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Bucks seek to keep Bulls in surprising slump

Nov 6, 2006 - 3:41 PM Milwaukee (2-1) at Chicago (1-2) 8:30 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Through the first three games, the Milwaukee Bucks are tied for first place in the Central Division while the Chicago Bulls are last.

The young Bucks squad looks to keep the strong start going when they face the struggling Bulls on the road Monday.

While Milwaukee was not expected to be a factor in the Eastern Conference this season, Chicago, with the acquisition of four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, was universally acknowledged to be one of the main challengers for the defending champion Miami Heat.

The Bucks bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 104-91 victory over Sacramento on Saturday. Top player Michael Redd scored 26 points and new acquisition Charlie Villanueva added 25 and seven rebounds.

Andrew Bogut, who quickly recovered from a lower leg sprain to start the season on time, had 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and pulled down eight boards.

Chicago is coming off heart-breaking 89-88 loss to Sacramento in its home opener on Friday. It was the Bulls' second straight loss after opening the season with a rout of the Heat.

The Kings' Kevin Martin hit the go-ahead jumper with 6.4 seconds left, spoiling a 29-point effort by Luol Deng.

Kirk Hinrich scored 15 points and Wallace added nine and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which shot just 2-of-9 from the arc and committed 23 turnovers.

The teams split four games last season, each going 1-1 at home.