The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 126-98 at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday, securing their third win in the four games since Brook Lopez returned.

Lopez, starting his first game since the season opener, shot only 4 for 9 in field goals (FGs) to get 10 points and six rebounds, but his presence was bigger than the two blocks he delivered. The Bulls missed 10 of their 23 shots under the rim, not to mention that they shot 7 for 9 there in the last quarter when the game looked to be long gone.

Though the Bucks have top perimeter defender Jrue Holiday, quick big man Bobby Portis and the league's most complete defender Giannis Antetokounmpo, their defensive system was based on placing a full-size center in the paint to protect the hoop and testing the opponents' 3-point shooting. Coach Mike Budenholzer prefers to have Antetokounmpo sweep the floor to maximize his size and athleticism rather than holding himself in the paint.

Moreover, every playoff team in the Eastern Conference must prepare themselves for Joel Embiid with at least a giant who can match him in size, strength and weight. Lopez is one of the league's best options for the job.

The Bulls failed to beat the opponents' defense and were unable to stop the Bucks from scoring comfortably in shooting 60.9 percent in FGs. It took Antetokounmpo only 12 shots from the floor to get 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. Holiday shot 12-17 in FGs to score a team-high 27 points and seven rebounds. Another five of their teammates also reached double-digits.

"Jrue was being Jrue," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "Jrue was being aggressive, making good decisions, getting downhill, getting everybody involved, guarding Zach (LaVine). Everybody was doing their job. Obviously we knew that Khris wasn't playing, and Khris is a big part of our team and what we do here, but at the end of the day, even with the team that we have, we're a great team."

Tuesday's game was the fourth loss for the Bulls in their past five games. They have suffered too many injuries this season, especially in the key defensive positions. The return of Alex Caruso and Patrick Williams could be helpful, but won't change the team's overreliance on the perimeter players in the defensive category.

"At some point, we've got to get tired of getting our butt kicked like this and flip that switch of understanding, all right, enough is enough," DeMar DeRozan said after shooting 10-23 in FGs to get 21 points for the Bulls. "Now it's time to turn it around and show that desperation."

The Bucks surpassed the Philadelphia 76ers to go second in the Eastern Conference after Tuesday's win. The Bulls remain fifth, but they are only one game above the sixth Cleveland Cavaliers and two over the seventh Toronto Raptors. If the Bulls continue to play as they have recently, they may have to fight for playoff qualification in the play-in tournament.

Trae Young won't let MSG forget him

The Atlanta Hawks defeated the New York Knicks 117-111 at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on Tuesday to carry on their "one win follows one loss" pattern in the past eight games.

Trae Young shot 13 for 25 from the floor while making seven triples and 12 free throws to drop 45 points and eight assists for the Hawks. This was his fourth 30+points game at MSG, the second-longest streak in NBA history, behind only the five-consecutive-game record of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Knicks fans understandably don't appreciate such an  incredible performance of a visiting young man or his provocative response to the home fans. However, their trash talks won't slow Young down or keep him from completing an over-court 0.6-seconds alley-oop at the end of the first quarter, or breaking Taj Gibson's ankle to make the game-sealing jumper in the last minute of the fourth quarter.

"I think the swag and what we were able to do on the court tonight and the energy we had in the huddle, I knew it was just us versus everybody tonight," Young said after the game. "And I think if we have that type of mindset each and every game, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."

According to Young, Spike Lee, who has been a Knicks fan for decades, always shows him respect. "So" did the others. "Oh yeah, they always do, don't they?" he joked.

Bogdan Bogdanovic was the other Hawk who made an outstanding contribution to the team's win on the road on Tuesday with 32 points and three assists. His explosion in the second and fourth quarters gave the Hawks what they needed to pocket victory.

"It was cool, it was good momentum," Bogdanovic said.

The Hawks are 36-36 and continue to rank 10th in the East. They are likely to be caught by the Washington Wizards, who are only 30-41, but the Hawks have the chance to replace the Charlotte Hornets (37-35) in ninth or even the Brooklyn Nets (38-34) in eighth if they come up with a long winning streak.

Other games on Tuesday (away teams come first):

Golden State Warriors 90-94 Orlando Magic

Los Angeles Clippers 115-127 Denver Nuggets