Bucks vs. Jazz: Goodbye to the Losing Streak

Milwaukee gets back on track with strong outings from Dame and Giannis

Milwaukee Bucks fans can finally exhale, as the Bucks snapped their losing streak and secured a 123-100 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz.

Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below:

What Did We Learn?

Last night was finally the night where Andre Jackson Jr. entered the starting five (Jackson (Starting) 5 for a nickname, anyone?). Immediately, he provided an ignition, as he quickly stripped the ball from Collin Sexton and took it home for a fastbreak slam. He then followed it up with this:

All night long, he simply brought it. The Bucks were in dire need of some energy, and AJax brought it. He finished with seven points, three rebounds, and four assists. Of those, Doc may have been the most proud of his assists, praising him for his connectivity out on the floor with his teammates. Postgame, Damian Lillard had high praise for AJax’s efforts:

“I thought he had a great game. Every good team has somebody that you can point to as like a disruptor, energy player that just brings that to a team and I think it was obvious with him out there…his pressure on the ball, the deflections, chasing down loose balls. You know, just a lot of those hustle plays, those energy plays that can bring energy to a team but also those moments where it look like the other team is about to have something happen for them and his energy and effort and his motor comes into play for us. You know, like that fast-break where Brook is chasing down Patty Mills and he made him throw up a high, floating layup in transition and the other guy is following it up and Dre come up from behind and blocks it. That’s just the kind of player he is and I think they felt his presence out there tonight.”

He did pick up four fouls and I asked Doc about how he can combat that moving forward:

“The old saying is I’d rather kindle a fire than start a fire. Andre might be the poster child of that statement right there. And even for us, it’s hard because you want him to stay aggressive. It’s what makes him good. It’s the silly ones that we’re going to watch on film with him tonight on the plane. There are two that there were no need to pick up. Those are the ones that if he gets away from those, he can stay aggressive on the other ones, you know? So that’s what he has to learn.”

Three Things

It looked like it was going to be a repeat of Utah’s hot shooting performance.

When I say repeat, I mean of their outing last season at Fiserv Forum, where they knocked down a barrage of threes to kick it off. Last night, they got off to a similar start. In the first half, they buried 14 threes. The stand-out part of that? They were averaging 11 per game coming into this one. Thankfully for the Bucks, that hot shooting subsided in the second half, as they only connected on just several more throughout the course of the night. So many times, we’ve seen the Bucks succumb to shooting displays from opposing teams. However, last night wasn’t one of those occurrences and Milwaukee was able to weather the storm to a victory.

Pat Connaughton came in over AJ Green.

This was a development that many Bucks fans weren’t ecstatic to see. Connaughton continued to struggle, going 0-for-2 from the floor in 17 minutes played. Throughout the recent years, it seems as if his struggles have become more prevalent as he becomes streakier and streakier and tonight was a continuation of that. To start the season, he’s now gone a total of 4-of-12 from the perimeter. At this point, it seems to be just a matter of time before Doc ticks down his minutes and pivots to another direction.

AJ Green continued his strong start to the season.

On the other side of the stone of Pat Connaughton struggling is AJ Green continuing his strong shooting from deep. He buried four threes in this one, igniting sparks that helped Milwaukee create separation and hold the Jazz at bay. He’s been really seeing the ball go through the hoop, as this outing followed up his seven 3-pointer performance in Cleveland. Postgame, Dame discussed what he sees as the reasoning behind Green’s effective shooting:

“I think one, you just gotta have the ability to shoot. Like, to be a great shooter, you gotta have the ability to shoot. In the NBA, we play so many games. We shoot the ball so much that you’re gonna go through tough stretches where you don’t shoot the ball well. You’re gonna have stretches where you shoot the ball great and you think you’re going to make every shot. But I think the great shooters, they just stay true to what makes them a great shooter and that’s getting reps. That’s doing their game speed. That’s being able to accept that you’re going to miss shots and it’s just not going to fall sometimes. You gotta still raise up every time like every one is going in. I think for somebody like AJ…when I come in and I do my pre-practice stuff and I’m getting ready to get out on the court, I know I can count on seeing him on that far basket going through his rip-through threes and catch-and-shoot, quick catch-and-shoot, step-backs both ways, quick trigger…like, I see him go through this routine over and over and over even when he’s not in the rotation last year…even when he wasn’t playing early. He’s not missing those days and I think when you know that you put the time in and you can feel those reps, you’re gonna be confident regardless of what the result is in a game and I think that’s what makes a great shooter and that’s why he’s a great shooter.”

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Giannis continues to make history with the Bucks:

• He then officially became the sole leader later in the game. Time to revisit his accolades with his Bucks:

• I still don’t understand Utah’s black and yellow color scheme. One of the worst uniforms in the league. I can’t wait for the bright, contrasting color theme of NBA uniforms to end. Just bring back the mountain purple and blue and call it a day.
• Giannis and Dame continue to cook with one another. This was another night where they both etched out 30+ points. You can tell that their chemistry is improving and their play is becoming more organic. In his postgame availability, Dame mentioned it being less scripted.
• Johnny Juzang was fun to watch. He came off the Utah bench and made his presence felt with several threes in quick order. I hope he gets more minutes moving forward.
• This was the first game this season that the Bucks have allowed 100 points or fewer.
• Antetokounmpo finished with 16 total rebounds and scored 31 points in this one, marking his second consecutive game with 15+ rebounds and 30+ points. He’s the only player this season to score 30+ points and haul in 15+ rebounds in multiple games this season.

Up Next

The Bucks are back in action tonight on a SEGABABA as they head to New York City for a matchup against the New York Knicks. You can catch the action at 6:30 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.

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