Giannis Antetokounmpo slammed his fist on the table after the defeat against the Rockets, and it had no effect! With its good momentum of the moment, namely eight successes in ten matches including a success in Philadelphia, the Jazz started the match on the floor against Milwaukee, with a 21-9 concluded by two arrows behind the arc of Collin Sexton. With Lauri Markkanen also sending from afar, Utah starts with an excellent 7/12 at 3-points which turns into a season record 11/17 in the first quarter. The Bucks concede 41 points at home and only score 23 at a small 7/24 in skill. A catastrophic start without Lillard in the five!
The gap even climbs to +24 at the start of the second quarter when Keyonte George continues his festival from afar! But this is not the end of the miseries for Milwaukee, who still cannot find an attacking rhythm at the end of the half. On the contrary, Utah drives the point home and goes to +33 while Jordan Clarkson becomes one of five Jazz players with 10 points or more at the break. Opposite, it's a grimace soup between Khris Middleton at 2/10 or Bobby Portis at 1/7 on shots (77-46).
A return (much) too short
Probably properly shaken by Adrian Griffin at the break, the Bucks finally reacted after returning from the locker room, passing a 15-4 driven by the inevitable Giannis Antetokounmpo, the only Buck to really survive. Still at -20 (81-61), Milwaukee continues to press the accelerator and it is Portis who reduces the gap below ten, in a quarter with 44 pawns to come back in force (17/27 on shots including 6/8 from afar). The Bucks have (almost) caught up (100-90).
Decidedly in spirit, George makes a series of baskets and revives the Jazz. But Giannis and Brook Lopez have not said their last word. The veterans bring their troops back to -7 with 7 minutes remaining but Markkanen and his Jazz will extinguish the locals' last hopes of a comeback, with an alley oop for John Collins as the icing on the cake. Too inconsistent, the Bucks lost quite clearly at home (132-116).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A deadly first quarter! All you had to do was see the +/- column for the Bucks in the first quarter only. “Minuses” on all levels. And quite the opposite on the Jazz side! Taken by the throat by a crazy skill from Utah, a fantastic 11/17 from afar, the Bucks conceded a whopping 41 points. If they gave them back in the 3rd quarter (a 44-23), the Bucks never recovered from this initial blow…
– Damian Lillard absent. No Lillard in between. According to the Bucks press release, the All-Star point guard missed the game for “personal reasons.” To replace him, Adrian Griffin opted for rookie Andre Jackson Jr.
– The Jazz are riding their best wave of the season. With an eleventh success in its last fifteen outings, and five in its last six, Jazz is quite simply on its best dynamic of the year. It must be said that Will Hardy's squad is running at full speed, with a super balanced attack, including a group shooting of five players who finish between 19 and 21 points.
– A triple-double in the wind for Antetokounmpo. In a rather difficult evening where they scored up to 33 points, the only good news on the Bucks side was Giannis Antetokounmpo's triple-double. The local superstar finished with 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, his fourth triple-double of the season.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
