Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry reacts after sinking a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
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Three nights after Christmas, late in the fourth quarter, Bulls coach Billy Donovan found his heart filled with giddiness.

For most of the season, Donovan has kept Bulls newcomer Josh Giddey off the court during crunch time, due to a less-than-stellar reputation for defense.

On Saturday against Milwaukee, Donovan had a change of heart, sent Giddey back on the floor with three minutes left and the Australia native helped save a 116-111 victory over Milwaukee.

Giddey recorded his third triple-double of the season, finishing with 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. He hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining and even stopped Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton a couple times late in the game, with some help.

Substituting Giddey probably wasn’t an independent decision by Donovan. Lonzo Ball had reached 20 minutes, his typical limit, and Ayo Dosunmu is sidelined by a calf strain.

“I think the feeling on the bench was that you’ve got (Damian) Lillard, shooting 3s, (Brook) Lopez shooting 3s,” Donovan said. “Middleton’s isolating, but they’re 2s. Josh has got length, so just trying not to foul him and trying to make him shoot over him was kind of what we hoped for. I thought Josh really competed and battled defensively.”

Bucks center Brook Lopez buried a 3-pointer to tie the score with 43 seconds left. Coby White came back to knock down the go-ahead 18-foot jumper, the Bulls forced a Middleton miss, Giddey grabbed the rebound and iced the game with a pair of free throws.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr., right, throws the ball over Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
AP

White snapped out of a shooting slump by scoring 22 points, while center Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 13 rebounds, Lillard led the Bucks with 29.

“We’re capable of beating anybody and we’ve obviously shown we can lose and have terrible games as well,” Bulls guard Zach LaVine said. “I think we did a good job of just coming back after a bad loss. We did everything right for three quarters (in Atlanta on Thursday), then just let the rope completely go. It feels good that everybody contributed to a win.”

It’s been a bizarre few weeks for the Bulls. They pulled off their best win of the season on Dec. 19, knocking off a full-strength Celtics squad in Boston. They couldn’t stop Jayson Tatum’s revenge two nights later at the United Center, but that loss was understandable.

Getting blown out at home last Monday by a Milwaukee team missing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard, that result made no sense at all. Neither did the fourth-quarter collapse in Atlanta on Thursday, where the Bulls stood back on defense and let the Hawks score 50 points in the final 12 minutes. Antetokounmpo was out again Saturday with an illness.

The Bulls head into the New Year with a couple basic questions: Will they ever be able to play successful defense? And somewhere in this deep rotation, is there a winning combination of players?

Giddey has been trending in the right direction, while rookie Matas Buzelis is by far the Bulls’ leader in net rating during the month of December. That can be a deceptive stat, since he’s coming off the bench and often not going against an opponent’s best players. But he’s also the Bulls’ best hope for defensive improvement and should be playing more than the 13 minutes he got in this game.

Donovan’s playing time decisions will continue to be a challenge. Giddey at least showed he can be trusted in late-game situations.

· Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu missed his second straight game due to a right lower calf strain. The team announced he will rest the injury and be reevaluated in 10 days.

The Bulls added a two-way player Saturday, signing Emanuel Miller. He’s a 6-7 forward from TCU who averaged 18.2 points and 8.4 rebounds this season for the G-League’s Texas Legends. The Bulls released D.J. Steward, who was averaging 19.9 points.

Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams goes up to sink a basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
AP

CHICAGO – The Milwaukee Bucks try to bounce back from a disappointing loss on Thursday night as they face the struggling Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Saturday night.

The Bucks just beat the Bulls on their home court, 112-91, on Dec. 23. This will be the fourth and final regular-season game between the teams. Chicago (13-18) has lost three in a row and five of eight. Milwaukee (16-13) has won five of its last eight.

Is Giannis playing?

No. The Bucks’ MVP candidate has been out of action since Dec. 20, first with back spasms (Dec. 21-23) and then with an illness (Dec. 26). He began the day as questionable to play with that illness but was not seen at shootaround in the afternoon. He was ruled out as the team arrived to the United Center.

What is the Bucks record without Giannis?

3-2

Damian Lillard will try to play vs. Bulls

The all-star point guard is also questionable to play with the illness that has been going around the locker room for the better part of December — but he said at shootaround on Saturday morning he’d like to give it a go tonight. The Bucks have gone 2-2 without him in the lineup over the last week.

“Couple days ago, I tried to work out — the night before the Brooklyn game (on Dec. 26) — because I wanted to play against Brooklyn, but I mean, the whole time I was working out, it just kept making me cough, coughing up (expletive),” he said. “I got through the workout, but I couldn’t breathe good.

“So, the last couple days, that’s all I’ve been doing. Just trying to work that stuff out and it’s still been like having me super-winded, but I mean, I guess at some point, you just gotta get out there and burn it out. So, that’s what my plan is, at least.”

Lillard acknowledged that he lost a couple of pounds because he didn’t eat for a few days and stayed hydrated. He also said he sweated profusely as he recovered. It was anything but just sitting home and resting.

“I (expletive) wish it was that,” he said. “I’ll tell you that. I was just telling them earlier, like I’ve never been that sick before in my entire life. Like I’ve never been that sick before in my entire life. I wasn’t throwing up, nothing. I just didn’t eat for two days. I didn’t eat at all. I didn’t get up, nothing. I was down. It was bad.”

Lillard has not played a regular-season game since Dec. 14 when the Bucks beat Atlanta in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas, and it was in that game when he aggravated his right calf muscle. He played on it — and tweaked the muscle again — in the NBA Cup final against Oklahoma City on Dec. 17.

He was then immediately ruled out for the Bucks’ next two regular-season games with a strain in the calf on Dec. 20-21. While he admitted in Las Vegas that anytime he suffers a calf injury there may be some concern (he strained the calf in 2022 in Portland and strained his right Achilles last playoffs) he said this wasn’t that bad and he is recovered from it.

“It wasn’t; it was a mild strain to begin with,” Lillard said. “I did it against Atlanta in Vegas. It happened against Atlanta. I just tweaked it in the championship game to where it was like I’m going to miss; depending on when our next one is and how I feel I’m going to miss that one and the one after that. But we got on that.

“We had been on top of that right away, so even when I tried to get back on the court it was like a little bit tight because I hadn’t been moving, but it was alright. I didn’t have no issues.”

Lillard missed three previous games with a concussion from Nov. 12-16.

More: Bobby Portis starts campaign to get AJ Green into three-point contest

Bucks injury report

• AJ Johnson, out (non-COVID illness)
• Giannis Antetokounmpo, out (non-COVID illness)
• Damian Lillard, questionable (non-COVID illness)
• Andre Jackson Jr., probable (right ankle sprain)
• Khris Middleton, probable (offseason surgery on both ankles)

Bucks probable starters

• Guards: Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr.
• Forwards: Bobby Portis Jr., Khris Middleton
• Center: Brook Lopez

Bucks vs. Bulls odds, over/under

Milwaukee is a 3.5-point favorite over Chicago and the over/under for the game is 230.5 points per BetMGM.

What channel are the Bucks on?

The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Steve Novak and Melanie Ricks on the call.

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee County prosecutors charged a man who they say was confused for a hospital valet driver – and drove off in someone’s car anyway – on Saturday, Dec. 21. 

Court records show 28-year-old Jessie Reyes-Fleischmann is now accused of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent and misdemeanor obstructing an officer.

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According to a criminal complaint, the victim was unloading his car outside Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center on Milwaukee’s south side and saw two men standing outside. The victim said he thought the men were valet drivers, and he handed one of them his car keys.

When the victim later spoke to medical staff about retrieving his car, court filings state he was informed the hospital does not have a valet service. The victim then realized his car had been taken, and he reported it stolen to MPD.

In custody

Early the next morning, Greenfield police located and pulled over the stolen car. Prosecutors said the driver, later identified Reyes-Fleischmann, initially gave officers a fake name. His true identity was not learned until he was booked.

During an interview, the complaint states Reyes-Fleischmann told police he asked the victim at the hospital if he needed help. The victim then handed over his keys and said “can somebody take my car.” He said he got in and started driving around, but admitted he should have told the man no – that he was “stupid” and should’ve just parked the car.

Court records show Reyes-Fleischmann made his initial court appearance on Thursday. His bond was set at $1,500.