National Basketball Association

Bulls 102, Bucks 98

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:18 p.m. ET

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MILWAUKEE -- Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined for 58 points but Jimmy Butler hit two clutch buckets late to help the Chicago Bulls hold on for a 102-98 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday evening at the Bradley Center.

Butler hit 9 of 10 shots from the field to finish with a team-high 25 for Chicago, which gained a half-game on Indiana in the race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Nikola Mitotic added 19 off the bench and Pau Gasol finished with 16 for the Bulls, who shot 52 percent from the field and never trailed in the contest.

Parker scored 24 for Milwaukee, which went 47.1 percent from the floor but got just two 3-pointers compared to seven for the Bulls.

Antetokounmpo set a career high, finishing with 34 points to go along with nine assists and five rebounds.

He scored 16 in the first quarter as the Bucks hit 50 percent of their shots.

Nikola Mirotic's layup with 10:11 left in the second quarter sparked an 11-2 run for the Bulls, who led by as many as 19, and went into the locker room up, 57-41 at the break.

Milwaukee made just seven of 21 shots during the quarter while the Bulls hit 13 of 22 attempts and shot 55 percent for the half.

Parker slammed in an Antetokounmpo miss that got the Bucks within six late in the third.

Tyler Ennis converted a three-point play with 9:15 left to make it a one-point game.

It was still a one-point game with 3:45 left when Buttler spun around Ennis for a dunk that put Chicago back up three. Ennis couldn't hold onto the ball on the other end and Butler struck again, this time with a layup to make it a 91-86 game.

NOTES: Bucks G Jerryd Bayless missed his second straight game because of a hyperextended right knee while G Khris Middleton was a late scratch with a strained left thigh. Damien Inglis started in place of Middleton while Rashad Vaughn made his second straight start in place of Bayless. ... Chicago PG Derek Rose worked out before the game but was inactive against the Bucks and missed his second consecutive game because of a bruised left elbow. The Bulls were also without F Taj Gibson, who missed a third straight game with a fractured rib. ... The Bulls came into the game still fighting for a playoff spot. At an even 38-38, they began the day ninth in the East, two games behind eighth-seeded Indiana, which was facing the Knicks in New York on Sunday night. Both teams have five games remaining after Sunday. ... Chicago took two of the first three games in the season series.