Still wasting away: Bucks 79, Bulls 74: Offense fizzles, and Bulls blow chance to tie for last playoff spot

Thanks to a loss by the Toronto Raptors and an injury that might keep Raptors star Chris Bosh sidelined for a bit, the door was wide-open for the Bulls to move into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night and greatly improve their chances of making the playoffs.

Instead, the Bulls somehow managed to slam the door shut on themselves.

With a brutal extended offensive stretch in the second and third quarters and a string of bad plays down the stretch, the Bulls suffered a 79-74 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at the United Center.

''It's disappointing,'' guard Kirk Hinrich said of the wasted opportunity. ''But we're kind of fortunate they did …