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Bulls crush Bucks by 54, advance to face Cavs

May 1, 2015 - 12:36 PM Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - The Bulls finally eliminated the Bucks, beating them so soundly in Game 6 that Milwaukee resorted to playground bullying.

Chicago did its damage on the scoreboard, cruising to a 120-66 drubbing and a date with the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The 54-point margin was third largest in NBA playoff history, just four points shy of the 133-75 shellacking Minnesota put on St. Louis on March 19, 1956. It was also the most lopsided postseason game for both franchises.

Mike Dunleavy led the Bulls with 20 points and was the victim of an egregious Giannis Antetokounmpo body check late in the second quarter. Chicago was already leading by 30, and a clearly-frustrated Antetokounmpo threw his entire weight into Dunleavy as he was shooting a 3-pointer. Dunleavy made the shot despite being blind-sided into the first row, and an ejected Antetokounmpo watched the rest of the blowout from the locker room.

Derrick Rose totaled 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds and was given the fourth quarter off with the game well in hand. Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler scored 19 and 16 points, respectively, and Joakim Noah totaled 11 points and 10 boards.

The upstart Bucks made it a competitive series with two straight wins after going down 3-0, but they trailed from start to finish and showed little fight other than in ways that resulted in technical fouls and ejections.

Jason Kidd emptied his bench and all 13 players scored, with Zaza Pachulia's eight points leading the way. Milwaukee turned it over 18 times and shot just 4-of-19 from 3-point range.

Still, the team is looking for bigger things following a 26-win turnaround.

"It was a great year for us," Pachulia said. "We are at a good point where we can build from it. I'm excited for the future of this team."

The rout began early, with Dunleavy hitting a 3-pointer and Butler making another for an 8-0 lead just 67 seconds into the game.

Gasol capped his 13-point first quarter with a tip-in to give Chicago a healthy 34-16 cushion, and Rose poured in seven straight points during a 13-2 run that stretched the lead to 27 midway through the second.

"We came out and got off to a good start on both ends of the court," Dunleavy said. "We were dialed in tonight. We had our 'A' game and it showed."

Dunleavy avoided whistles on two high shoves of Michael Carter-Williams and Antetokounmpo, and the 20-year-old "Greek Freak" took exception with what may cost him a suspension down the road.

Dunleavy's 3 and subsequent free throw on the Flagrant-2 foul made it a 34- point spread, and it was a 65-33 game at halftime.

There were more questionable antics during an 18-1 Chicago run in the third quarter, as Carter-Williams sent Dunleavy into the scorer's table with a swim move usually reserved for football players.

The play resulted in a technical foul, and cooler heads prevailed as both teams calmly coasted to the final buzzer.

Game Notes

Dunleavy made four of Chicago's 15 3-pointers ... Chicago won the battle in the paint 50-20 and scored 22 fastbreak points to Milwaukee's six ... Carter- Williams was limited to three points after totaling 22 in Game 5 ... Bucks guard Khris Middleton, who averaged 17.8 points over the first five games, was held to six ... The Bucks recorded only three steals after going for double digits each of the first five games ... Gasol fell two rebounds shy of recording a double-double every game in the series.