On Sunday afternoon the Chicago Bulls look to avoid suffering a season-sweep to their division-rival, the Milwaukee Bucks.
On Sunday afternoon the Chicago Bulls look to avoid suffering a season-sweep to their division-rival, the Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee has won three of the four matchups so far this season, the last one being a 131-115 Bucks win at Fiserv Forum.
In that game, an already Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks withstood 22 points (including 5-10 shooting from 3-point range) from Matas Buzelis, and rode a huge 31-point outburst from Kyle Kuzma to the win. Coby White--since traded to the Charlotte Hornets--and Ayo Dosummu (now with the Minnesota Timberwolves) were Chicago's second and third leading scorers in that game. Patrick Williams actually tied for third in scoring that game with a surprising albeit inefficient 17 points. The extremely shorthanded Bulls won't have Patrick Williams, putting a ton of pressure on Buzelis and the remaining Bulls to produce on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulls and Bucks are both outside of the Play-In picture at the time of this writing. Milwaukee sits at the 11th spot in the standings, with Chicago slotted right behind them as the No. 12 seed.
Sunday's game will be interesting because at is currently stands, both teams are more focused on the lottery odds at an organizational level, giving both teams incentive to lose this game. Chicago is 9th in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery odds, with the Bucks at 10th.
Chicago currently has a 20.4% chance at getting a top-four pick in the draft, while the Bucks have a 13.9% chance at a top-four pick. Essentially every game from here on out will have an impact on the draft lottery standings. The Bulls, of course, have clearly chosen a direction and don't need to micromanage losses. Billy Donovan isn't the type of coach to do that anyway, and is genuinely trying hard to get this young group to form winning habits on the fly. Sunday's game will be an interesting battle between a Bucks team that has been playing better as of late--wining 7 of their last 10 games--and a Bulls team that has lost 11-straight games.
How to Watch
Chicago Bulls (24-36) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (26-31)
Location: United Center | Chicago, IL
Tipoff: Thursday, March 1, 2026, at 2:30 p.m.
TV: Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) | Announcers: Adam Amin, Stacey King
Radio: WSCR AM 670 | Announcers: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington
Betting Odds (DraftKings)
Betting Line: Bulls +3.5 (-115)
Moneyline: Bulls +130
Over/Under: 230.5 (-112)
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Injury Report
Chicago Bulls
- Noa Essengue: Out for Season (Shoulder)
- Zach Collins: Out for Season (Toe)
- Jaden Ivey: Out (Knee)
- Anfernee Simons: Out (Wrist)
- Patrick Williams: Out (Quad)
- Jalen Smith: Out (Calf)
Milwaukee Bucks
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: Out (Calf)
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo: Out (Illness)
- Taurean Prince: Out (Neck)
Last Game Starters
Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trail Blazers (Feb. 26)
- G Josh Giddey
- G Collin Sexton
- F Isaac Okoro
- F Matas Buzelis
- C Guershon Yabusele
Milwaukee Bucks vs. New York Knicks (Feb. 27)
- G Ryan Rollins
- G Kevin Porter Jr.
- F AJ Green
- F Kyle Kuzma
- C Myles Turner