Four players for the NBA-leading Utah Jazz scored at least 25 points in their 129-115 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
It was Utah’s sixth straight win and 17th in 18 games.
Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles each scored 27 points to lead the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell finished with 26 despite 6 of 20 shooting from the field, and Jordan Clarkson continued his stellar play off the bench with 25.
Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 29 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals, but the Bucks dropped their second game in a row. Brook Lopez added 23 points.
Utah used a 34-21 second quarter to seize a double-digit lead that it maintained the rest of the way.
The game began with an Ingles shooting clinic. The Jazz small forward drained three consecutive 3-pointers to open the game, and then hit a fourth triple after a Gobert dunk for a 14-13 lead.
Ingles finished the first half with six 3-pointers and 20 points while dishing out five assists.
Clarkson added 16 before the break as the Jazz went into the locker room ahead 69-52.
Utah was exceptional offensively in both quarters, posting 35 in the first quarter and then outscoring Milwaukee 34-21 in the second quarter while shooting 54.3 from the field and hitting 12 of 24 3-pointers in the half.
All-Star candidate Mike Conley missed his third game in a row for Utah with a strained left hamstring. Meanwhile, the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday missed his third game in a row due to the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols for COVID-19.
Jazz forward Georges Niang left early in the fourth quarter after injuring his right ankle.
The Jazz have beaten the Bucks both times season, and both by double digits. They’ve lost only one game since winning in Milwaukee on Jan. 8, which started a string of 11 straight wins.
–Field Level Media