Upset by officials, Robin Lopez had to be restrained by assistant coaches so he didn’t pick up his second technical foul. Bobby Portis screamed in Giannis Antetokounmpo’s face following a Justin Holiday dunk.
Even with 16.9 seconds left, Kris Dunn tackled Khris Middleton from behind as they battled in the post, leading to ejections for both.
These Bulls continue to play as if they didn’t get the memo on the rebuild, typically competitive and combative to the final buzzer.
“We believe,” Nikola Mirotic said.
And why not? That’s eight victories in 10 games following Tuesday’s 115-106 staredown of the Bucks in the Bulls’ last trip to the Bradley Center. Twice in 11 days, the Bulls have bused here, been the aggressors and exited victorious.
“We are playing aggressive,” Mirotic said. “It’s all about the work. We already showed that we can win games while playing well. Now it’s about being consistent.”
Mirotic led five Bulls in double figures with 24 points, and Dunn posted a monster game with 20 points, 12 assists, four steals and two blocks. Mirotic has posted five 20-point games in his first 10 back from injury.
As for Dunn, it’s his third double-double this season after he posted one all last season with the Timberwolves. He led the way as the Bulls had 26 assists and a season-low seven turnovers.
Add another “closer”-type basket — a nasty, aggressive, left-handed drive over traffic with 53.8 seconds left for a seven-point lead — and the point guard continues to grow up on seemingly a game-by-game basis.
“I felt like I had the matchup,” Dunn said. “I wanted to be aggressive.”
Just like last game, David Nwaba matched Giannis Antetokounmpo in the fourth quarter. And while Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points, 18 of those came in the first half and only four in the fourth quarter.
Nwaba’s aggressiveness exemplifies this Bulls’ run.
“He’s an unbelievable defender,” Dunn said. “People don’t realize how strong he is. He’s really a musclehead. Props to him to take on that role and try to make it difficult for him. We credit him a lot.”
Added coach Fred Hoiberg: “We love what David has brought to our team. He’s not going to back down from anybody.”
The strong play of Mirotic and Bobby Portis — who finished with nine points, eight rebounds and was plus-26 — convinced Hoiberg to keep Lauri Markkanen on the bench for the final 16 minutes, 37 seconds. Markkanen tied a season-low with three points on 1-for-7 shooting.
“Bobby was getting a little bit winded out there but our bench was terrific,” Hoiberg said. “We almost went back to Lauri. But the way Bobby and Niko were playing together, they had a really nice rhythm on the offensive end.”
As for Dunn, he brushed off his ejection, including whether Middleton elbowed him.
“I couldn’t really remember,” he said. “Just got tangled up, nothing too major. I’m just trying to protect myself.”
And the Bulls are just trying to win games, rebuild or not.
“We’re resilient,” Dunn said. “Each game, we’re trying to improve. Our chemistry is getting better. When we play defense, things go well for us.”
Twitter @kcjhoop
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