Jrue Holiday scored 26 points (16 in the fourth quarter), and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 118-112.
Holiday’s putback put the Bucks ahead for good with 4:40 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls got within 114-112 on Zach LaVine’s pull-up 3-pointer with 24 seconds to play, but Jevon Carter answered with a reverse layup, and the Bulls got no closer.
During clutch time, the Bucks outscored the Bulls 16-10. Holiday (No. 7 in clutch wins added, 2021-22) scored 10 of the Bucks’ 16 on 4 for 4 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points (22 in the paint) and 16 rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 22 points and 7 assists. Holiday scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. The Bucks had 3 20-point scorers.
For the Bulls, LaVine had 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and DeMar DeRozan added 29 points.
The Bulls got 5 offensive rebounds, about 4 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. The Bucks outscored the Bulls 19-8 in 5 minutes with Matthews, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Carter and Nwora on the floor together.