Bucks 117, Jazz 100: Hitting all the right notes

The Utah Jazz opened Saturday night's game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center with ball movement that resulted in a corner three-pointer for Derrick Favors.

After splashing a franchise-record 18 three-pointers on the Milwaukee Bucks two weeks ago in Salt Lake City, it looked like the second matchup between the two teams could follow a similar script.

As it turns out, that shot was not a sign of things to come.

That trey represented the Jazz's only lead of the night as the Bucks immediately responded with a 10-point run and led by as many as 22 points en route to a 117-100 victory. The win closed out a perfect three-game homestand for the Bucks following victories over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

The win also matched the Bucks' best start since 2005-'06 when they also opened the season with a 15-10 record through 25 games.

"We just had to be ready to fight from the jump ball and I thought the guys did a great job, both the starters and the bench," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Everybody was into it for 48 minutes. ...

"Us, as a team, (we're) growing up and understanding what it takes to win in this league. It's not easy. The week didn't start off well for us but we ended it on a positive note. Now we turn the page to another week with another three in four.”

Khris Middleton, who had 31 points on Friday including 16 in the fourth quarter, picked right up where he left off. He played the duration of the first quarter, going 4 of 6 from the field to score 9 of his 20 points on the night.

BOX SCORE:Bucks 117, Jazz 100

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Led by Middleton's hot start, the Bucks took a 10-point lead into the second quarter and quickly extended their advantage to 16. That's when fouls disrupted their rhythm.

The Bucks committed just one foul in the first quarter but were tagged for 10 in the second, with John Henson, Thon Maker and DeAndre Liggins all heading into halftime with three fouls. Utah took advantage of Milwaukee's handsy defense by knocking down 12 of 16 free throws in the period with many coming during a 19-5 run that cut the Bucks' lead down to two points at 44-42 with 1:50 until halftime.

Giannis Antetokounmpo got things stabilized with a bucket then found Eric Bledsoe for a three-pointer. With the clock running down in the half, Middleton found Gary Payton II — who started his second successive game with Tony Snell (left patella tendinitis), Matthew Dellavedova (left knee tendinitis) and Jason Terry (left calf strain) all out — behind the defense for an easy layup that gave Milwaukee a 51-42 lead at the break.

The third quarter brought more from Antetokounmpo, who scored 12 of his 37 points in that period, including 10 in a 2 1/2 minute span early in the period. His outburst helped the Bucks build a lead as large as 21 and essentially put the game away. Antetokounmpo finished with 13 rebounds and seven assists, coming three assists shy of setting the franchise triple-double record.

Bledsoe, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, added 20 points to push the Bucks to 4-0 when he, Antetokounmpo and Middleton all score 20-plus points.

“We find the chemistry and it’s easy," Antetokounmpo said of playing with Bledsoe and Middleton. "Look at them (across the locker room), joking around, it’s easy to play with those guys. It’s fun and it makes everybody want to play harder. Not just us, but the guys behind us seeing us that we, the best players, have found the chemistry. The guys behind us, the bench players, play hard, too.”

Malcolm Brogdon continued his strong play off the bench with 16 points and Payton, who logged a season-high 23 minutes, contributed four points and two assists.

As a team, the Bucks' focus on defending the three-point line paid off as they limited the Jazz to eight makes on 23 attempts.

“Understanding what they were going to try to do to us," Kidd said. "Paying attention. It was a quick turnaround but in the walkthrough, the guys were focused and they executed our game plan. ...

"So when you look at the last two games in the last 24 hours, Dallas and Utah were the two teams that really hurt us with the 3 and we took that shot away tonight. That gave (us) a chance to win.”

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

Fun in the fourth: Antetokounmpo didn't throttle down with the Bucks in full control late in the game. He brought the Bradley Center to its feet on two separate occasions.

First, Antetokounmpo collected a loose ball off an errant shot by Henson. He turned around at the top of the key to realize the shot clock was winding down and fired up a three-pointer that beat the shot clock and caught nothing but net.

But he didn't stop there.

Antetokounmpo put an exclamation point on the victory with a full-extension, left-handed jam over Jazz center Rudy Gobert with 17 econds remaining, taking a few moments to smile and celebrate after the dunk.

Locking the rookie down: Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell, who scored 24 points against the Bucks in the first meeting and has been one of the NBA's top scorers in December, couldn't buy a bucket for much of Saturday night.

Mitchell went 0 for 7 in the first half and missed nine of his first 10 shots before Antetokounmpo blocked one of his layups that somehow fell anyway. Mitchell finished 4 of 17 from the field for 12 points.

Kidd credited Bledsoe for setting the tone and accepting the challenge of making things tough on Mitchell, especially in pick-and-roll situations.

“It don’t matter who we’re playing, I always take the challenge of playing good defense," Bledsoe said. "He’s a great player, all you can do is just make it tough on him. …

“I’m a dog, man. I’m a dog, I’m a pit bull. That is what I do. When I came into the league I was a defensive player, picking up full court and doing the whole nine yards. That’s what I do.”

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (15-10) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (13-12). 

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Smoothie King Center.

About the Pelicans: New Orleans bet big on DeMarcus Cousins, acquiring the cantankerous, immensely talented center from the Sacramento Kings in February for a package of three players and two draft picks. The trade has worked out in the Pelicans' favor so far, as Cousins has joined with 2012 No. 1 pick Anthony Davis to create one of the more fearsome frontcourts in the NBA. Cousins is putting up 26.3 points, 12.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks per game with Davis adding 24.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks of his own. Wednesday's matchup will be the Bucks' first game since Saturday while the Pelicans host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday and visit the Houston Rockets on Monday before taking on the Bucks.