Jazz 109, Bucks 95: Efficient Utah stays in control
The Milwaukee Bucks’ playoff push started with a big thud Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
An efficient Utah Jazz team made all the key plays on the way to a 109-95 victory over the Bucks in both teams’ return from the all-star break.
Milwaukee (25-31) had a three-game winning streak snapped despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 33 points, 12 rebounds and five steals. The Bucks lost to Utah for the sixth straight time.
Gordon Hayward led a balanced Jazz effort with 29 points and George Hill and Derrick Favors each added 19. Center Rudy Gobert contributed 15 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks, while Dante Exum had 12 points off the bench.
BOX SCORE: Jazz 109, Bucks 95
Hayward was in the right place at the right time all night, cutting behind the Bucks defense for dunks and scoring with his medium-range jumper.
"His tempo is as good as anyone in this league," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "He's not out of control. He doesn't go too fast and always understands what is happening on the floor. He can read. When you can do those things, it makes you an all-star."
Michael Beasley had 22 points and six rebounds for the Bucks, but he and Antetokounmpo were the only Bucks in double figures.
"Hopefully we get this game out of our system, coming off a break, and now we focus on Phoenix (on Sunday)," Kidd said.
"We got off to a good start (11-3 lead), but I think they went on a 17-2 run and offensively we were turning the ball over. If you don't get a shot against Utah, you put yourself in a bad position. Defensively, it wasn't the three. It was them on the roll being able to finish, and they took advantage of our defense."
Beasley kept the Bucks afloat by scoring 16 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting.
But the Jazz (36-22) took a 36-27 lead after the first quarter while hitting 12 of 19 field goals. Utah had 22 points in the paint and one three-pointer in the quarter, with the rest coming from the free throw line.
"They killed us with the shooters and a little bit of the roll in Utah," Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova said. "Tonight it was the roll."
Utah led at halftime, 59-46, behind Favors’ 15 points and Hayward’s 12.
Thon Maker picked up his third and fourth fouls early in the third quarter, but he stayed in the game against Gobert.
The Bucks tried to make a run in the third quarter behind Antetokounmpo, but three-pointers by Joe Ingles and Exum kept Utah with a comfortable lead. Antetokounmpo scored 17 points in the quarter and 24 in the second half.
"He comes out and competes every night," Kidd said of the Bucks all-star. "Him and Beas were the only ones out there playing tonight. We've got to get the rest of the guys involved; they've got to join the party. The rest of his teammates didn't show."
Utah led, 87-75, entering the final quarter.
Hill and Ingles sank three-pointers early in the fourth quarter as Utah extended its lead to 93-77. Threes by Rodney Hood and Hayward sent Bucks fans to the exits as Utah led by as many as 18 points in the final quarter.
The Jazz hit 8 of 23 three-pointers, including 6 of 15 in the second half. Utah outscored the Bucks, 52-34, in the paint, taking away a usual Bucks strength.
"Just a flip-flop game," Beasley said. "Blame it on the (all-star) break. We've got to fix some things on the defensive side. On offense, we didn't have a lot of assists (15).
"I don't like the break. I was just letting my teammates get me involved."
Beasley said the 7-1 Gobert is a tough customer to deal with inside.
"The new NBA man, these guys are 9 feet," Beasley said. "Thon Maker, Giannis, Rudy Gobert. And they can move; they're not just jumping straight up and down. They're covering space. He (Gobert) has got arms. More than anything else, he's got arms."
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. Gordon Hayward made a nice reverse dunk off a lob from Joe Ingles, soaring over Giannis Antetokounmpo and helping the Jazz take control in the first half. Hayward later hammered down a lefty dunk over Thon Maker. Hayward hit 11 of 17 shots while controlling the game.
2. Bucks guard Jason Terry became the oldest player ever to play in a game for the franchise, at 39 years 162 days. The previous oldest player for the Bucks was Dale Ellis at 39 years 155 days.
3. John Henson played for the first time since Feb. 10 against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks center had four points and two rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench, while Maker played 14 minutes in a starting role and had three points and two rebounds.
UP NEXT
Teams: Phoenix Suns (18-40) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (25-31).
When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center.
About the Suns: Phoenix traded P.J. Tucker to Toronto at Thursday’s deadline, acquiring Jared Sullinger and two second-round picks from the Raptors. Devin Booker had a franchise-record 28-point quarter against Dallas in Mexico City and also had a 27-point second quarter against the Bucks in a 137-112 loss to Milwaukee in Phoenix on Feb. 6. Marquese Chriss was named the Western Conference rookie of the month for January, the first Suns player to win the award since Amar’e Stoudemire in April 2003.