When Ekpe Udoh beat the third-quarter buzzer with a jumper to cut the Bucks’ deficit to 17, Tom Thibodeau almost separated his shoulder in disgust on the sideline.
At the time, it looked like one of those moments of Thibodeau being Thibodeau, intensely demanding perfection at all times.
Instead, maybe he knew.
Thibodeau has been harping on the Bulls’ fourth-quarter failures since preseason, and his team offered another doozy of an example on Monday night at the United Center.
Blowing a 27-point lead, the Bulls dropped to 3-4 at home with a stunning 93-92 loss to the Bucks that also snapped the Bulls’ nine-game win streak in the series. The loss evoked memories of the blown 35-point lead to the Kings at home in December 2009.
Richard Hamilton, who set his Bulls’ career-high with 30 points, missed a jumper near the buzzer over strong defense from rookie Doron Lamb, who had energized the Bucks’ comeback.
Lamb, who finished with eight points and two assists in 15 minutes, also had assisted on the go-ahead basket, a power move by Udoh with 57.5 seconds left.
Udoh then blocked Hamilton’s shot at the other end and Beno Udrih stripped Joakim Noah on the follow attempt. The Bulls got new life when Udrih missed both free throws with 10.7 seconds left. But Carlos Boozer, who had 19 points and 11 rebounds, couldn’t secure the defensive rebound or save the ball from going out of bounds.
Kirk Hinrich, who reached double figures for the second straight game with 17 points, defended the ensuing inbounds pass to knock the ball off Udoh, giving Hamilton his final chance.
The Bulls led 78-51 on Hinrich’s 3-pointer with 2:50 left in the third before the Bucks’ astounding 25-2 run began. The comeback occurred with leading scorers Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis benched.
No starter played less than 37 minutes. The Bucks’ bench outscored the Bulls’ 56-10. Ilyasova led the Bucks with 18 points. Udrih and Udoh also reached double figures off the bench with 11 apiece.
kcjohnson@tribune.com
Twitter @kcjhoop
Bulls blow 27-point lead, fall to Bucks
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Bulls blow 27-point lead, fall to Bucks
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Bulls blow 27-point lead, fall to Bucks
