MILWAUKEE -- As four reserves plus Khris Middleton closed Game 4 for the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, it was reminiscent of when Jason Kidd had his choice of finishing games with his starters or his bench players during the first half of the season.
Milwaukee's second-half swoon coincided with injuries to key reserves Jared Dudley, O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless, which all but dried up the production the Bucks were receiving from their bench.
But it was fitting the Bucks earned their first playoff win in five years by keeping their veteran-laden second unit on the floor the entire fourth quarter.
"This is who we are," Kidd said. "Our bench was a huge part of our success. You saw that in Game 3 and you saw it (Saturday). That group was going and we were going to ride them as long as they could stand."
Prior to the All-Star break, the Bucks had the second-highest-scoring bench in the NBA at 42.0 points per game. That number dipped to 25.3, which was second-worst in the league, when Milwaukee lost 13 of 16 out of the break. Mayo missed 11 of those games due to a hamstring injury, Dudley missed seven with back spasms and Bayless saw his production dip significantly after suffering a sprained ankle.
Even when all three players returned, their production wasn't the same or consistent together.
Mayo averaged just 2.8 points per game in March, Bayless just 3.9 points per game in April and Dudley shot just 18.8 percent from beyond the arc over the last two months of the regular season.
"We weren't all the way right," Mayo said. "But we've got a great training staff and they got us to 100 percent for the last five games of the season and into the playoffs. But at the end of the day, we've been around the block a few times.
"We've been starters, we've come off the bench, and with such a great young team we still feel like we can help these guys get some wins and be able to get better each and every day. We're in a great position."
Milwaukee's bench outscored its Chicago counterparts, 47-13, in Game 4, as Mayo led the Bucks with 18 points. Dudley scored 13 points, while Bayless added 10 and John Henson chipped in six.
Kidd began mixing in reserves midway through the third quarter with the Bucks up 60-59. The unit that closed Game 4 -- Bayless, Mayo, Middleton, Dudley and Henson -- were all in with 22 seconds left in the third.
An 8-2 run that included 3-pointers from Middleton and Mayo put the Bucks up 83-75 with 7:50 to play. As the fourth quarter wore on, it became clear Kidd had no intention of going back to starters Michael Carter-Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia.
"It's up to J-Kidd, all of the time," Bayless said. "We just come out there and play. We know what our roles are with that second group. O.J. is obviously an amazing shooter and can make plays. Duds can shoot the ball, and we had Khris in there as well. It spreads the floor out so much that when John and I run our pick and roll, it's just trying to find the open guy, because they're going to have to help off of somebody.
"It worked in the second half, and coach Kidd let us go and it was great. It showed that he trusted us and I'm excited he did it."
Henson is averaging 10.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks over 29.0 minutes per game in the series. The lanky 24-year-old has been much more impactful against the Bulls than Pachulia.
With Ilyasova shooting 34.1 percent in the series, Dudley has been more effective on the offensive end, while the Bulls have failed to take advantage of a size advantage when they have the ball.
But the x-factor for Milwaukee is Mayo.
Including Game 4's win, the Bucks are 16-4 when Mayo scores 15 or more points and 21-8 when he hits more than one 3-pointer. Because of the lack of shooters on the roster, Milwaukee needs either Mayo or Dudley to hit shots in order to win.
"When we move the ball we're a tough team to stop because we have so many guys out there who can make shots," Bayless said of the lineup including Mayo, Middleton and Dudley. "We know that when they play Juice, Duds and Khris all in the same lineup, pick your poison.
"If we can just continue to play the right way and move the ball, and whoever has the ball, just make the play for somebody else and not worry about scoring so much. Make a play, or an assist, or a hockey assist, or whatever the right play is, we'll be OK."
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