Kyle Kuzma matched his season high with 31 points and led a balanced Milwaukee effort as the Bucks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 131-115 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night in a matchup between depleted rosters.
Playing without their top two scorers, Milwaukee leaned heavily on shot-making and ball movement. The Bucks drilled a season-high 23 3-pointers and shot 60.5% from deep, overwhelming Chicago despite missing Giannis Antetokounmpo for the 15th time this season. Antetokounmpo, sidelined since Jan. 23 with a strained right calf, worked out on the floor before tipoff as Milwaukee improved to 4-15 without the two-time MVP.
Ryan Rollins delivered one of his best all-around performances of the season with 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Kuzma added 10 rebounds and six assists, helping Milwaukee offset the absences of Kevin Porter Jr., Bobby Portis and Gary Harris.
The Bulls were also short-handed following a flurry of trades earlier in the day that reshaped their roster. Chicago was without Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric and Nikola Vucevic after dealing them away, and leading scorer Josh Giddey missed the game with a strained left hamstring.
Despite the upheaval, Chicago kept things competitive early. Matas Buzelis scored 22 points and Coby White finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. But Milwaukee caught fire in the first half, nearly matching its lowest-scoring output of the season by halftime alone. The Bucks surged to a 77-52 lead at the break, their highest first-half total of the year.
Chicago made a push in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to 90-84 late in the period, but Milwaukee responded with timely shooting and never allowed the Bulls to seriously threaten again.
Up next:
The Bucks return home to host New Orleans on Wednesday night, while the Bulls continue their road trip Thursday in Toronto.
