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These Bucks are different from last year's Bucks, and these Bulls look rather different from last year's Bulls. But when it comes to Bucks vs. Bulls...well, this all seems very familiar.
With Derrick Rose eating nachos courtside, Nate Robinson took a page from the former MVP's book in dissecting the Bucks to the tune of 24 points (7/16 fg), 13 assists and no turnovers while igniting a 20-2 first half run with a buzzer-beating triple to end the first. That turned a 30-29 deficit into a 49-32 Bulls lead, one that the Bucks would never recover from despite a late surge that would bring them within three inside three minutes.
Aside from Robinson's starring role, Rip Hamilton got wherever he wanted in scoring 23 points on 14 shots, while Brandon Jennings (13 points on 5/11 fg, 2 ast) and Monta Ellis (8 points, 3/8 fg) couldn't earn it back on the other end. Tom Thibodeau also predictably played his starters longer than Scott Skiles opted to play his, though the Bulls really didn't need it. And while the Bucks weren't dominated on the interior quite as blatantly as in previous matchups, the Bulls' interior passing kept Milwaukee's shot-swatters off balance following their block parade against the Pistons on Tuesday. Tobias Harris started well (4/6 fg, 8 pts, 5 rebs in 19 min) and managed to avoid getting schooled by Luol Deng (1/4 fg, 5 pts in 31 min), but was a bystander for the most of the final three quarters.
In fairness, Jennings was one of the few Bucks who looked dangerous at times and 15 of Robinson's 24 came with him on the bench, so it's not worth getting bent out of shape on account of Jennings. The same can't be said of Ellis, who continues to sleepwalk through his preseason. Feel free to flip the switch whenever you're ready, Monta.
More concerning was the sight of Mike Dunleavy (who looked fine in scoring 13 on 10 shots, btw) falling into John Henson's left leg in the third quarter, sending the slender big man to the floor while grabbing the back of his lower leg in pain. Henson would eventually get up and limp to the bench before walking into the locker room with trainer Marc Boff, but the unknown severity of the injury will likely have Bucks fans holding their breath, particularly with Ekpe Udoh already out with a sprained knee. It had been a fairly forgettable night for the Bucks' rookie up until that point anyway, but all that is fairly unimportant at this point.
The news was decidedly mixed for the big men who survived the night unscathed. Larry Sanders started his second straight game and used his energy to do some nice things (4/5 fg, 9 pts, 6 rebs in 17 min), while Sammy Dalembert notched a double-double (13 points, 10 rebs) to go with three blocks off the bench. But Dalembert hit just 5/12 from the floor and was among the Bucks looking content to jack up jump shots much of the night, with Ersan Ilyasova (1/9 fg) and Drew Gooden (1/7 fg) the most obvious culprits.
Three Comments (from our game thread)
CanadaBucks:
I don't care about pre-season
I don't care about pre-season
I don't care about pre-season
I don't care about pre-season
I don't care about pre-season
I don't care about pre-season
oldresorter: (after a solid Przybilla screen)
Big P just Mokeski'd a guy - love it
handheld: (referring to this)
Gooden is way better at Words With Friends than playing basketball