- The Chicago Bulls upset the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their series with a 114-110 win on Wednesday night at the Fiserv Forum.
- Chicago entered Game 2 as +10.5 points spread and +400 Moneyline underdogs despite losing Game 1 by only seven points.
- The Bucks have opened as -2.5 point favorites for Friday’s Game 3 in Chicago.
Despite going toe-to-toe with the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks and losing Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round series by only seven points, the Chicago Bulls entered Game 2 on Wednesday night as double-digit road underdogs for the second straight game.
The Bulls were +10.5 dogs in Game 1 and were able to cover the betting spread but lost outright. Chicago was a +10 point underdog again in Game 2. This time around, the Bulls didn’t just cover the spread. They picked up the 114-110 victory to upset the Bucks and tie their series at 1-1.
DeRozan Kept His Word
DeMar DeRozan kept his word ? pic.twitter.com/4cWYmFrWQc
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 21, 2022
After a disappointing 6-25 shooting performance in Game, DeMar DeRozan vowed there would be no repeat of the letdown which cost them a chance at pulling off a Game 1 upset. Of course, the oddsmakers didn’t believe DeRozan and proceeded to list his Bulls as a -400 Moneyline and +10 points spread betting favorite for Game 2. DeRozan however, proved the bet makers wrong, turning from DeFrozen in Game 1 to DeMarvelous in Game 2.
DeRozan scored a playoff career-high with 41 points on 16-31 shooting. DeRozan’s 40-point game was only the third by a Chicago Bull in a playoff win since 1998. The only other Bulls players to do it were Michael Jordan in Game 6 against the Jazz in 1998 and Derrick Rose in Game 3 against the Hawks in 2011. He is also only the 5th Bulls player to score at least 40 points in a playoff game after Jordan, Rose, Ben Gordon, and Flynn Robinson.
DeMarvelous didn’t just put up 41 on a Bucks defense that allowed only 86 points in Game 1 but he also made 8 out of 9 shots against three-time All-Defensive First Team member and 2020 Defensive Player of the Year winner Giannis Antetokounmpo. DeRozan’s last bucket against Giannis with 20 seconds left in the game, gave the Bulls a 114-109 lead after the Bucks rallied from a 16-point deficit.
DEROZAN SUMMITS MT. GIANNIS AT THE DEATH pic.twitter.com/UGRMw0pYHn
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 21, 2022
Bucks Will Be Without Middleton
The Bucks will be without one of their big 3 for the next few games.
Khris Middleton will likely miss Games 3 and 4 against the Bulls with a sprained MCL injury, sources tell @ShamsCharania.
He is sidelined indefinitely. pic.twitter.com/UMB5U8r0hf
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 21, 2022
Chicago’s win swung the momentum to their side with the Bulls stealing home court advantage from the Bucks. Game 3 will be played at the United Center where the Bucks are still favored, but only by 2.5 points. Milwaukee is also the slight -140 Moneyline favorites at the BetOnline.ag but the Bulls have caught a big break.
Milwaukee’s All-Star forward Khris Middleton is expected to miss the Bucks’ next few games after he was diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his left knee and has been declared out for two weeks. That means that Middleton can still return for the Bucks in the playoffs but will be unlikely to play in the rest of their first-round series against the Bulls.
The Buck without Middleton is huge for Chicago. Milwaukee has a record of 86-34 SU or a winning percentage of .717 when Giannis, Middleton, and Jrue Holiday are all playing in the same game. Without him, that winning percentage drops. Milwaukee’s odds to win the series have also dropped from an opening odds of -700 to only -275 heading to Friday’s Game 3.
