Top Takeaways from Giannis, Bucks vs. DeMar DeRozan, Bulls
The Milwaukee Bucks outscored the Chicago Bulls by 13 points in the fourth quarter to secure a 118-112 comeback victory in a key Eastern Conference battle Friday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the charge for Milwaukee (39-25) with 34 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Jrue Holiday also enjoyed a standout performance as he posted 26 points, eight boards and five dimes.
The Bucks won the rebounding battle, 50-40, on the strength of 12 offensive boards and also owned a 22-8 advantage in free throws made.
Zach LaVine (30 points) and DeMar DeRozan (29) paced the offense for Chicago (39-25), while Nikola Vucevic narrowly missed out on a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Chicago couldn't string together enough stops in the fourth quarter, however, as Holiday took over the game with 16 points in the final period.
The teams have two more meetings left in the regular season: March 22 in Milwaukee and April 5 in Chicago.
Giannis Deserves More Buzz in 3rd MVP Pursuit
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A majority of the Most Valuable Player discussion in recent weeks has centered around the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, with the Memphis Grizzlies' Ja Morant also starting to draw attention thanks to some highlight-reel performances.
No MVP conversation is complete without serious consideration of Antetokounmpo, though.
Giannis is putting together another monster statistical season. He's averaged 29.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.1 threes and 1.0 steals while shooting 54.3 percent from the field across 53 appearances.
The 27-year-old six-time All-Star ranks first in player efficiency rating (PER), second in Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) and fourth in FiveThirtyEight's wins above replacement (WAR) metric.
Antetokounmpo, who previously captured the NBA's top individual award in 2018-19 and 2019-20, has also helped guide the reigning champion Bucks to a strong 39-25 record.
So the "Greek Freak" checks all the boxes to put himself in contention for the MVP, which should be at minimum a three-player race at this stage of the campaign. Perhaps as many as five with Morant and the Chicago Bulls' DeMar DeRozan also worthy of consideration.
While Holiday took the game over for the Bucks for stretches of the fourth against the Bulls on Friday, Milwaukee wouldn't have even been in contention for the comeback without Giannis' contributions over the first three frames, and he added 10 fourth-quarter points of his own.
The Bucks are back in action Sunday when they host the Phoenix Suns.
Bulls' Outlook Remains Strong Despite Recent Skid
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Friday's loss marked Chicago's fourth straight to match its longest losing streak of the season. The Bulls still have plenty of reason for optimism despite the rough patch, though.
All of the defeats came at the hands of teams in position to at least make the play-in tournament: the Memphis Grizzlies (third in the West), Miami Heat (first in the East), Atlanta Hawks (ninth in the East) and Bucks (third in the East).
Three of the contests were up for grabs in the final quarter. The only exception was a 13-point road loss to Miami on Monday. The other three games were lost by a combined 18 points.
The losing streak also comes immediately on the heels of a six-game winning streak that saw Chicago average 119.7 points.
So the results over the past 10 games as a whole don't show any sign of significant drop-off, and it's important to remember the Bulls are playing without starting point guard Lonzo Ball and fellow guard Alex Caruso, one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders.
Based on the initial timetables for Ball (six-to-eight weeks from Jan. 20) and Caruso (six-to-eight weeks from Jan. 22), it's possible both players return at some point this month, giving them a chance to get back up to full speed before the regular season ends April 10.
The East is deep, with just 7.5 games separating the top-seeded Heat from the seventh-seeded Toronto Raptors, so Chicago's playoff path won't be easy no matter where they finish in the standings.
Yet there's no reason to push the panic button based on the recent quartet of losses, as the rotation should be in a better spot by the time the postseason arrives.
The Bulls will attempt to get back in the win column Monday when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers.
