Bucks lead Bulls 62-61 at halftime: Herro 13, Powell 19
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- The Milwaukee Bucks lead the Chicago Bulls 62-61 at halftime. Tyler Herro scored 13 for Milwaukee and Norman Powell scored 19 for Chicago.
- The Bucks jumped ahead 32-17 in the first quarter. The Bulls stormed back with a 44-30 second quarter.
- Both teams entered the night 0-1 after losing their season openers on Wednesday. The game is being played at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Bucks lead the Chicago Bulls 62-61 at halftime. The game tipped off Friday at 4:00 PM ET at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Tyler Herro leads the Bucks with 13 points. Norman Powell leads all scorers with 19 points for Chicago.
What happened
The Bucks came out fast in the first quarter. They scored 32 points while holding Chicago to just 17. The Bulls looked lost early. Their shots were not falling.
Then the second quarter changed everything. Chicago outscored Milwaukee 44-30.
The Bulls ran the floor and attacked the paint. They cut a 15-point lead down to just one point. The home crowd grew quiet as the run kept building.
Tyler Herro has been the Bucks' best player so far. He has 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting. He made 2 of 5 three-pointers.
He also added 4 rebounds and 2 assists. This is only his second game for Milwaukee.
Jaime Jaquez has been perfect off the bench. He scored 11 points and missed zero shots. He went 4-for-4 from the field.
He made his only three-pointer and both free throws. He also grabbed 3 rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma added 7 points and 7 rebounds for the Bucks. Myles Turner has 8 points with 2 three-pointers.
AJ Green and Kel'el Ware each scored 8 points off the bench. Ryan Rollins has 5 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Norman Powell is keeping the Bulls in the game. He has 19 points at the break. He made 5 of 13 shots and all 7 of his free throws.
He is 2-for-9 from three-point range. Still, his scoring has been the bright spot for Chicago.
Isaac Okoro has 10 points for the Bulls on 3-of-5 shooting. Leonard Miller also has 10 points off the bench. He made 4 of 5 shots.
He hit 2 of 3 three-pointers. Buddy Hield added 7 points in limited minutes.
Jalen Smith has 7 points and 4 rebounds for Chicago. He also has 2 steals.
Tre Jones has yet to score. But he leads the team with 6 assists.
Matas Buzelis has only 4 points on 2-of-7 shooting. The young forward needs a better second half.
The numbers behind the half
Milwaukee is shooting 46.8 percent from the field. Chicago is close behind at 44.0 percent. The big gap is from three-point range.
The Bucks made 11 of 28 threes. The Bulls made only 7 of 25.
Both teams were sharp at the free-throw line. The Bucks made 7 of 8. The Bulls made all 10 of their free throws.
Rebounding has been even too. Chicago leads 29-26 on the boards.
Turnovers have hurt both sides equally. Each team gave the ball away 9 times in the first half.
The Bucks built a lead as large as 15 points. Chicago's biggest lead was only 5 points.
The Bulls dominated inside the paint. They scored 26 points there. Milwaukee managed only 18.
Chicago also won the fast-break battle 11-5. That matches what was expected before the game.
Chicago plays at one of the fastest speeds in the league. Milwaukee plays at one of the slowest.
Why it matters
Both teams need this win badly. They each lost their season openers on Wednesday night. Chicago was crushed 135-92 by the Toronto Raptors.
Matas Buzelis led the team with 17 points that night. Josh Giddey had a rough game. He scored only 2 points on 1-of-10 shooting.
Milwaukee lost 128-116 to the Washington Wizards. Herro scored 24 points with 9 assists in his Bucks debut. Jaquez added 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Kasparas Jakucionis scored 15 off the bench. Kyle Kuzma struggled with just 5 points.
The Bucks look like a very different team this season. Herro and Jaquez came over from the Miami Heat.
The team now has a new head coach too. Taylor Jenkins is running the bench in Milwaukee. Chicago is led by Tiago Splitter.
Injuries have hurt the Bulls early. Nic Claxton is out with an injury. He is not expected back until early November.
Jordan Hawkins is also out for this game. Dailyn Swain was listed as questionable before tip-off. Milwaukee had a full squad available.
Before the game, bookmakers gave the Bucks about a 50 percent chance to win. A stats model from Keel Stats gave Milwaukee a 61 percent chance. That model looked at which players were available for both teams.
This game also drew heavy search traffic tonight. Fans searched for "Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks match player stats" in large numbers.
That is why this story explains the numbers in plain words. Raw box scores can be hard to read.
What happens next
The second half will decide everything. Chicago has all the momentum after the big second quarter.
Milwaukee has the one-point lead and the home crowd. Both teams play again soon.
The Bulls will need more from Josh Giddey. He has only 2 points at halftime. He was the team's assist leader last season.
He averaged 9.1 assists per game. Tre Jones has carried the passing load so far.
The Bucks will need to stop the bleeding from three. Chicago is running more and shooting often.
If the Bulls keep up the pace, Milwaukee could lose the lead fast. Herro and Jaquez will need to keep scoring.
Fans watching in Milwaukee can see the rest on WCGV or Bucks+. Fans in Chicago can watch on CHSN or the CHSN app. The full final stats will be posted after the game ends.
For more NBA number breakdowns, see the Thunder vs Nuggets stat sheet. The Hawks' streaming plans changed how fans watch games this season. You can also read Jaylen Brown's cap comments for more NBA news from this week.
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