3rd Quarter Report
The Bucks are on the road but looking no worse for wear. Sitting on a score of 82-72, they have looked like the better team, but there’s still one more quarter to play.
The Bucks entered the contest having won four straight and they’re just one quarter away from another. Will they make it five, or will the Bulls step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
Milwaukee Bucks @ Chicago Bulls
Current Records: Milwaukee 39-21, Chicago 28-31
How To Watch
- When: Friday, March 1, 2024 at 10 p.m. ET
- Where: United Center — Chicago, Illinois
- TV: ESPN
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $55.00
What to Know
The Bulls will be in front of their home fans on Friday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-court advantage. They will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 10:00 p.m. ET on Friday. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
It may have taken double overtime to finish the job, but the Bulls ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They came out on top against Cleveland by a score of 132-123. The success was a return to things as normal for the Bulls, who in their previous outing suffered a shocking 105-95 upset defeat to the Pistons.
The Bulls got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was DeMar DeRozan out in front who dropped a double-double on 35 points and ten rebounds. It was the first time this season that DeRozan pulled down ten or more rebounds. Another player making a difference was Andre Drummond, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 26 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Bucks had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. They walked away with a 111-99 victory over Charlotte. The team ran away with 70 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those to pick up the victory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, dropping a double-double on 24 points and ten rebounds.
Chicago’s win bumped their record up to 28-31. As for Milwaukee, they have been performing well recently as they’ve won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 39-21 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: The Bulls haven’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 11.7 turnovers per game (they’re ranked third in turnovers per game overall). However, it’s not like the Bucks struggle in that department as they’ve been averaging only 12.4 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Bulls came up short against the Bucks in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 133-129. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Antetokounmpo, who dropped a double-double on 32 points and 12 rebounds. Now that the Bulls know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check CBSSports.com after the match to find out.
Odds
Milwaukee is a 4-point favorite against Chicago, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bucks as a 3.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 221.5 points.
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Series History
Milwaukee has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Chicago.
- Dec 11, 2023 – Milwaukee 133 vs. Chicago 129
- Nov 30, 2023 – Chicago 120 vs. Milwaukee 113
- Nov 13, 2023 – Milwaukee 118 vs. Chicago 109
- Apr 05, 2023 – Milwaukee 105 vs. Chicago 92
- Feb 16, 2023 – Milwaukee 112 vs. Chicago 100
- Dec 28, 2022 – Chicago 119 vs. Milwaukee 113
- Nov 23, 2022 – Chicago 118 vs. Milwaukee 113
- Apr 27, 2022 – Milwaukee 116 vs. Chicago 100
- Apr 24, 2022 – Milwaukee 119 vs. Chicago 95
- Apr 22, 2022 – Milwaukee 111 vs. Chicago 81
First appeared on www.cbssports.com