MILWAUKEE — Jerryd Bayless made a layup at the buzzer off an inbounds pass, lifting Milwaukee to a 92-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday that drew the Bucks within 3-1 in their Eastern Conference playoff series.
With 1.3 seconds left, Jared Dudley threw a high-arcing pass toward the basket from side court. Bayless caught the ball and quickly threw up the layup with his right hand for the game-winning basket.
Bulls guard Derrick Rose walked away in frustration after trying to defend Bayless on the final play under the basket, while green and white streamers descended from the Bradley Center rafters.
The Bucks had won their first playoff game in five years.
Chicago had a chance to win with the game tied at 90. But Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton tipped a dribble away from Rose to force a steal. Bucks coach Jason Kidd called a timeout to set up the final play.
Game 5 is Monday in Chicago.
Jimmy Butler had a playoff career-high 33 points for the Bulls. Rose finished with 14 points, while Pau Gasol had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
But the Bulls committed 28 turnovers, eight by Rose.
And Chicago couldn’t force a Milwaukee mistake at the end.
“Just tried to get a stop … Derrick lost Bayless and Bayless put it up,” Gasol said about the final play.
“But that definitely didn’t lose us the game,” he added. “Mistakes will happen — we just made too many of them throughout the game.”
Veterans Dudley and Bayless were calming influences off the bench on a team known more for rising stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Carter-Williams, both starters.
But it was the bench that ignited Milwaukee’s second-half push after the Bucks lost a 12-point lead in the first half. The Bucks’ reserves outscored Chicago’s 47-13 for the game.
O.J. Mayo finished with 18 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:42 left. Dudley had 13 points and five assists — including the one on the game-winner — while Bayless had 10 points.
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