The Milwaukee Bucks surprisingly took the Chicago Bulls to six games in the first round of the playoffs, but the magical run came to an abrupt end on Thursday when the Bulls clamped down and ended the series in dominating fashion with a 120-66 victory on the road.
The Bucks failed to score 20 points in any of the quarters and trailed 65-33 at the half. Zaza Pachulia led the team with eight points, which gives you an idea of how inept the offense was on this particular night.
At the end of the day, though, Jason Kidd and the Bucks made significant strides – no one expected them to win anything near 41 wins, especially after losing prized rookie Jabari Parker for 57 games to a torn ACL. Veteran guard Jared Dudley did his best to put the Bucks’ season in perspective with the following tweet:
Not the way we wanted to go out but What a Season!!! From 15 wins to 41!!!! Pushing the Bulls to the end.. A … http://t.co/r9SawxZa6p
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) May 1, 2015
Not the way we wanted to go out but What a Season!!! From 15 wins to 41!!!! Pushing the Bulls to the end.. A lot to be excited for the future.
They will have to head home early for now, but the progression of their development grew exponentially with this playoff experience. With Carter-Williams on board, Parker due back from his injury and Antetokounmpo’s rapid development, there is plenty to look forward to from here on out for this young Bucks team.
Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
Wow, 120-66? That’s a Byron Scott-level playoff loss.