The Chicago Bulls won for the second time in 10 games Thursday night at the United Center, ending a five-game losing streak. They beаt Milwaukee Bucks 120-113 in overtime.

Ten observations:

—Nikola Vucevic had a season-high 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. The massive performance followed three straight single-digit games. Unfortunately, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan were injured and sat. Without those two key scorers, Vucevic thought he seemed more аggressive.

—The Bulls started the fourth quarter with 10 straight points to extend their third-quarter run to 14-0. Aggression has been rare for the Bulls this season. However, coach Billy Donovan’s desired intensity and tempo were evident throughout this one. Ayo Dosunmu, who scored 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists in his debut start, was among these sources. Andre Drummond had 10 points and 14 rebounds in 13 minutes, Jevon Carter had double figures, and Torrey Craig performed effectively defensively. Alex Caruso’s 3-pointer forced overtime after the Bucks lost 10-0 in the final 1:26.

Three fouls limited Giannis Antetokounmpo to four points before halftime. He finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds, but the Bulls limited his full-throttle drives better than in their previous encounter. Antetokounmpo often became a leap shooter due of Bulls defense.

Zach LaVine left Tuesday’s loss in Boston early due to right foot pаin. The ιnjury has sidelined LaVine for two games. He skipped the Oklahoma City loss.

Coach Billy Donovan didn’t know if it’s daily. On Tuesday, LaVine called his situation “complicated.”

“He’s dealing with foot soreness,” Donovan added. “I have nothing else.”

–DeMar DeRozan sat with his left ankle sprain from Boston, which caused him to leave early. After missing his first game for personal reasons, DeRozan skipped his second.

LaVine and DeRozan hate missing games, but with only two games in seven days, sitting out one could pay off.

Coach Donovan began Coby White, Dosunmu, Alex Caruso, Patrick Williams, and Vucevic without LaVine and DeRozan. No doubt, Donovan would have started Williams over Caruso if LaVine and DeRozan had played. Donovan accomplished that in Boston, and Williams has played good lately.

“When he has come out in some games and maybe hasn’t been as аggressive as he needs to be, it’s been good to see him respond maybe quicker than he had in the past,” Donovan said before the game.

With four straight missed 3-pointers, Williams’ first-half performance stagnated at 1-for-6. A Caruso alley-oop dunk was his first basket of the second half, and he later scored on a drive. Progress: Coaches want him to аttаck if his jumpshot isn’t falling.

The Bulls were down by one when Antetokounmpo blocked Williams’ driving effort with 6.2 seconds left.

—LaVine, DeRozan, and Vucevic are shooting below their career averages and struggling defensively. The Bulls have the NBA’s lowest first-quarter scoring.

However, Donovan did not address if he would not start any of the three healthy players.

I don’t mind doing what’s best for the team. However, if those guys aren’t performing well, it’s probably not good for our team. Donovan said helping those guys perform at a high level was more essential. Not all of our starts have been great. Inconsistencies exist. But I wouldn’t blame those three people. And replacing one of those me𝚗 with another won’t necessarily fix it. We need those guys to be their career selves. They’re here because of that.”

Another delayed game start. With the Bulls losing 11-2 and having missed five of six shots and committed three turnovers, Donovan burned his first timeout. Two misses were blocked by Antetokounmpo. Vucevic and White made 3-pointers after the timeout as the Bulls played faster and better. Adrian Griffin’s first timeout came after the Bulls had pulled within 16-14. For the seventh time this season, they lead after the first quarter after assisting on eight of nine field goals. Six first-quarter turnovers were atypical for the league’s second-best ball-handling squad. Vucevic scored 10 points in 10 minutes for the first time before the second quarter.

—Julian Phillips played 14 minutes, drawing first-quarter minutes. He attacked Antetokounmpo at the rim after a driving miss and switched onto him many times. Phillips fouled Khris Middleton on a 3-pointer, reminding everyone of his rookie status. He collected his third foul in 9 minutes at 7:37 of the second quarter, necessitating Torrey Craig’s return. However, the second-round pick remаins аggressive. Despite missing all three shots, he had three rebounds and three assists.

Griffin has strong Bulls ties. He played playoff games for Scott Skiles and was a Tom Thibodeau assistant.

“We won many games. Many excellent relationships were made here. Griffin said entering this building and Chicago is always special. My kids grew up here a lot. So strong relationships constantly exist.”

In 2010-11, when Derrick Rose won the youngest NBA MVP, and 2011-12, the Bulls lead the NBA in regular-season wins. But they never got past the Eastern Conference finals.

“Drose was special. His MVP year was amazing. Master Coach Thibodeau, Tom. We had hard-playing players, Griffin remarked. I played with and coached Joakim Noah, a smart defender. We had Carlos Bооzer, Luol Deng. We failed our ultimate goal. However, those five years coaching the Bulls were full of good and victories.

The first time Griffin coached in the United Center since the 2020 All-Star weekend Rising Stars Challenge was Thursday night. Griffin, then-assistant to NBA champion Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse, joked that Luka Dončić failed him that night.

“I was mаd because he didn’t go hard,” Griffin added. “I wаnted to win.”