Game Recap: Bulls to fall to Bucks in preseason action

Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 4 hours ago

CHICAGO - If the preseason has taught us anything about the Bulls so far, this team could be fun to watch this season. From the re-signing of Josh Giddey and Tre Jones to the rest of this roster, and a group of players that finished the season 14-6 to clinch a play-in berth, there is far more optimism in Chicago this season than what we have seen the past few years.

Even though the preseason doesn't count for anything, the Bulls still kicked things off with back-to-back wins against the Eastern Conference favorite, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that has to feel good no matter when the wins come. Sunday saw the Bulls up against one of their arch-nemesis again as the Milwaukee Bucks came to the United Center for the official midway point of the Bulls' preseason.

Despite a back-and-forth game throughout that saw both teams land several punches, the game was decided by two quarters, as the Bucks saw the Bulls pull within a point in the fourth before securing a 127-121 victory. The two quarters in reference were the first and third quarters, as the Bulls started slowly in both halves.

Any time you're outscored by 11 in those two quarters, things aren't ideal, but the Bulls did a great job of keeping things close most of the game as they outscored the Bucks by five in the second and fourth quarters and even pulled within one during the fourth. A significant reason for their ability to keep things close was the performance of Ayo Dosunmu and Matas Buzelis, who have gotten off to a great start this preseason.

Now that he is fully healthy again, Dosunmu is looking to take his game to the next level in his fourth year, as he is expected to be the Bulls' sixth man this season. If that is going to be the case, getting 22 points in 25 minutes from your sixth man is about as efficient as you can be, as Dosunmu led all scorers in the losing effort.

The same can be said about Buzelis, who led all starters with 19 points, which included all starters from both teams. Buzelis is one of the players on this team expected to break out this season, as the Bulls have high hopes that he can become the face of the franchise in 2026. Buzelis was one of two Chicago starters to record double figures, with Josh Giddey chipping in with 14 points to become the other.

Giddey hasn't shot the ball well throughout the preseason, but you started to see signs of that turning around in this one. What he has done well is put his full game on display, as he added seven assists and eight rebounds to his 14 points, continuing to prove he is a do-everything guard. Even with the Bulls having only two starters in double figures, it was the play of their bench that continued to produce, as they are the ones seeing more minutes in the preseason.

Joining Dosunmu in delivering strong bench performances was the play of Patrick Williams, who added 10 points and eight rebounds, with Javon Carter finishing with 12 points yet again. Carter had a horrible shooting night, going just 4-17, including 3-12 from deep, as he hopes to have a bigger role this season. Chicago also saw Zach Collins and Jones chip in with eight points, with Jones adding six more assists to help pace the offense.

As has been the case for the better part of seven years, the Bucks will only go as far as Giannis Antetokounmpo goes, as he is the driving force that makes them tick. You saw that during his 21 minutes on the floor, Giannis posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, continuing his dominance against the Bulls.

The biggest issue for the Bucks has been the lack of depth behind Giannis, as they are not the same team without him. Sure, a lot of that had to do with key injuries over the past few seasons, but even then, Milwaukee has needed more production from the players around Giannis. Myles Turner was the big acquisition for this team and could be the guy to pick up the slack this season.

Coming off an NBA finals run with the Pacers last season, Turner has played well so far in the preseason, leading Milwaukee with 19 points and adding six rebounds in the win. Another new face joined him in Kyle Kuzma, who came to Milwaukee from Washington last season and joined Turner with a team-high 19 points off the bench.

If both of them can produce close to that level this season, the Bucks are going to be in a much better place, as they have the talent to make a deep run this season. Even if those three were seen as the leaders on Sunday, the Bucks received plenty of production across the board, including the 13 points from Gary Trent Jr, who converted on three triples.

AJ Green added 11 points to give the Bucks four starters in double figures, with Ryan Rollins adding 14 off the bench to help lead the Bucks to a preseason victory in what was a battle of unbeatens.

Next up for the Bulls is a trip to Denver on Tuesday for their final preseason road contest before wrapping things up with Minnesota at home on Thursday.