Like Games 2 and 3 in this series, Saturday's Game 4 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls was highly competitive. But no playoff game this season had an ending quite as exciting as this one.After several lead changes, the Bucks never trailed in the fourth quarter, and despite squandering a seven-point lead in the final minute, they knocked off the Bulls, 92-90, on a buzzer-beating lay-in by Jerryd Bayless, extending this series back to Chicago for a Game 5.Impressive performances by Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol turned out to be for naught, as Milwaukee's well-rounded attack led the team to the franchise's first postseason win since 2010.Chicago BullsDerrick Rose: BThis postseason has unexpectedly brought about vintage Rose. In Games 1 through 3, he had averaged 24 points and eight assists on 47 percent shooting. He wasn't as flashy on Saturday, making just one of his first five shots and going 5-of-13 overall.He didn't take particularly good care of the ball in Game 4, turning it over four times before halftime and eight times over the entire contest.He racked up six assists, leading the team,andmade a few nice feeds that don't appear in the box score, like a slick pocket pass to Pau Gasol for a hockey assist to Jimmy Butler.He came alive late in the fourth, drilling a jumper to bring Chicago within three and feeding Gasol rolling to the rim to tie the game at 90 with 38 seconds left. Rose faltered on the Bulls' final possession, though, dribbling into traffic and turning it over, which gave the Bucks a game-winning possession with the score tied and 1.3 seconds left.Jimmy Butler: AEven with a relatively underwhelming performance from Rose, Butler's two-way prowess was enough to keep Chicago within reach over the full 48 minutesin a game where his team committed28 turnovers resulting in 39 points.He made eight of his first 12 shots, going for 23 first-half points and ending upwith 33 altogether, to go along with seven boards and three steals.As per usual, Butler was a factor on both ends, coming away with a massive block on O.J. Mayo to end the first quarter and a number of impactful plays in the passing lanes. After Milwaukee ripped off a 20-2 run in the second quarter to jump out in front, Butler hit an impressive three with 0.1 seconds left in the first half to knot the score at 50 at halftime, erasing a nine-point deficit.His second half was relatively quiet, though he was one of Chicago's only reliable shot-makers over the entire game. Going to him, instead of letting Rose dribble the clock down, during the final possession may have been a better call by Tom Thibodeau.Pau Gasol: B+Gasol was relatively quiet offensively through most of Game 4, which has been the case through most of the seriesdespite his averaging 14.3 rebounds entering Saturday's game. He came on late, totaling 16 points on 10 shots, and helped out in other facets, contributing10 rebounds and four assists.He was a part of Chicago's turnover woes all night long, namely losing one on a double-team in the first half when the Bucks were streaking. He gave the ball away five times, all told.The Bulls finally called his number with 38.4 seconds left in the fourth, trailing by three, when Rose fed him rolling to the rim. Gasol connected on the point-blank shot and the free throw, tying the game at 90 in the final minute.Joakim Noah: DLike Gasol, Joakim Noah hasn't needed to post gaudy scoring stats to help Chicago, with Rose and Butler having so much success. He was averaging just 4.7 points over the first three games, and he finished with four over his 30 minutes on Saturday.He made just two of his five shots, missed both of his free-throw attempts and grabbed just five rebounds while contributing four assists. He wasn't necessarily an advantage defensively for Chicago, eitherthe Bucks scored 40 of their 92 points in the paint. Noah was the only Bulls starter to log a negative plus-minus rating, clocking in at minus-23.Rest of Team: D+Aaron Brooks came on briefly to relieve Rose in the first quarter but squandered his opportunity after elbowing Mayo in the chest along the perimeter. As a result, he earned a flagrant foul and started a minor altercationone of many in this series. He finished scoreless in nine minutes.Nikola Mirotic, who played despite battling various injuries over the last few days,scored five on 2-of-7 shooting over his 20 minutes. Taj Gibson threw down a monstrous one-handed slam dunk toward the end of the third, briefly giving Chicago a 70-69 lead. He had eight points over his 25 minutes.Mike Dunleavy contributed 10 points on five shots, while Tony Snell went scoreless in seven minutes.Milwaukee BucksMichael Carter-Williams: B-Much like he has through most of this series, Michael Carter-Williams shot poorly from the fieldjust 4-of-11and dished out a decent amount of assists while turning it over a bit more than Jason Kidd prefers. He finished with eightpoints, five assists and two rebounds in 25 minutes.He and Zaza Pachulia teamed up on an effective double-team, leading to a Gasol turnover in the first half, when the Bucks snatched momentum to go on a 20-2 run and get out to a nine-point lead. Several of his attempts came in transition, as he connected on a breakaway dunk but also misfired on some potentially momentum-shifting plays. He wasn't on the floor much during Milwaukee's second-half surge.O.J. Mayo: A-He struggled from the field early on, but Mayo knocked down some crucial fourth-quarter shots to give Milwaukee a seven-point cushion with nine minutes remaining.He made four of the Bucks' nine three-pointers and also came away with foursteals and three assists. He turned itover twice,one being a bad pass that directly led to a transition basket for Chicago in the second quarter. He grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.He drilled what was initially ruled a buzzer-beating deep three-pointer to give Milwaukee a 90-81 lead. But the shot was later reviewed and the points were taken off the board, which made Butler's ensuing three that much more important.Mayo was able to redeem himself, drilling an even more necessary triple to put a 90 back on Milwaukee's side of the scoreboard. He grabbed a key board off a Mirotic miss, helping Milwaukee be in a position to win it on the final possession. He had a team-high 18 points off the bench.Giannis Antetokounmpo: B-His final line wasn't overly exciting, but Giannis Antetokounmpo was responsible for several key buckets while Milwaukee was surging in the second half.He shotjust 3-of-7, going for 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 26 minutes,but his energy plays kept fueling the Buckslike when he tumbled into the first row with Dunleavy along the baseline while going after a loose ball. He came away with a steal off an errant Gasol pass and was active defensively, using his wingspan to bother Chicago's guards.He didn't make several shots, but the ones he did were timely and helped motivate the Bucks to take a lead they would never relinquish.Khris Middleton: C+It was a quiet night for Khris Middleton, which unfortunately falls in line with the rest of this series. His surprisingly great regular season hasn't translated into postseason successhe shot just 39 percent entering Game 4 and connected on only four of his 15 attempts on Saturday.He grabbed four rebounds and came away with three steals but shot just 1-of-6 from three-point rangehe was a 41 percent shooter from deep during the regular season.Jerryd Bayless: BJerryd Bayless was hardly effective in his 25 minutes, but he converted on the most important shot of the Bucks' season, when Jared Dudley inbounded him the ball under the rim with 1.3 seconds left.He scored 10 points altogether, giving out five assists and shooting 3-of-10.Rest of Team: BJared Dudley scored 13 points and shot 5-of-9 from the field while dishing out five assists. Ersan Ilyasova put up nine points in 17 minutes. Zaza Pachulia had eight points and five rebounds, while John Henson scored six points, grabbed five boards and swatted away four blocks in the win.Up NextThe Bucks, with the franchise's first postseason victory in five years, travel back to Chicago for Game 5 on Monday. They still trail by two games in the series, and although no team has ever come back from a 3-0 hole, taking a game on the road Monday would make things interesting. In their own arena, as the Bulls saw in Game 4, the Bucks are liable to go on dangerous runs.Regardless of the outcome, Milwaukee has a bright future, with a young, athletic nucleus and a bright mind at the head coaching position in Kidd.
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