Chicago Bulls: 5 most dominant postseason performances in franchise history

1. Bulls finally put Milwaukee Bucks away in the first round of the 2015 playoffs

Surprisingly, Chicago’s most lopsided postseason victory did not take place during the Jordan-Pippen years.

The Bulls took the first three games of their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2015 NBA playoffs. But as anticlimactic as the series seemed after those first three contests, the Bucks didn’t exactly go away quietly.

They squeaked by with a 92-90 win in Game 4 and followed that up with a 94-88 victory in Game 5 at the United Center. Armed with newfound confidence after taking two straight games from their division rivals, the Bucks had high hopes of sending the series back to Chicago for a seventh and deciding game.

The Bulls quickly snuffed out those hopes, jumping on the Bucks early and often, as they led by a 34-16 advantage after the first quarter. Thanks to the Bulls regaining the kind of defensive identity that had become a staple for this ball club during the Tom Thibodeau era, they ended this series with a huge exclamation point, knocking off the Bucks 120-66.

Led by Mike Dunleavy‘s 20 points, Chicago got double-digit scoring from each of its starting five. On the defensive end of the court, the Bulls were equally successful, limiting their opponent to just 32.9 percent shooting and 21.1 percent from downtown.

Unfortunately, the Bulls momentum would be short-lived as they were defeated by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2 in the conference semifinals. This exit was the third time in which James’ teams had eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs.