Gasol, Snell carry Bulls past Bucks

CHICAGO — Tony Snell isn’t nervously rushing his shots, isn’t worried about a miss sending him back to the bench and the Chicago Bulls are loving the results.

Snell, a reserve guard, scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to lead the Bulls to an 87-71 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at the United Center.

Playing without guard Kirk Hinrich (illness), Chicago went to Snell earlier and more often than usual. He responded by drilling 7-of-11 from the floor, including 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. It was a stark contrast to how he looked earlier this season.

“I wasn’t relaxed at all (then),” Snell said. “I was more nervous and not relaxing to let the game come to me. I just tried to rush things, and as time goes on and I get more in-game experience, I’m relaxed more and just try to play the game.”

It made him stand out in this game. He helped the Bulls (36-21) seize the lead in the first quarter and they never trailed again.

“Tony is playing well,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “As long as he is playing well, he is going to keep playing. He is playing very good basketball, so you do not have to worry about Tony being in the rotation.”

Chicago forward Pau Gasol recorded his NBA-leading 37th double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and rookie reserve forward Nikola Mirotic had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Jimmy Butler added 11 points and nine rebounds, while center Joakim Noah finished with eight points and 16 rebounds.

The Bulls dominated the glass by a 62-41 margin and set a season high.

“It’s all about just boxing out, with guards coming in to make sure they box out and help the bigs,” said guard Derrick Rose, who tallied five rebounds and eight assists to go with eight points. “The bigs did a great job of making sure they got on bodies. Rather than watching the ball, they got bodies, got the rebounds.”

Rose was ice cold. He shot 1-for-13 overall and 1-for-7 from the 3-point line, but it didn’t matter thanks to the Bucks shooting a season-low 33.7 percent and hitting just 4-of-18 from the 3-point line (22.2 percent).

“It was not a hot shooting night for either team,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “We could not get it to go down for us. We had some great looks, guys were moving the ball and making plays for one another. We just couldn’t put it in the basket.”

Guard Khris Middleton led three Bucks players in double figures with 17 points, while forward Ersan Ilyasova had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Giannis Antetokounmp added 11 points for Milwaukee (31-25), which scored 11 points less than its previous season low of 82 on Feb. 2 at Toronto.

The Bulls never trailed after Gasol gave them a 7-6 lead by sinking a 17-foot jumper with 8:06 left in the first quarter. They led by 15 points at halftime and never let Milwaukee get it to single digits in the second half.

The Bucks, who fell 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Bulls in the Central Division, lost their second game in a row. They fell to 1-2 since trading leading scorer Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 19 in a three-team, five-player deal that included the Philadelphia 76ers.

Guard Michael Carter-Williams, traded by Philadelphia, is the key figure in the trade for Milwaukee. He missed his fourth straight game with a sprained toe on his right foot, but is hoping to play Wednesday against his former team.

“I love it,” Carter-Williams said of the trade. “They have a great attitude here and they are chasing the playoffs. There is a different vibe. These guys are great.”

NOTES: The Bulls played without G Kirk Hinrich and PF Taj Gibson, who sat out because of illnesses. … Bucks coach Jason Kidd started F Ersan Ilyasova instead of G Jared Dudley. “It’s just to get (Ilyasova) going and also look at Tyler (Ennis) and (Dudley) playing together,” Kidd said. “We’ll just try to get (Ilyasova) some quick minutes under his belt and get him going. We’re going to need him.” … It’s been less than a week since the Bucks traded G Brandon Knight and G Kendall Marshall to Phoenix in a three-team trade that netted a trio of players, including Ennis. Kidd is impressed with the 20-year-old Ennis, who had four points in 16:26 against Chicago.