Allen, Lopez start strong, lead rout
SALT LAKE CITY – The Milwaukee Bucks swept a season series against the Utah Jazz for just the second time this century with a 144-116 victory Friday night at Vivint Arena.
The Bucks joined the 2001-02 team in the accomplishment after beating the Jazz at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 17. Milwaukee improved its league-best record to 53-20 and won their third straight while Utah fell to 35-38.
Allen, Lopez propel blowout
From the opening play of the night – a Grayson Allen layup off a slick pass from Jrue Holiday – the Bucks were literally off and running toward a blowout victory. Allen made his four shots to stake the Bucks an 11-0 lead in the opening two minutes.
“That was quick,” Allen said with a grin. “It’s a lot of fun to start off like that. You get the first two to go in, then everything feels like it’s going in.”
On the other end of the court, Brook Lopez blocked three shots in that time frame, and the Bucks never really looked back.
“I’m just doing my job, you know?” Lopez said. “The Jazz kept attacking the basket so I was just, in response, trying to protect the basket.”
As for Allen, Lopez added, “I mean, we’ve seen Grayson do that time and time again. He’s so dangerous out there and so talented that it makes it pretty easy for us.”
Utah got to within six at one point, but it was quickly suppressed by the Bucks’ stifling defense and torrid shooting.
Milwaukee shot 50.9% overall and 46.7% from behind the three-point line in the decisive first half, taking a 72-58 lead. Six Bucks hit threes (they made 14 total) and it could have been much worse for the Jazz had it not hustled its way to 17 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds. Utah also had 13 points off eight Bucks turnovers.
Then in the third quarter, the Bucks opened up an even bigger lead as they cleaned up those loose ends. Utah only had three more second-chance points and two more points off turnovers.
They led 115-85 after three, a total that matched their season high through three periods of play.
Allen finished with 25 points in 22 minutes, going 8 for 14 from the field and making 5 threes.
“He was incredible,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “He was aggressive, getting downhill, offensive rebounds, guarding . ... For me, that’s the Grayson I want to see every night.
“Obviously, maybe every night he’s not going to score 12 points in a row or whatever the case might but I want him to be aggressive, I want him to go out there and look for his shots, try to break down the defense, get in the paint, create for himself, create for others. He needs to be aggressive at all times, at a high level.”
Lopez finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots in 26 minutes.
“I don’t know the right word, but I think the focus you want to come out with, the purpose you want to come out with, Grayson and Brook did that for us,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Kind of set the example for everybody and everybody, I think, I was very good tonight. Was a good win for us. Impressive.”
Pat Connaughton started in place of Khris Middleton and scored a seasonhigh 22 points. He made 6 of his 10 three-pointers. Holiday had 18 points and eight assists in 25 minutes.
Giannis has double-double, takes hard foul
Antetokounmpo had been on a tear since missing three games over seven days with right hand soreness from March 6-12, averaging 32 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game over his last five heading into Friday night, but three minutes into the game he was fouled hard on his right hand by Talen Horton-Tucker, and then fell to the court.
The Bucks’ MVP candidate grabbed his right wrist – which he initially injured on Feb. 16 in Chicago – and took a few moments to collect himself to shoot his free throws. He did not come out of the game, but he only took three shots the rest of the quarter. He did help push the pace and set the offense, however, with four assists.
He finished the first half with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, to go with seven assists and five rebounds.
Antetokounmpo’s night was over after three quarters. He finished with 24 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in 25 minutes. He was a sparkling 10 for 13 from the field, despite any potential issues with his shooting hand, but was 3 for 6 from the free throw line.