So Close Yet So Far Away Bulls Hang On To Beat Bucks 114-111

Posted by Jeff Sack under Main

The Milwaukee Bucks came back from the brink of elimination Saturday night, to almost pull off the come back victory of the year. Almost, the Chicago Bulls hung and defeated the Bucks 114-111. Chicago had a 21 point lead early in the fourth quarter,? and the fans at the United Center watched in horror as Milwaukee cut the deficit to just 3 points. But just when it looked the Bulls were nose diving from 10,000 feet and were about to hit the ground, they righted the plane and flew home to victory.

Chicago got off to a quick start, as they were on fire offensively in the first and broke out to a 31-22 lead at the end of the quarter. The closest Milwaukee got to Chicago in the second quarter was 8 points down as the Bulls had a 67-54 advantage at the half. The Bulls were on the verge of turning this game into a rout, as they led 94-77 heading into the final 12 minutes of play. Chicago scored the first four points of the third period to pull ahead 98-77, and all of a sudden the Bucks woke up. With 32 seconds left in the game, Michael Redd drove the lane and put in to make it a 112-109 Bulls lead. But the Bucks never got any closer, and finished the game down by the same margin.

Larry Hughes led the way for Chicago as he scored 19 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, Joakim Noah recorded a double-double, 18 points, 15 boards, 4 blocks, 2 assists, 2 steals. Andres Nocioni scored 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist,?Luol Deng scored 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block.? Kirk Hinrich scored?11 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 3 rebounds, Ben Gordon also scored 11 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds. Tyrus Thomas scored 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Michael Redd led all scorers with 33 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, Charlie Villanueva scored 26 points, 9 boards, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Yi Jianlian scored 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, Mo Williams?scored 13 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal. Chicago is now 29-44, Milwaukee 24-48.

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