Final
Series starts 12/16
| Game 1: Thursday, December 16th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bucks | 77 | Final |
| Bulls | 85 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 2: Sunday, December 26th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bulls | 92 | Final |
| Bucks | 99 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 3: Saturday, March 5th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bulls | 87 | Final |
| Bucks | 95 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 4: Monday, March 7th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bucks | 85 | Final |
| Bulls | 90 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
Coverage: WCIU
7:30 PM ET, March 7, 2005
United Center, Chicago, IL
CHICAGO (AP) -- Milwaukee coach Terry Porter had seen enough.
His team trailing by two in the final seconds, Porter slapped a container of gum and candy, sending pieces flying onto the floor, after Chicago's Tyson Chandler went high to bat the ball out and teammate Kirk Hinrich recovered it.
Hinrich then made a free throw on Porter's technical foul, and teammate Chris Duhon -- fouled after the offensive rebound -- made two more. The three free throws with 5 seconds left sealed Chicago's 90-85 victory Monday night.
"I appreciate it. He (Porter) helped us out," Chandler said after the Bulls ended a three-game losing streak. "I pointed it out to the ref. I picked up a piece of the candy and said, "Hey look."
After teammate Andres Nocioni missed his second straight free throw with 11 seconds to go, the long-armed Chandler was able to tap the ball in Hinrich's direction. Milwaukee's inability to rebound and give the Bucks a shot at winning was too much for Porter.
"We just weren't able to go get it and that's frustrating," Porter said. "We had a great chance there to tie it or win it in regulation and they get the rebound."
Michael Redd hit two free throws and, after a basket by Hinrich, answered with a jumper to cut it to 87-85 with 26 seconds left.
"We allowed them to hang around," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "Tyson made a big play on the rebound and we made the free throws to win the game."
The Bulls' victory was their 30th, tying their most in a season since winning their sixth championship in 1997-98.
Hinrich had 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. And Eddy Curry, unhappy with his playing time, added 16 for Chicago but still had seven turnovers.
Redd led Milwaukee with 26 points, eight in the fourth quarter when the Bucks forged a strong rally that fell short.
"We had a chance to win. A couple of calls didn't go our way. We missed some big rebounds," Redd said.
And the Bucks also missed 10 free throws, going just 15-of-25 from the line.
Milwaukee scored nine straight for a one-point lead midway through the third before Chicago went on a 16-6 run featuring eight points from Curry for a 65-56 lead.
Curry, who had played just a couple of second-half minutes in Chicago's previous two losses -- one at Milwaukee on Saturday night -- and none at all in the fourth quarter, met with Skiles on Monday morning to find out why he was riding the bench in crunch time.
Told he needed to play better defense, Curry said he would. And this time he played plenty in the second half, scoring 10 points in the third quarter. He also played the final 6:39 of the fourth.
"I felt I was able to go out and be a presence," Curry said. "It's good he (Skiles) had confidence in me and kept me out there."
Chicago took a 45-39 halftime lead with a closing 11-3 run that started with Duhon's 3-pointer and featured two baskets by Nocioni.
Game notes
The Bucks shot 63 percent in the first quarter and 30 percent in the second and finished at 46 percent. ... Former Bulls forward Marcus Fizer was scoreless in 12 minutes, missing all five of his field-goal attempts for the Bucks. But Toni Kukoc, a key member of three title teams in Chicago, had eight points and three assists in 22 minutes for Milwaukee. ... Duhon had 13 points and 10 assists.
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Team Stat Comparison
MIL | CHI | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 85 | 90 |
| FGM-FGA | 33-72 (.458) | 33-73 (.452) |
| 3PM-3PA | 4-11 (.364) | 6-16 (.375) |
| FTM-FTA | 15-25 (.600) | 18-23 (.783) |
| Rebounds (Offensive-Total) | 7-34 | 11-43 |
| Assists | 24 | 25 |
| Turnovers | 15 | 19 |
| Steals | 6 | 5 |
| Blocks | 3 | 0 |
| Fast Break Points | 7 | 9 |
| Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) | 21 (1/0) | 23 (1/0) |
| Largest Lead | 8 | 10 |
Top Performers
Game Leaders
MIL | CHI | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | M. Redd 26 | K. Hinrich 17 |
| Rebounds | J. Smith 12 | A. Nocioni 8 |
| Assists | M. Williams 8 | C. Duhon 10 |
| Steals | M. Fizer 3 | C. Duhon 2 |
| Blocks | M. Fizer 1 | C. Duhon 0 |
| Team rosters: Milwaukee | Chicago | ||
