The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 92-90 in Game 4 of their first round playoff series after a buzzer-beating layup by Jerryd Bayless, who finished the game for the Bucks at point guard instead of Michael Carter-Williams, at the end of regulation. Jimmy Butler finished with a game-high 33 points. O.J. Mayo led the Bucks with 18 points off the bench.
Chicago had a 23-19 lead after the first quarter, which was a struggle for Milwaukee offensively. The Bucks shot just 8-of-26 from the field in the opening quarter, but the Bulls committed 9 turnovers. Chicago made three out of four three-pointers in the first quarter.
The second quarter was a different story for the Bucks. They held a 27-11 advantage at one point, much to the help of Jared Dudley knocking down a few three-pointers off the bench, but the Bulls responded with a 16-4 run including a 9-0 run in the final minute of the half. The Bucks committed 4 turnovers in their final seven possessions and Jimmy Butler banked in a three-pointer to tie the game at 50-apiece at halftime. Butler had 23 points in the first half.
The turnovers mounted up to 20 for the Bulls in the third quarter and the Bucks’ steal count increased to 13. The Bucks won the third quarter 23-21 and started the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run.
O.J. Mayo gave the Bucks a 6-point lead by hitting a three-pointer with under two minutes left. Derrick Rose closed that gap quickly with a three-pointer of his own followed by an assist to Pau Gasol in transition for an and-one. Gasol tied the game at 90 with a made free throw. The Bulls earned a stop and gave Derrick Rose a chance to win the game, but he turned the ball over and Jason Kidd called a quick timeout, which gave the Bucks just over a second to inbound the ball. Kidd drew up a play during the timeout, but clearly made a point to look for Derrick Rose overplaying on help defense, which he did, and it gave Jared Dudley an angle to hit Jerryd Bayless for an open layup:
The Bucks had nine players score in the game, five of them scoring in double digits. Their bench has outscored the Bulls bench in every game this series. In Game 4 the Bucks won the bench scoring battle 47-13.
The Bucks also finished with 12 offensive rebounds. The Bulls committed a season-high 28 turnovers.
Chicago leads the series 3-1. Game 5 will be on Monday in Chicago.
