Jekyll and Hyde Bulls deliver in must-win game in Milwaukee

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MILWAUKEE — As soon as anyone can figure out the Bulls, please let their coach know.

The Jekyll and Hyde season was on full display again Sunday, as the Bulls dominated the red-hot Bucks 109-94.

It followed a home loss to the 76ers on Friday, after which coach Fred Hoiberg challenged his team to start taking embarrassing losses personally.

That they did. Jimmy Butler had a career-high 14 assists, and Nikola Mirotic’s continued his march to redemption with 28 points, tying a season high he set Wednesday.

More importantly, they remained in striking distance of the postseason. They’re 35-39, one game out of the eighth playoff spot with eight games left.

Forget having the pulse of this team from game-to-game.

“When I watch the film, a lot of times when we get slapped in the face, when we get punched in the mouth, when the adversity hits us, we don’t handle it well,’’ Hoiberg said, trying to give his best explanation for the inconsistency. “We talk about it every game. It’s going to happen at some point. You’re going to have to handle adversity, you’re going to have to get through it and it will determine the outcome of the game.

“We did that [against the Bucks]. They got off to the good start, I didn’t see any head-hanging and we took a one-point lead into the locker room. It’s handling adversity. That’s the biggest thing we have to do these last eight games if we want to have a chance.’’

But there are other flaws that need covering up, such as the defensive focus, sticking to the gameplan and rebounding.

The glaring problem lately, however, is a second unit that isn’t pulling its weight.

The bench was so bad early against the Bucks that Hoiberg had to cut the group’s minutes short in the second quarter and go back to most of the starters.

That meant heavy minutes for Butler (39), Mirotic (35) and Rajon Rondo (34).

With three days off before hosting the Cavaliers on Thursday, Hoiberg could get away with it. But he won’t have that luxury the next few weeks.

Hoiberg also needs Mirotic to keep going.

From the outhouse to the penthouse in the rotation this month, Mirotic shot 11-for-14, including 6-for-9 from three-point range. He knows he must keep that up.

“I’ve been playing with a lot of confidence,’’ Mirotic said. “I’ve spent a lot of time shooting there, before practice, after practice. I know you guys have been asking me about consistency, so I’m working on that. Try to be more consistent, especially now, a very important moment [in the season].’’

No one has appreciated Mirotic’s comeback more than Butler, who, even when Mirotic was inactive two weeks ago, let him know the team would need him for a serious playoff push.

The same can be said of Butler. No Bulls player has more pressure on him from game-to-game. He delivered Sunday, adding 20 points.

“My mindset is always pass the ball to the open guy, whether it’s late-game, early-game, that’s my job,’’ Butler said.

“They understood this was for their season,’’ Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “If they lost, their season was over.’’

Follow me on Twitter @suntimes_hoops.

Email: jcowley@suntimes.com

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