National Basketball Association
Milwaukee 117, Utah 100
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 9, 2017
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Officials: #31 Scott Wall, #17 Jonathan Sterling, #48 Scott Foster
Attendance: 16675

MILWAUKEE -- For the second straight night, the Milwaukee Bucks faced off against an opponent that had embarrassed them two weeks earlier, and for the second straight night it looked as if the Bucks just might have learned a thing or two from their previous mistakes.

In their last meeting with the Utah Jazz, the Bucks allowed the 18 3-pointers in a 13-point loss in Salt Lake City, but Milwaukee rectified that issue Saturday night, holding Utah to 8-of-23 shooting from distance and a 43.4 percentage overall in a 117-100 victory at the Bradley Center.

"We learned in Utah how much that can hurt us," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "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 ourselves a chance to win."

So did Giannis Antetokounmpo, who continued his quest to earn NBA MVP honors with 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.

He also got plenty of help from Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton. That duo finished with 20 points each and combined for five of Milwaukee's seven 3-pointers.

"We are just having fun, we are having fun playing together," Bledsoe said.

Milwaukee is 11-4 since acquiring Bledsoe from Phoenix on Nov. 7 and over the Bucks' last five games, each of those three players is averaging over 20 points per game.

"It's a lot of fun to watch," Kidd said. "We still have a long ways to go to get better both individually and as a team but those three are playing at a very high level."

All five Utah starters scored in double figures with Rudy Gobert and Alec Burks each finishing with 20 points but the Jazz were their own worst enemy, giving up 24 points on 16 turnovers.

"Turning the ball over early on contributed to points in the paint on layups," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "It wasn't a good effort for us defensively from the standpoint where I didn't think we were precise. On either end of the floor, frankly, we didn't play well."

Down 16 early in the second quarter, the Jazz used a 19-5 run to trim the deficit to a bucket with 1:50 left until halftime.

Milwaukee recovered and rattled off seven straight points to go into the break with a 51-42 lead.

Utah went 13-for-33 from the floor in the opening half but the Jazz stayed in the game from the free throw line where they hit 12 of 16 attempts while the Bucks made just five trips.

Antetokounmpo took over in the third. He hit 4 of 6 shots and made 4 of 5 from the free throw line to score 12 of Milwaukee's 32 points. The Bucks led by as many as 21 in the quarter and opened the fourth up 83-66.

A John Henson hook two minutes into the final quarter to put Milwaukee ahead by 22 but the Jazz made one more push, using a 10-0 run to get within 12 with 7:51 to play and crept as close as nine before Bledsoe's 3-pointer restored a double-digit cushion.

"I think we played a decent game," Gobert said. "We just can't start the way we started tonight. We were trying to catch them the whole game."

Milwaukee, which snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Jazz, has won three in a row and six of its last seven games to move five games above .500 for the first time Feb. 28, 2015, when a loss at Utah dropped the Bucks' record to 32-27.

NOTES: Bucks G Matthew Dellavedova was listed as questionable but missed his 11th game because of tendinitis in his left knee. Milwaukee was also without G Tony Snell, who sat for a second straight night because of his own bout of left knee tendinitis. ...Utah G Raul Neto left the game with a possible concussion after colliding with Bucks C Thon Maker while grabbing a rebound with 42 seconds left in the opening quarter and did not return. ... The Jazz had won seven straight in the series and 21 of the last 25 meetings with the Bucks overall, including a 121-108 victory in Salt Lake City earlier this season. ... Milwaukee's 15-10 start is its best since posting the same record through 25 games to open the 2005-06 season.
Top Game Performances
 
Utah   Milwaukee
Alec Burks 20 Scoring Giannis Antetokounmpo 37
Ricky Rubio 7 Assists Giannis Antetokounmpo 7
Rudy Gobert 9 Rebounds Giannis Antetokounmpo 13
Rudy Gobert 8 Free Throws Made Giannis Antetokounmpo 8
Donovan Mitchell 3 Steals Eric Bledsoe 3
Derrick Favors 1 Blocks John Henson 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah 100 43.4 8-23 26-37 20 35 3 7 16
Milwaukee 117 54.3 7-17 22-26 22 41 6 8 11
Upcoming Games
  • Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Bucks have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Jazz have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .385 after a loss.