Playing in their first home game of the season, the Bucks pulled away from the Bulls late in the third quarter and extended their lead to 12 midway through the fourth.
"I don't think either team wanted to start the season 0-3," coach Larry Krystkowiak told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was kind of a classic heavyweight fight really. It set the game back a couple years, it wasn't pretty but there was a lot of focus defensively and there weren't many open shots."
Forward Desmond Mason said: "It was nothing special. Just a low-scoring game and we had to fight for 48 minutes playing against Chicago - you know, touch and clutch and hold and grab - but we got the win."
Bucks guard Michael Redd scored 12 of his 27 points in the third quarter when the Bucks began to pull away. Redd also had nine rebounds and five assists. Rookie Yi played the best game of his young career, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds. The Bucks won despite shooting only 32.9 percent from the field.
"I've never been really successful thinking about stuff that's longer term," Krystkowiak said. "To me, it really comes down to trying to win the next quarter... like the old CBA standard. If you win enough quarters, that means you win enough games.
"I think if you start looking ahead and anticipate certain things, it can become a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy where you tell yourself it's going to be a hard stretch. You come out well in that stretch and then you put your guard down and you're vulnerable. Or, if you don't do well in that stretch, the bottom falls out."
Elsewhere in Houston, Chinese giant center Yao Ming had 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets beat Portland 89-80 and improved to 3-0 record this season.
Tracy McGrady also shone, scoring 20 points for the Rockets who are off to their best start since the 1996-97 season.
Houston, who was sent packing in the first round of the playoffs the past two seasons, has averaged 96.6 points through three games behind Yao.
Houston wasted no time getting started Saturday as it opened the game on a commanding 21-8 burst, capped by Mike James' three-pointer with 1:35 left. McGrady poured in 10 points during the surge.
Brandon Roy's 15-footer cut Portland's deficit to 54-46 at the 6:11 mark in the third. But Houston responded with an 8-0 run to get the lead back to double figures and never looked back.
James was once again superb off the bench, scoring 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting. The guard was acquired in an offseason trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Juwan Howard.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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