Bulls vs. Bucks final score: Bulls lose 6th straight heading into All-Star break

After 20 thrilling victories in ten years on TNT at the United Center, the #TNTBulls streak came to an end as the Chicago Bulls dropped their sixth straight game in a 112-100 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks were without several rotation players, and even lost Giannis Antetokounmpo for much of the game after he left with wrist soreness. Still, the visitors still went on massive scoring runs which the Bulls, who were dealing with a number of injuries themselves, couldn’t keep up with. It was a double digit lead for much of the game before the fourth quarter when Milwaukee made it a blowout. Milwaukee was led by the 33 of Brook Lopez in the first quarter, while that 4th quarter was spurred on by Jevon Carter, who finished with 22 points.

Again, the volume and efficiency of the Bulls in terms of three-point shooting continues to be an issue. They did a good job of cutting down the mistakes, turning the ball over just five times. But they shot 31.3 percent from three-point land, which was a stark contrast to their opponents who hit eight more threes on 15 more attempts.

Nikola Vucevic led the way offensively with a double double of 22 points and 16 rebounds, though it was a weird game as he went eight of 20 from the field and seemed to be forcing shots inside the paint. Milwaukee employed the same strategy that they did in the playoffs and gave Vucevic all the space in the world to take a three when he moved to the perimeter. It was effective in that he simply didn’t want to take those looks, attempting just six shots from downtown.

Zach LaVine had 18 points and made all seven of his free throw attempts. But it took him 16 shots to do so. Patrick Williams had 16 points and continued to space the floor, hitting three shots from beyond the arc along with five rebounds and two steals. Coby White, who got the start in place for Alex Caruso, struggled offensively, missing all five of his three-point attempts and finished with eight points.

With Goran Dragic and Derrick Jones Jr. out, the opportunity was there for some other Bulls to get minutes. Even two-way players Malcolm HIll and Carlik Jones received non-garbage minutes.

Dalen Terry got 27 minutes and rewarded Billy Donovan by scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out six assists. He provided value defensively and his energy was great to see.

It’s now the All-Star break so it will be a while before the Bulls play another game and the vibes around the team could not be worse. They are on a losing streak and some of these defeats have been either disastrous or not even close at all. Chicago is banged up as well and are missing a handful of rotation guys. It’s also terribly sad to see the #TNTBulls streak end like this, especially after all of the fun memories we got to experience along the way.

The Bulls next game will be Friday February 24th when they host the Brooklyn Nets.