Chicago Sports

An off-duty Chicago police officer exchanged gunfire with someone trying to steal a vehicle’s catalytic converter Thursday morning in the Norwood Park neighborhood, police said. No injuries were reported.

The man identified himself as an officer after noticing multiple people trying to steal a catalytic converter at 5:45 a.m. in the 6500 block of West Imlay Street, police said.

At that point, police said there was “an exchange of gunfire” between the officer and one of the suspects. The officer was not hit and the suspects fled, police said.

The officer was placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days while the Civilian Office of Police Accountability investigating the shooting.

Additional details were not released.

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The NFL Draft is officially here! While the Chicago Bears won’t be on the clock until Friday night barring a trade, that hasn’t stopped analysts everywhere from predicting who GM Ryan Poles may take. Here’s a look at what some national and local analysts are saying the Bears should do with their picks this weekend.
Dane Brugler, The Athletic
2nd Round, Pick 39: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
2nd Round, Pick 48: Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma
3rd Round, Pick 71: Darian Kinnard, OL, Kentucky
5th Round, Pick 148: Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame
5th Round, Pick 150: CorDale Flott, CB, LSU
6th Round, Pick 186: Smoke Monday, S, Auburn
Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, ESPN.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: Kenyon Green, OG, Texas A&M
2nd Round, Pick 48: Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
3rd Round, Pick 71: Josh Paschal, DE, Kentucky
Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune
2nd Round, Pick 39: Logan Hall, DL, Houston
2nd Round, Pick 48: Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan
Kevin Fishbain, The Athletic
2nd Round, Pick 45 (TRADE WITH ATL): Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
2nd Round, Pick 48: Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa
3rd Round, Pick 71: Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati
4th Round, Pick 114 (TRADE WITH ATL): Luke Fortner, OG, Kentucky
5th Round, Pick 148: Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor
5th Round, Pick 150: Jesse Luketa, EDGE, Penn State
6th Round, Pick 186: Matt Araiza, P, San Diego State
7th Round, Pick 236 (TRADE WITH LAC): Kalia Davis, DT, Central Florida
Adam Jahns, The Athletic
2nd Round, Pick 45 (TRADE WITH ATL): Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor
2nd Round, Pick 48: Logan Hall, DL, Houston
3rd Round, Pick 71: Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati
4th Round, Pick 114 (TRADE WITH ATL): Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State
5th Round, Pick 148: Damarri Mathis, CB, Pittsburgh
5th Round, Pick 150: Velus Jones Jr., WR, Tennessee
6th Round, Pick 186: Dane Belton, S, Iowa
7th Round, Pick 236 (TRADE WITH LAC): Chasen Hynes, OG, LSU
Chad Reuter, NFL.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
2nd Round, Pick 48: Arnold Ebiketie, EDGE, Penn State
3rd Round, Pick 71: Tariq Woolen, CB, Texas-San Antonio
5th Round, Pick 148: Tycen Anderson, S, Toledo
5th Round, Pick 150: Spencer Burford, OG, Texas-San Antonio
6th Round, Pick 186: Lecitus Smith, OG, Virginia Tech
Walter Cherepinsky, WalterFootball.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: David Ojabo, DE/OLB, Michigan
2nd Round, Pick 48: Wan’Dale Robinson , WR, Kentucky
3rd Round, Pick 71: Nick Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State
5th Round, Pick 148: Damarri Mathis, CB, Pittsburgh
5th Round, Pick 150: Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor
6th Round, Pick 186: Daniel Hardy, DE, Montana State
Mark Schofield, USA Today
2nd Round, Pick 39: Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan
2nd Round, Pick 48: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
3rd Round, Pick 71: Marcus Jones, CB, Houston
Alex Shapiro, NBC Sports Chicago
2nd Round, Pick 39: Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington
2nd Round, Pick 48: Logan Hall, DL, Houston
3rd Round, Pick 71: Jamaree Salyer, OT, Georgia
5th Round, Pick 148: Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor
5th Round, Pick 150: Josh Jobe, CB, Alabama
6th Round, Pick 186: Joshua Ezeudu, OG, North Carolina
Matt Miller, ESPN.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
2nd Round, Pick 48: Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State
3rd Round, Pick 71: Martin Emerson, CB, Mississippi State
5th Round, Pick 148: Matt Waletzko, OT, North Dakota
5th Round, Pick 150: Kyle Philips, WR, UCLA
6th Round, Pick 186: Christopher Hinton, DT, Michigan
Stephen Johnson, ChiCitySports
2nd Round, Pick 39: Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa
2nd Round, Pick 48: Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan
3rd Round, Pick 71: Sam Williams, EDGE, Mississippi
5th Round, Pick 148: Mario Goodrich, CB, Clemson
5th Round, Pick 150: Justin Shaffer, OG, Georgia
6th Round, Pick 186: Matt Araiza, P, San Diego State
Chris Trapasso, CBSSports.com
1st Round, Pick 18 (TRADE WITH PHI): Trevor Penning, OL, Northern Iowa
3rd Round, Pick 74 (TRADE WITH ATL): Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama
5th Round, Pick 148: Akayleb Evans, CB, Missouri
5th Round, Pick 150: Cole Turner, TE, Nevada
6th Round, Pick 190: Charleston Rambo, WR, Miami
6th Round, Pick 208 (TRADE WITH PIT): Jean Delance, OT, Florida
7th Round, Pick 241 (TRADE WITH PIT): Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M
Luke Easterling, USA Today
2nd Round, Pick 39: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
2nd Round, Pick 48: Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
3rd Round, Pick 71: Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State
5th Round, Pick 148: Isaiah Thomas, EDGE, Oklahoma
5th Round, Pick 150: Thomas Booker, DL, Stanford
6th Round, Pick 186: D’Marco Jackson, LB, Appalachian State
Vinnie Iyer, SportingNews.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
2nd Round, Pick 48: Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota
3rd Round, Pick 71: Jalen Tolbert, WR, South Alabama
5th Round, Pick 148: Dominique Robinson, EDGE, Miami (Ohio)
5th Round, Pick 150: Kerby Joseph, S, Illinois
6th Round, Pick 186: Kyle Phillips, WR, UCLA
Tony Pauline, Pro Football Network
2nd Round, Pick 39: Luke Goedeke, OL, Central Michigan
2nd Round, Pick 48: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
3rd Round, Pick 71: Cam Taylor-Britt, CB, Nebraska
Josh Edwards, CBSSports.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
2nd Round, Pick 48: Darian Kinnard, OG, Kentucky
3rd Round, Pick 71: Dylan Parham, OG, Memphis
Seth Galina, Pro Football Focus
2nd Round, Pick 39: George Pickens, WR, Georgia
2nd Round, Pick 48: Logan Hall, DL, Houston
3rd Round, Pick 71: Jamaree Salyer, OT, Georgia
Tankathon.com
2nd Round, Pick 39: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
2nd Round, Pick 48: Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
3rd Round, Pick 71: Cole Strange, IOL, Chattanooga
Gene Chamberlain, SI’s Bear Digest
2nd Round, Pick 39: George Pickens, WR, Georgia
2nd Round, Pick 48: Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma
3rd Round, Pick 71: Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington State
5th Round, Pick 148: Josh Jobe, CB, Alabama
5th Round, Pick 150: Lecitus Smith, OG, Virginia Tech
6th Round, Pick 186: Damarri Mathis, CB, Pittsburgh
Bears Wire Staff
2nd Round, Pick 39: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
2nd Round, Pick 48: Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor
3rd Round, Pick 71: Sam Williams, EDGE, Mississippi
5th Round, Pick 148: Danny Gray, WR, SMU
5th Round, Pick 150: Chigoziem Okonkwo, TE, Maryland
6th Round, Pick 186: Logan Bruss, OL, Wisconsin
The NFL Draft kicks off Thursday April 28th at 7 p.m. with TV coverage on ABC and ESPN.
 The post On The Clock: 20 analysts mock drafts for Chicago Bears first appeared on CHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – Fans.Read More

Cook County prosecutors rejected felony charges against a man who allegedly admitted he was involved in a Near North Side shootout in which dozens of shots were fired Sunday evening.

Anthony D. Newman, 20, of Old Town, was charged only with a misdemeanor for having a gun without a valid FOID card, Cook County court records show. The Cook County state’s attorney’s office rejected more serious felony counts of gun possession and aggravated discharge, leading police to file the misdemeanor charge directly.

Officers initially responded to a call of shots fired at 6:10 p.m. in the 300 block of West Chestnut Street, where a witness reported seeing the occupants of two vehicles firing at each other, according to a police report. The witness also had surveillance footage allegedly showing Newman and another person running from the scene.

A law enforcement source said police recovered 68 shell casings near the intersection of Sedgwick and Locust streets, some of which were rounds from an assault rifle that caused damage as far as two blocks away.

A woman who lives nearby said she was hanging out with a friend on her balcony when she heard the “rapid gunfire,” which she initially thought could’ve been firecrackers. Her friend then suggested that an AK-47 was being fired, she said.

“It’s unnerving,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. “Because if it was an AK-47, those have a range of a mile.”

The police report shows the glass windows of a parking garage were shot out. Three drivers reported their vehicles also sustained damage, two of whom were inside their cars when the gunfire erupted. One of their windshields was pierced by a bullet, according to the report.

Cops then reviewed surveillance footage provided by a property manager that showed someone shooting at a Toyota Camry from a Chevrolet Equinox, according to police records. The Camry took off, and the Equinox was found unoccupied with multiple bullet holes through the windshield.

Employees at a coffee shop in the 300 block of West Chestnut then alerted police that Newman and another person had run into a women’s restroom shortly after the shooting, an arrest report shows. They were both detained, and an empty Glock handgun was found in a trashcan Newman was standing beside.

He was identified by a witness and then taken to the Near North police district, where he told an arresting officer that “he was shooting at the other vehicle to protect himself and his wife,” according to the arrest report. He claimed he ran into the bathroom “to check if he had been shot” and stash the gun.

“He also stated that he keeps a gun on him for protection and that if he did not shoot back he’d have been dead,” according to the report.

Charging records obtained by the Sun-Times show the state’s attorney’s office rejected the felony charges on Monday night. Hours later, police filed the single misdemeanor count.

“After a thorough review of the information presented to us by police, we concluded that the evidence — including video, and eyewitness accounts — was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to file felony criminal charges related to this incident,” said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the state’s attorney’s office. “As prosecutors, we have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the evidence, facts, and the law.”

Last October, Foxx feuded with Mayor Lori Lightfoot over her decision to reject charges in a deadly gunfight in Austin. In February, the two ultimately came together to announce that 20-year-old Thomas Dean had been charged with a felony gun charge in connection to the shootout.

Prior to Sunday’s shooting, Newman was charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle in June 2020, but the case was later dropped. On Tuesday, he was ordered held on $10,000 bail during his initial court hearing in the new case, court records show.

He was released on bond the following day.

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After eight straight losses, the Chicago White Sox were desperate for a win on Wednesday. The second game of the series against the Kansas City Royals ended up making fans nervous late but the team pulled away and won their seventh game of the season 7-3.

The White Sox needed a strong start and that’s exactly what they received from Dylan Cease. Cease has quietly emerged as the best starting pitcher for the White Sox this season, allowing only eight runs and 16 hits in four starts while tossing 28 strikeouts. The right-handed starter not only gave the team a strong start, helping snap the losing streak but provided a reminder of why he is becoming an elite pitcher.

Cease’s pitch breakdown vs. the Royals (99 pitches): 44 fastballs. 35 sliders. 20 knuckle curves. 

Cease’s start – 6 innings, 9 K’s

Cease was electric to start the game, controlling his three pitches and forcing the Royals to chase pitches. After allowing four runs in the previous start, Cease was determined to bounce back but also provide the White Sox with longevity in the start, something the team hasn’t seen from its starters this season.

Through the first five innings, Cease pitched no-hit ball. Granted, contact and runs are down throughout the league but the outing was still remarkable early on. Cease pitched five innings with six strikeouts, eventually striking out the side in the sixth to finish the game with a season-high nine strikeouts.

Moreover, it was how Cease was pitching that made the game unique. Notably, how he integrated a new pitch into his arsenal and located his two favorite pitches.

Cease’s command

The fastball-slider combination has been Cease’s bread and butter throughout the season. The recent start was no exception. However, what makes the two pitches from Cease unique is his ability to locate both of them. The fastball tends to be up in the strike zone if not a high ball, which Royals’ sluggers were quick to swing at. The slider meanwhile dips into the lower half of the zone, unlike some pitchers who will bounce the off-speed pitch.

Against the Royals, you can see how Cease drops the slider. However, it’s worth noting that the pitch is still caught by catcher Reese McGuire and isn’t hitting the dirt.

Ideally, pitchers want to have their sliders hit the dirt but for Cease, this isn’t an issue. Moreover, with the fastball still powering through the strike zone, the Royals batters are forced to swing at both pitches, oftentimes resulting in quick plate appearances.

What also stood out from the start against the Royals was the addition of a knuckle curve. Cease threw the pitch 20 times and only half of them ended up in the strike zone. However, the pitch added another dimension to the start and forced the Royals batters to guess on another unpredictable pitch. Cease’s knuckle-curve particularly has a varied moment and a steep drop so when it lands in the zone, it’s a filthy pitch.

Cease adding the knuckle-curve only adds to his ability to dominate on the mound. A fastball-slider combination can make any pitcher great but Cease continuing to work on the third pitch can turn him into an elite pitcher in the MLB this season.

Cease struggles in the sixth inning

The start was exceptional through the first five innings, highlighted by the possibility of throwing a no-hitter. The bad inning started with a weak grounder to third baseman Jake Burger, giving the Royals their first hit of the game. Then things started to rapidly decline for Cease.

With two runners on and one out, the Royals had their ideal hitter at the plate in contact-happy Whit Merrifield. A slider to the lower outside corner of the strike zone was sliced into the right field for a base hit. Cease isn’t missing the strike zone with his slider and late in the game, it finally cost him.

The next run could be blamed on fielding and the weather. Cease went back to the fastball and forced a pop-up to shallow left field. Unfortunately, with Eloy Jimenez out of the lineup, the White Sox had Andrew Vaughn in the outfield, who couldn’t get the blooper in time.

Fortunately, Cease went back to the slider, closing out the inning and preserving the lead. White the Royals tied the game in the top of the seventh, the strong start from Cease that also gave the bullpen a much-needed night off, helped fuel the victory for the White Sox. The lineup ended up taking over the game in the final few innings, scoring four runs in the final two frames, but the strong start what exactly what this team needed.

Is Cease the ace of the White Sox rotation?

It’s early on in the season and there are a lot of starts left in the White Sox season. Lucas Giolito has proven he is still a dominant starter on the mound, albeit, in short bursts this season. Meanwhile, Lance Lynn has yet to pitch this season and after finishing last year as a Cy Young finalist. Lynn looks to eventually return to form when he is back in the rotation.

However, in four starts, Cease has been the most reliable and best pitcher in the White Sox rotation. The consistency on the mound and strong starts have made Cease the number one starter through the first month of the season. Moreover, the 27-year-old pitcher has proven he can command both the fastball and slider while recently, integrating the knuckle-curve into his arsenal. Through a rough start to the season, the White Sox might have found their star on the mound.

Make sure to check out our WHITE SOX forum for the latest on the team.

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In a strange turn of events, the Blackhawks played a crucial role in the wildest night of the NHL regular season Wednesday.

The Hawks’ 4-3 shootout victory against the Golden Knights at the United Center eliminated the Knights from playoff contention for the first time in their history.

”It’s nice to spoil their party,” defenseman Caleb Jones said. ”We kind of tried to play spoiler. We wanted to beat those guys and send them home, too. So it was fun to get the win.”

Tyler Johnson’s goal in the seventh round of the shootout and Kevin Lankinen’s seventh consecutive save decided the game at the same moment the Stars clinched a point in their matchup against the Coyotes. The Knights had needed a victory and a Stars loss in regulation to stay alive.

For a while, however, both results hung in the balance. The Knights and Hawks were tied 3-3 from late in the second period on, and the Coyotes rallied from 3-0 down to tie their game 3-3 in the third period before eventually winning in overtime.

All of those implications mattered little to the Hawks, who will finish their largely miserable season Friday at the Sabres. But winning their last two home games at least provided something to take pride in.

”We actually played a pretty solid game,” Johnson said. ”We were pretty good defensively. It was good to get rewarded that way.”

Noncommittal Toews

Approaching the final year of his contract, which expires in the summer of 2023, captain Jonathan Toews was again noncommittal about his plans beyond that point.

”I’m not going to comment on after next season because I have no idea,” he said. ”I’m not going to think about that too much and just going to enjoy this offseason and . . . the process of getting myself ready for next year and feeling good again, feeling like myself again. [I’ll] take next year however it comes.”

Toews has spent much of the spring grumbling about his and the Hawks’ uncertain futures without making any concrete decisions. It’s just as unclear when he might make those decisions, and he has earned the patience.

The only new things he said regarded his season overall.

”[This was] not what I expected out of myself, even though I missed an entire season,” he said. ”[It] was definitely more challenging than I expected it to be. It was a tough year in a lot of ways, but . . . I learned more about myself and the game than [in] any of those years where we were on top of the world. It wasn’t easy, but [there were] definitely a lot of blessings in there.”

McCabe plans summer

Last summer, defenseman Jake McCabe was coming off season-ending knee surgery in February and was limited in the workouts he could do. He will have no restrictions this summer, however.

”Whenever you’re focusing on one body part, other areas get left hanging in the balance,” he said. ” . . . It’ll be really nice to not have to focus so much on knee rehab and [get] back to my normal training schedule.”

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MILWAUKEE — The Bucks lost forward Khris Middleton to a sprained MCL and responded with three consecutive victories over the Chicago Bulls, advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 116-100 win in Game 5 on Wednesday.

The Bucks will play the Celtics in the second round; Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday in Boston.

After splitting the first two games of the series, Milwaukee asserted its dominance over Chicago. The Bucks held the Bulls to under 100 points in three of the five games, winning each of the final three games by double digits.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting, adding nine rebounds, in the series finale.

With Bulls guards Zach LaVine (health and safety protocols) and Alex Caruso (concussion protocol) both sidelined for Wednesday’s game, the Bucks were able to key in defensively on Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, who was limited to 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

All 10 of DeRozan’s field goal attempts were contested, and he was double-teamed 27 times in Game 5, the most doubles of a single player in a playoff game in the past three seasons, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He faced 24 double-teams in the previous four games combined.

The Bucks turned up the defensive intensity to make up for the absence of Middleton, who sprained the MCL in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Game 2.

The team’s initial timeline for Middleton had him scheduled to be reevaluated in two weeks, which puts his availability for the start of the second round in jeopardy.

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ATLANTA — The Cubs bullpen carried a heavy load Wednesday as the Cubs beat the Braves 6-3in extra innings.

Wednesday was essentially a bullpen day for the Cubs, with manager David Ross pulling starter Mark Leiter Jr. after throwing two scoreless innings.

The right-hander had consistently tossed shutout frames the first time through a lineup in his previous two starts, but he’d gotten into trouble after that. So, Ross left him in for 10 batters, facing Braves leadoff hitter Ozzie Albies twice.

Then, the bullpen took the ball for the rest of the game. And though the Braves tied it up in the eighth, the Cubs’ staff held off the Atlanta offense long enough for a comeback.

At the end of a whirlwind spring training, during which the Cubs went on a veteran pitcher signing spree, the Cubs bullpen was made up of a mix of experienced pitchers and youth. That dynamic was on display Wednesday.

“You just appreciate the day to day consistency of the way [the veterans] attack their job,” Cubs bullpen coach Chris Young said. “And I think the young guys have been really receptive to just kind of watching.”

On Wednesday, the veterans watched as the young relievers held the Braves to one run through the sixth inning. Then, they handled the back end.

When multi-inning reliever Keegan Thompson took the ball in the third inning, the Cubs had expanded their lead to 3-0.

Thompson has filled a crucial role for the Cubs early in the season, coming off a condensed spring training when starters didn’t have the time to build up to their normal work loads.

“He’s just filling up the strike zone and challenging guys,” Young said last week. “I think every time he goes out there he gets more confidence and belief in just how good his stuff is when it plays in the strike zone. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”

Entering Wednesday, Thompson had yet to allow a run in four outings. That streak ended on Wednesday at 16 1/3 innings, as Braves five-hole hitter Travis d’Arnaud drove an RBI single to center field. It was bound to eventually. But that was the only run Thompson gave up in a three-inning outing.

Side-armer Scott Effross replaced Thompson, tossing a 1-2-3 sixth inning which featured a diving play on a ground ball up the line from first baseman Frank Schwindel.

Those two relievers represented the youth in the Cubs bullpen. They’re both right-handed homegrown pitchers, but they give completely different looks to hitters with wildly different arm slots.

Some combination of Rowan Wick, Chris Martin, Mychal Givens, and David Robertson have consistently made up the back end of the bullpen for the Cubs — all veterans except for Wick.

On Wednesday, Martin, an imposing presence on the mound at 6-foot-8, took the mound in the seventh and retired the side in order against his former team.

Right-hander Mychal Givens took over in the eighth. But he couldn’t quite work out of a bases-loaded jam, giving up a two-run single to Dansby Swanson as a groundball single snuck through a hole on the right side of the infield with two outs.

Robertson replaced him to get the final out of the frame, but the Braves had tied up the game. Robertson struck out the side in the ninth to force extra innings. Ross has not named an official closer, but Robertson leads the team in saves.

The offense delivered in the 10th, aided by the extra-innings ghost runner on Cubs cleanup hitter Willson Contreras’s RBI double. But they would have scored without the free runner to start the frame. Patrick Wisdom followed up Contreras’ heroics with a two-run double.

Wick secured the Cubs’ win with a scoreless final frame.

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You know, there was one thing Wednesday that was even more ridiculous than the Bulls — a losing team for the last three-plus months, and now down two starters — going into Milwaukee and trying to win a do-or-die playoff game.

It was NBC News political correspondent Steve Kornacki appearing on NBC Sports Chicago’s pregame show to do a little handicapping. Kornacki, whom many of you undoubtedly can imagine in his signature semi-rumpled, sleeves-rolled-up, overly eager element, wasted his breath on the Bulls’ chances in a cringe-inducing promotional segment for the online sportsbook Points Bet.

Remember when news people were serious? Remember when the media weren’t blatantly for sale?

“If you ever could put a few bucks on the Bulls,” Kornacki said, pointing to their 2.3% chance to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win the series and their 500-to-1 odds to win the NBA championship, “you could become a very rich person if they could go all the way to the title.”

Sure, Korno. Why don’t we go ahead and wager Junior’s college fund on Alabama and Mississippi turning blue in 2024, too?

But now, without further ado, allow me to offer some expert analysis of the Bulls’ season-ending 116-100 defeat in Game 5 of a first-round series that was so uncompetitive, so unsightly, so anticlimactic, it could take the sport generations to recover. Here goes:

On the game’s first possession, Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo rebounded a teammate’s missed jumper with one hand, cocked his right arm while hanging in the air and tomahawked a dunk to open the scoring.

And that about does it. Great game, everybody. Thanks for coming out. Don’t forget to tip your servers and be careful getting home.

The last three games of this series — with the Bucks outscoring the Bulls by a combined 70 points — were so lopsided, they called to mind the conclusion of the teams’ previous postseason series, in 2015. Only that first-rounder was won by the Bulls, who put the Bucks out of their misery by a cartoonish score of 120-66 in Game 6. Merely 20 years old at the time, Antetokounmpo scored five points before being ejected late in the first half. Hilariously, the Bucks were led in scoring that night by villainous big man Zaza Pachulia, who had a whopping eight points.

These Bucks will move on to face the soaring Celtics, a major challenge as Antetokounmpo and the sweet shooters around him seek to defend their NBA crown. The Bulls lurch into what could be a difficult offseason, with Zach LaVine having a knee problem to figure out and a max contract to go after. No doubt about it, the roster requires a good bit of reconstruction.

The Bulls were without LaVine and fellow starting guard Alex Caruso on Wednesday. The Bucks missed veteran reserve guard George Hill all series and had to play the last three-plus games without All-Star guard Khris Middleton, who has a sprained ligament in his left knee.

“When you face a little bit of adversity, it brings out the best in you,” Antetokounmpo said. “You don’t necessarily have to lose a game. But, at the end of the day, when things don’t go well, either you fold or you quit or you find another way to affect the game and come out tougher, come out stronger.”

Must be nice. The Bulls were dead men walking before they even entered the Fiserv Forum.

“It’s Zach, you know what I mean?” DeMar DeRozan said. “It’s hard to replace that.”

The Bulls played 15 games without LaVine during the regular season and went 9-6. Not bad, right? Apply that .600 winning percentage to an 82-game schedule, and we’re talking about an even better record than the 46-36 mark the Bulls actually finished with.

Fact is, the Bulls were the same team without LaVine that they were with him. Nobody gets a gold star for beating the Lakers, Rockets, Pacers, Thunder, Spurs and Kings without one of the team’s All-Stars. The only teams with a pulse the Bulls beat when LaVine was out of commission were the Cavaliers (twice) and, in the regular-season finale, a Timberwolves squad playing without Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell and with Anthony Edwards chilling alongside them for the whole second half.

Always in character, the Bulls got their rear ends handed to them by top competition all season no matter who was in the lineup. Without LaVine, they lost to the Celtics, the Grizzlies, the 76ers, the Bucks. They were also blown out by the Warriors at the United Center on a January night when LaVine lasted only four minutes. It was an early sign that the Bulls were pretenders despite what, at the time, was a gaudy record.

So that’s it, then. All she wrote. The Bulls will have to get ’em next year — 25 seasons and counting since their last championship.

A Bulls title in 2023? It’s certainly a long shot, but you know what that means: You can bet on it.

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DeMar DeRozan was saying all the right things heading into Wednesday’s Game 5 elimination game.

That’s what the Bulls veteran had done all season long.

But without Zach LaVine (health and safety protocols) and Alex Caruso (concussion), as well as facing the daunting task of facing the defending NBA champions in their house down 3-1 in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series, DeRozan knew there was also a reality that was going to be faced.

A reality that meant even more attention would be thrown his way.

“I trust my teammates,” DeRozan said. “I understand what’s going to come our way, so it’s up to me to use their aggressiveness, however they try to attack me, take the ball out of my hands, however that may be. Just me being more aggressive, getting my teammates the ball and figuring out how to pick and choose my spots.”

A good plan, but one that had very little hope of playing out the way DeRozan wanted.

Milwaukee ended DeRozan’s storybook season, holding him to just 11 points in the 116-100 Bucks win, as well as sending the Bulls into the offseason filled with more questions than answers.

Questions that will begin to be answered over the next days when players and the front office are expected to talk about what went right and wrong in the roller coaster season.

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MILWAUKEE — The Bucks lost forward Khris Middleton to a sprained MCL and responded with three consecutive victories over the Chicago Bulls, advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 116-100 win in Game 5 on Wednesday.

The Bucks will play the Celtics in the second round; Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday in Boston.

After splitting the first two games of the series, Milwaukee asserted its dominance over Chicago. The Bucks held the Bulls to under 100 points in three of the five games, winning each of the final three games by double digits.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting, adding nine rebounds, in the series finale.

With Bulls guards Zach LaVine (health and safety protocols) and Alex Caruso (concussion protocol) both sidelined for Wednesday’s game, the Bucks were able to key in defensively on Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, who was limited to 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

All 10 of DeRozan’s field goal attempts were contested, and he was double-teamed 27 times in Game 5, the most doubles of a single player in a playoff game in the past three seasons, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He faced 24 double-teams in the previous four games combined.

The Bucks turned up the defensive intensity to make up for the absence of Middleton, who sprained the MCL in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Game 2.

The team’s initial timeline for Middleton had him scheduled to be reevaluated in two weeks, which puts his availability for the start of the second round in jeopardy.

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