MILWAUKEE — The Chicago Bulls fought back from a 17-point deficit before dropping a 118-109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks as the team’s shooting woes persist.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points to power the Bucks as the Bulls fell to 4-7 with the loss.

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Here are seven takeaways from the game:

The Bulls were ice cold from the floor in the opening minutes of Monday’s loss. They missed their first eight shots of the game and finished the first quarter 6-for-23 (26%) from the field. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine were a combined 0-for-9 from the floor.

Scoring seesawed back and forth through the opening frame. The Bucks opened on a 9-0 run, the Bulls answered with an 8-0 run only to be clobbered by another 11-0 Milwaukee run. But the Bulls couldn’t finish enough shots to keep pace. They ended the quarter trailing 35-18.

After that sluggish start, however, the Bulls snapped back into a competitive form. They dominated 31-24 in the second quarter fueled by Bucks turnovers and a pair of 3-pointers from Patrick Williams.

The Bulls entered the second half trailing by 10 points, surging back to take one-point leads twice in the third quarter. But that offensive momentum could not be sustained. The Bulls held onto both leads for less than 20 seconds and by the end of the third quarter, the Bucks were ahead once again by 15 points.

The Bulls continue to shoot well below their averages from last season, finishing 38-for-100 from the field and 14-for-42 (33.3%) from 3-point range. LaVine and DeRozan were unable to hit shots from their comfort zones — LaVine at the rim, DeRozan from midrange.

LaVine went 5-for-6 from inside the paint and did not make a shot at the rim until the final two minutes of the game. He was able to draw fouls off those drives — finishing 8-for-8 from the free throw line — but LaVine is used to building momentum through and-1 opportunities.

DeRozan made a familiar pledge after finishing 3-for-14 from the field and missing all three of his 3-point attempts.

“Won’t happen again,” DeRozan said. “I pocket my guarantees and use them when need be. I guarantee that won’t happen again.”

The Bulls were somewhat offset by an equally poor shooting night from Damian Lillard, who finished 3-for-17 from the floor and 1-for-9 from behind the arc.

The Bulls offense got by on the margins Monday, generating nearly half of their scoring from turnovers (22 points) and second-chance opportunities (22 points).

Torrey Craig led the Bulls on offensive rebounds, snagging seven while Nikola Vučević added six more. And the Bulls forced 15 turnovers — nine of which were steals — to create chances in the open court.

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The Bulls struggled to slow the offensive force of Giannis Antetokounmpo. This is typical — Giannis is one of the most indomitable scorers in the history of the league, and his game has been opened up by the pick-and-roll action shared by Lillard.

But coach Billy Donovan was unsatisfied with his team’s defensive effort on Antetokounmpo, which allowed the star to go 13-for-22 from the field.

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“I didn’t like the way we played him,” Donovan said. “With him, you’ve got to really show crowds and put bodies in front of him and try to make him have to play anywhere but the rim. There were some times that he forced his way to the rim that we needed to form a little bit more of a wall at the perimeter. Our guys competed really hard but we needed more support to prevent him from getting all the way to the rim.”

Monday marked Jevon Carter’s first regular-season game in Milwaukee after he left the Bucks in free agency after two seasons. Carter received a friendly greeting from Bucks fans when he was introduced in the final minutes of the first quarter.

Carter played only 14 minutes on Monday, however, despite the absence of Alex Caruso. Donovan instead went to Ayo Dosunmu to close the game and provide the bulk of secondary minutes, relying on the younger guard’s length to help control Lillard on defense.

Dosunmu finished with five points, two rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes. Carter finished with six points, a shot and a block.

Alex Caruso missed a second consecutive game with a sprained toe. The injury occurred during practice after Caruso landed awkwardly while contesting a rebound. Caruso said the only recovery for the injury has been complete rest — which means he’s not been participating actively in practice, shootaround or any other workouts over the past three days.

“I’m just bored,” Caruso joked before the game.

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Donovan and Caruso both said the recovery timeline will be relatively short and the guard could return to play by Wednesday or Friday. But injuries have been a longtime concern for Caruso, which could lead to heightened wariness from the Bulls medical staff to rush the guard back even from a small knock.