Butler takes charge as Chicago Bulls down Milwaukee Bucks

Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career high 31 points as the Chicago Bulls took a 2-0 first round playoff series lead with a 91-82 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Butler scored 14 of his game high points in the fourth quarter Monday for the Bulls, who maintained home court advantage in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.

"A lot of my scoring goes to (my teammates) for drawing so much attention," Butler said.

Bulls guard Derrick Rose added 15 points and nine assists after being held scoreless in the first half.

Rose added nine assists and seven rebounds. Pau Gasol had 11 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, and Joakim Noah tallied a game-high 19 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won eight of the last nine against their Central Division rival.

Guard Khris Middleton paced the  Milwaukee attack with 22 points. Guard Michael Carter-Williams added 12 points for the Bucks, who were outscored 20-8 down the stretch.

"We're going to fight to get this series back to even and protect our home court," Middleton said of the series switching to Milwaukee's arena.

After the Bulls fell behind 74-71 early in the fourth quarter, Butler took control. He carried the Bulls on his back, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter, including nine points during a 13-0 run that put Chicago up by 10.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd said they had no answer for Butler.

"I thought we played a pretty good game on the road, giving ourselves an opportunity to win," Kidd said.

"Butler was a one-man show in being able to shoot the three and also get to the basket.

"We've got to get open shots and finish at the rim. We missed a lot of bunnies in the paint."

Milwaukee centre Zaza Pachulia picked up his second technical foul in a 1:12 span and was ejected after he got tangled up with Nikola Mirotic going for a loose ball.

"This is the playoffs and it's going to be physical," Kidd said. "Nothing more. Nothing less. Both teams are playing to win."

Milwaukee was limited to just one basket over the final four minutes of the game.
Source: AFP