MILWAUKEE — Wrapping up the top seed in the NBA playoffs was the order of business for the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Despite being without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo and losing Khris Middleton to an injury early in the game, the Bucks made a second-half push to beat the Chicago Bulls 105-92. The Bucks went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter to overcome a 10-point deficit and pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Bobby Portis had 27 points and 13 rebounds, starting in place of Antetokounmpo, and center Brook Lopez finished with 26 points.
“It’s definitely a great achievement,” Lopez said. “It’s cool because we’ve had a lot of different lineups throughout the year, and regardless of who we’ve put out on the floor, our guys have come out with the right mindset and have been going out there to succeed.”
Antetokounmpo was ruled out before the game because of right knee soreness. He had 28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists against Washington on Tuesday night.
Point guard Jrue Holiday scored 20 points and had a season-high 15 assists while adding eight rebounds, and he led the second-half surge.
Middleton started for the Bucks, but played just eight minutes before exiting with right knee soreness. He was 0 for 3 from the floor.
Milwaukee improved to 58-22 as it won its third straight game. The Bucks lead fellow Eastern Conference foe Boston by three games with two games remaining.
Wes Matthews played 30 minutes off the bench and harassed Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan throughout the game, helping limit DeRozan to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. He did not score a basket until early in the fourth quarter.
“He’s one of the best scorers this league has seen,” Matthews said. “We’ve been battling for 14 years now and he;’s one of my favorite players to play against, one of my favorite players to watch.
“The biggest thing is to try to keep him off the free throw line, try to make him as uncomfortable as possible. He’s got an array of moves.”
