MILWAUKEE _ Robin Lopez had to be restrained by assistant coaches so that he didn't pick up his second technical foul. Bobby Portis screamed in Giannis Antetokounmpo's face following a Justin Holiday dunk.
Even with 16.9 seconds left, Kris Dunn tackled Khris Middleton from behind as they battled in the post, drawing ejections for both.
These Bulls continue to play as if they didn't get the memo on the rebuild, typically competitive and combative to the final buzzer.
"We believe," Nikola Mirotic said.
And why not? That's eight victories in 10 games following Tuesday's 115-106 staredown of the Bucks in the Bulls' last trip to the Bradley Center. Twice in 11 days, the Bulls have bussed here, been the aggressors and exited victorious.
"We are playing aggressive," Mirotic said. "It's all about the work. We already showed that we can win games while playing well. Now it's about being consistent."
Mirotic led five Bulls in double figures with 24 points and Dunn had another big game with 20 points, 12 assists, four steals and two blocks. It's Dunn's third double-double this season after he posted just one all of last season with the Timberwolves.
Add another "closer"-type basket _ a nasty, aggressive, left-handed drive over traffic with 53.8 seconds left for a seven-point lead _ and the point guard continues to grow up on seemingly a game-by-game basis.
Just like last game, David Nwaba matched Antetokounmpo in the fourth quarter. And while Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points, 18 of those came in the first half and only four in the fourth quarter.
Nwaba's aggressiveness exemplifies this Bulls' run.
The strong play of Mirotic and Portis _ who finished with nine points, eight rebounds and a plus-26 _ convinced Hoiberg to keep Lauri Markkanen on the bench for the final 16 minutes, 37 seconds. Markkanen scored a season-low-tying three points on 1 for 7 shooting.
