Bulls 132, Bucks 125: Chicago Spoils Milwaukee's Home Opener

The Chicago Bulls walked into Fiserv Forum and left with a 132-125 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, spoiling Milwaukee's home opener and handing Chicago its first victory of the young season. The story was simple: Chicago's offense, which managed just 92 points in its opener, exploded for 132 against a Bucks defense that had no answer all night.

Our premium pick on this game was Milwaukee. We laid the 1.5-point spread, backed the Bucks on the moneyline, and played the Under 238.5. The game never followed the script we expected. Milwaukee's fresh legs didn't translate into defensive stops, and Chicago's Year Zero offense looked far more competent than its first outing suggested. The two teams combined for 257 points, clearing the total with room to spare. We projected a 121.6-114.4 Milwaukee win, and the final score landed well off that mark on both sides.

On the prop side, we ranked Tyler Herro's first-basket prop at +600 as the strongest on the board, with Norman Powell at +700 and Ryan Rollins at +950 behind him. First-basket markets are thin-edge by nature, and this one played out in a game where usage, not matchup, drove the action.

The takeaway: Week 1 numbers are built on priors, not tape, and this Bucks roster is still a mystery. Until Milwaukee shows a defensive pulse, leaning away from the spread and moneyline — and toward the over — may be the more honest read.