MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks took care of business on Wednesday.
The defending NBA champions made sure not to prolong their first-round series and finished off the short-handed Chicago Bulls with a 116-100 victory in Game 5 at Fiserv Forum.
The best-of-7 matchup began inauspiciously for Milwaukee with a lackluster performance in Game 1 and then a 114-110 defeat in Game 2. Despite a knee injury to star Khris Middleton that will keep him out at least two weeks, the Bucks looked much crisper in winning three straight, including two in Chicago, to eliminate the Bulls.
Third-seeded Milwaukee will face the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics, who swept the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, have home-court advantage and will host the first two games of the series.
Chicago wasn’t expected to give Milwaukee much of a challenge given the 3-1 series deficit and the absences of key guards Zach LaVine (health and safety protocol) and Alex Caruso (concussion protocol).
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, with 32 coming in the first three quarters as the Bucks pulled away. Bobby Portis added 14 points and 17 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double in the series. The seventh-year pro had not recorded a double-double in his previous 26 playoff games.
Pat Connaughton and Grayson Allen combined for 33 points off the bench, including 9-for-15 shooting from beyond the arc.
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The Bulls just didn’t have enough firepower, hoisting up a franchise-record 52 three-point attempts but making just 15 of them.
There wasn’t much urgent energy in Fiserv Forum with the crowd late in filing into the seats. The Bucks shook off a slow start, but took control with a 12-0 run for a 20-7 lead.
Antetokounmpo scored 15 points in the first quarter. There was some concern among the home fans when he stayed on the court holding his left wrist after a hard fall with 30 seconds remaining.
Antetokounmpo stayed in the game, however, hitting the two free throws after his fall and then adding a three-point play in the waning seconds of the first quarter. He got the wrist taped on the bench by scoring the Bucks’ first two baskets of the second.
Follow Jim Owczarski on Twitter @JimOwczarski.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks beat Bulls to advance to second round of NBA playoffs