Bulls come up just short against Bucks

MILWAUKEE—Andrew Bogut felt the Bulls stole a game from the Bucks earlier this year. The former No. 1 pick made sure it didn’t happen again.Bogut returned from an injury with 22 points, 15 rebounds and two big blocks in the closing minutes to rally Milwaukee to a 99-97 victory on Monday night after squandering another big lead.The Bulls overcame an 18-point second-half deficit in the teams’ first meeting on Nov. 3 and won 83-81. In the rematch, the Bulls rallied from a 14-point hole in the third quarter to take a two-point lead in the closing minutes.But Brad Miller missed a shot at the buzzer that would’ve tied it after Derrick Rose, who had 17 of his 19 points in the second half, decided to pass up the final opportunity in the Bulls fifth straight loss.Vinny Del Negro said he called the pick-and-roll for Rose and that it was executed correctly.Bogut was supposed to be out up to four weeks with a lower left leg strain. Instead, the 7-footer only missed six games and proved to be the spark Milwaukee (9-7) badly needed to snap a four-game losing streak. Bogut was slated to play about 20 minutes, but ended up with 35.Carlos Delfino and rookie Brandon Jennings added 15 points each, but Milwaukee failed to protect a big second-half lead for the second straight game.John Salmons had 23 points, Luol Deng 22 points and 14 rebounds and Joakim Noah 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls, who rallied after trailing 70-56 midway through the third.The Bulls (6-9) had three days off after a blowout loss at Utah and finished their circus road trip 1-5 after learning they’ll be without Kirk Hinrich for a week or two with a sprained left thumb.The Bulls took an 89-87 lead with just over three minutes to play before Jennings, Bogut and Charlie Bell, who finished with 16 points, all had layups to give the Bucks a 93-89 lead.Bogut then blocked two shots, swatting Deng on a dunk and turning aside a layup attempt by Rose. Salmons missed a 3 that would’ve tied it with 27 seconds left and a free throw by Delfino gave Milwaukee a 96-92 lead. Salmons hit a 3, Jennings answered with two free throws and Salmons dunked to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 98-97 before fouling Bell with 7.1 seconds to play.Bell hit the second of two free throws to finish 3 of 7 from the line and Rose decided to pass to Miller, whose shot just grazed the front of the rim from 18 feet as time expired.Why didn’t Rose drive all the way to the hoop and try to draw contact?

NOTESOTE—The Bulls host Ben Gordon and Detroit upon their return to the United Center Wednesday evening….Milwaukee blew a 15-point second-half lead in a loss to Orlando on Saturday night…..Bucks coach Scott Skiles said Jennings has had several tough shooting nights in a row, but said the rookie’s output is more “realistic” now after he made a splash by being the youngest person in NBA history to score at least 50 points when he scored 55 on Nov. 14 in a win over the Warriors…..The Bulls are 11-3 against Milwaukee since the start of the 2006-07 season.