Bulls' Derrick Jones Jr. Denies Foul on Bucks' Grayson Allen Was Intentional

Chicago Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr. said his flagrant foul against the Milwaukee Bucks' Grayson Allen on Friday night was not an attempt at payback for Allen's hard foul against Alex Caruso in January.

Jones explained his only mindset on the fourth-quarter play was "get a stop" and he didn't believe the foul warranted being elevated to a flagrant.

"I'm not a dirty player," Jones told reporters. "Honestly, I talked to every ref that was there today. I didn't think that was a flagrant. They said I hit him in his head. I didn't even feel it. I just felt him bump my hip and fall. That's all I felt."

Caruso, a key part of the Bulls' rotation and one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders, suffered a fractured right wrist when he was fouled by Allen during a Jan. 21 game. He's yet to return. Allen received a one-game suspension.

Jones said he never goes on the court looking to take out an opponent, regardless of the circumstances.

"That's not who I am," he said. "If I get a foul in the process of trying to get a stop, then so be it. But I ain't [gonna] blatantly take that man out. He got a family to take care of. Why would I do that?"

Chicago head coach Billy Donovan added that his team has moved on from the Allen-Caruso incident: "We're not getting back what happened."

Meanwhile, the Bulls carried a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter of Friday's game, but the Bucks outscored them by 13, 37-24, in the final period to secure a 118-112 win in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.

MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 34 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Jrue Holiday also played a crucial role for Milwaukee, as he scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth.

Zach LaVine (30 points) and DeMar DeRozan (29) were the top performers for Chicago.

The Bucks and Bulls are next scheduled to face off March 22. It's possible Caruso, who returned to individual workouts in late February, could be back in time for that meeting.

Milwaukee and Chicago are tied with a 39-25 record, so their pair of head-to-head meetings during the stretch run of the regular season could prove crucial for seeding in the East.