Ravencaruso is out
Trailing 3-1 in the series and unable to play because of health and safety agreements, Zach Lavin is unable to play, which basically means that the Chicago Bulls' playoff journey has come to an end. In Game 5 of the series, the Bulls will play the Milwaukee Bucks away, and if the Bulls have any hope of winning, it's just because they have Demar DeRozan. In this series, the only game the Bulls won was deRozan's 31-point shot against the Bucks.
Caruso was also unable to play in this game because of concussions, which was undoubtedly the last straw to crush the camel for the Chicago Bulls. In the past few games, Caruso's contribution to the team's defensive end has been obvious to all. From here, the Bucks are one step closer to their dream of defending the title.
DeRozan gave up early
At the beginning of the first quarter, DeRozan did not have too strong offensive desire, or the Bucks put all their defense on DeRozan. In this quarter, DeRozan only had 1 shot, did not score a point, got 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal, the highest scorer was Williams, who scored 8 points on 3-of-4 shooting, and the whole team scored 18 points, while the Bucks bombed 34 points. After returning from the second quarter, DeRozan scored four points and one assist on the impact of the box, White on the bench had eight points, two rebounds and one assist, and the Bulls barely scored 24 points.
The Bucks, who have a huge lead, started a little lax, scoring just 26 points in the quarter. So by the end of the half, the Bulls were 42-60 behind the Bucks by as many as 18 points. In the second half, DeRozan was still sluggish, only 3 points, 1 assist and 1 steal on 3-of-1 shooting, Vicevic stepped forward, 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists on 4-of-6 shooting, Dawsum also had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and the team scored 26 points in a single quarter, but even so, the Bucks still stretched the point difference to 23 points, and there was only one session left in the game.
Such a huge point difference basically declares that the game has lost its suspense. The Bulls were reluctant to give up, and at one point they narrowed the gap to 15 points, DeRozan had 4 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists, and Vucevic had 8 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, but the Bucks showed their strength and did not let the Bulls further narrow the gap. In the end, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Chicago Bulls 116-100 at home to advance 4-1 in the series.
Alphabet brothers have evolved again
The Bucks won the series without suspense, and in the following Eastern Conference semifinals, they will challenge the Boston Celtics, a formidable opponent. The Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets 4-0 in the first round. Alphabet Brother once again showed his improvement in this game, shooting 11 of 15 from the field, 11 of 14 from the free throw line, and having 33 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. In the playoffs last season, many teams even staged the tactic of letting Brother Alphabet take free throws, but this season, there will never be any team willing to let Brother Alphabet go to the free throw line.
Led by Alphabet Brother, the Bucks scored in double figures, Connaughton shot 7-of-11 and had 20 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, Portis had 14 points and 17 rebounds, and Holliday had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. DeRozan only had 11 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists, and only 10 shots in the game, perhaps, before the game started, he had already given up early. Williams had a team-high 23 points, 1 rebound and 1 block, Vucevic had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists, and Kobe Bryant White on the bench also had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. The Chicago Bulls' playoff trip came to an end.