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Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 16 rebounds as the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks bounced back after blowing a 16-point lead to beat the Chicago Bulls 93-86 in Game 1 of their first-team series. NBA playoff round.
Jrue Holiday hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:03 remaining as part of an 8-0 run that gave the Bucks an 85-78 lead. The Bulls cut the margin to one but were never able to retake the lead as Zach LaVine missed a potentially tying 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining.
The Bucks have won 17 of their last 18 meetings with the Bulls, including all five this season. Chicago’s only win during that streak came in the final game of the 2020-21 regular season, when the Bucks rested all of their starters.
Milwaukee continued that pattern Sunday by holding Chicago to the lowest scoring total of any Bucks opponent this season. Although also, Milwaukee continued with its suffering in the opening games in its series.
The Bucks clinched the title last year, despite losing the first game in three of their four series. They had lost the opener in five of their most recent six playoff series before Sunday, with the exception of when Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer in the final second of overtime against the Miami Heat.
Giannis playoff mode activated.
27 PTS | 16 REB | 3 AST | 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/xrQjPPHdXh
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 18, 2022
Brook Lopez scored 18 points, Holiday had 15, Khris Middleton 11 and Bobby Portis added 10. Portis also had 12 rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls, who are in their first playoff appearance in five years. LaVine had 18 points and 10 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
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