans behind the Bucks’ bench.
One of the only bright spots in the Bulls’ loss was DeRozan eclipsing 23,000 career points. He’s the 35th player in NBA history to do so and one of just six active players to hit that mark, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Steph Curry.
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