Holding an opponent under 90 points has been a recipe for success for the Milwaukee Bucks this season.
Milwaukee entered 18-0 when allowing fewer than 90 points, but the Bucks were so bad offensively Monday that it would have taken a gargantuan defensive effort in order to win.
The Bucks shot a season-worst 33.7 percent and were held to a season-low 71 points in an 87-71 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
1 big moment: Chicago scored the first nine points of the second quarter to stretch its lead to 30-15. The game was never in doubt after that, as the Bulls led by no fewer than 13 points the rest of the way.
2 top performers: Tony Snell entered averaging just 4.8 points per game on the season, but the second-year forward has been on a tear in February. Snell continued his breakout month by scoring 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. He went 7 of 11 from the field and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, as the 23-year-old is now 20 of 35 on 3-pointers this month.
Making his first start since Jan. 27, Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova scored 15 points with 11 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season.
3 key stats: Milwaukee's 71 points were its fewest since it scored 67 in a loss to Miami on March 29, 2014. The Bucks are averaging 82.0 points in their three games since trading Brandon Knight to Phoenix.
The Bulls grabbed a season-high 62 rebounds Monday, the most by a Bucks opponent in a regulation game since Minnesota had 62 against them on Oct. 29, 2010.
The Bucks shot a season-worst 33.7 percent from the field, as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jared Dudley, Zaza Pachulia and John Henson were a combined 4 of 20 from the field against the Bulls.
Said: "It was not a hot shooting performance by either team. We had some great looks that just didn't go down for us. Guys drove the ball and made plays for each other. We just couldn't get the ball to go in the basket. The offense was functioning fine. We had wide-open looks. We just couldn't get them to go down." -- Bucks coach Jason Kidd
Seen: Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams missed his sixth straight game due to a strained right big toe. Carter-Williams has yet to make his debut with Milwaukee and has not appeared in a game since Feb. 3.
He told reporters after the game that he hopes to return Wednesday when the Bucks host his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Next: After dropping consecutive games to the Hawks and Bulls, the Bucks return home to face the lowly 76ers at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Wednesday.
Milwaukee will then head out on a four-game, west coast trip to Los Angeles (versus the Lakers), Utah, Denver and Golden State.
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