This game was fantastic... for about a quarter and a half. The Bucks were getting out in transition and scoring at will behind aggresive drives by Giannis Antetokounmpo and some wild shots from Michael Carter-Williams.
For the Bulls, they had their fair share of wild shots in that 18-minute span, as well. Aaron Brooks even banked in a triple at the buzzer to end the first quarter. In the first half alone, Chicago had 60 points. Butler lead all scorers with 17, and Rose and Brooks chipped in with 12 and 10, respectively.
And then the third quarter started. Milwaukee's offense was colder than, well, the city of Milwaukee. Giannis didn't score in the quarter and Derrick Rose poured in 11 points making all three of his long bombs. He didn't have a single made 3-pointer in the first half; all 3 of those attempts miss.
Throughout the game, Rose showed that he was certainly back. After all, it was his first playoff game since 2012 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Yes, the last time Rose played in the postseason it was against the team that is now the face of tanking. Now, back to the game. D-Rose's drives were as acrobatic and as impressive as ever. The fans even broke out into MVP chants. When Thibodeau took Rose out in the third quarter, he could not control his emotions, pumping up the crowd and saluting fans on his way to the bench. That moment will most likely be one of the most memorable of his career because Rose almost always keeps calm, cool and collected. Rose finished with 23 points.
Another big contributor for the Bulls was Pau Gasol. Many expected Gasol to put on an offensive clinic similar to the one earlier in the season when he scored 46 points. The Spaniard came about 36 points shy of that, but he still made a big impact in his 36 minutes of action. Not only did Gasol score 10 points and nab 13 rebounds, he also made his teammates better, with 4 assists - one coming off a bounce pass from the floor to Gibson - and 3 rejections.
Jimmy Butler had a big game too. If you're starting to sense a theme here, it's because the Bulls were really, really good. Butler lead all scorers with 25 points and made some very smart defensive plays while also providing a ton of energy and heart. Not only were his stats good, but Butler did the things that don't show up on the stat sheet and that is a big reason why the Bulls came out on top.
While the Bulls played very well, the Bucks' love for the jumpshot ultimately doomed them. NBA legend Charles Barkley once said "teams don't live by the three, they only die by it." Coincidentally, Barkley said that while commentating on Jabari Parker's last game as a Duke Blue Devil. The former second overall pick probably wouldn't have been enough to make up for the horrendous shooting but he was definitely missed during the scoring droughts.
Curiously, Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee didn't log a single minute Saturday night.
As for the players who actually took the court, Antetokounmpo and MCW each shot 4-13 on the night. Pachulia connected on just three of his 8 attempts and Ilyasova 6-14 with only one of his six three point tries finding the bottom of the net. Ersan would have been 2-7 from deep but his second make was waved off because of a Middleton illegal screen.
Speaking of the Texas A&M product, Middleton was one of the few bright spots--scoring 18 points on 7 of 17 shooting. No starters shot over 50% from the field. John Henson made 5 of his 6 attempts and Jared Bayless made 4 of his 7.
Hopefully, in Game 2 - which tips off Monday at 8 PM on TNT - the Bucks will be able to hang in there for longer than a quarter and a half. Here's to optimism and hopes of another great showing from D-Rose.