Milwaukee vs. Utah: Jazz Topple Bucks, 107-95

As their stretch of injuries continued (no Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Brook Lopez), the Bucks’ losing streak also continued, as they fell to the Utah Jazz 107-95.

It was a little difficult for the Bucks to get much of anything going in the first quarter, simply due to the lack of their typical starters. Add in the fact that the Jazz went 6-of-10 from the perimeter, things didn’t stack up in Milwaukee’s favor. However, they were able to hang around a little bit and able to keep things to a single digit deficit. At the end of the first stanza, Utah held onto a 30-23 lead.

The Jazz would keep riding their hot shooting and open things up to a double-digit advantage early on in the second. They’d keep things that way for the majority of the period. Milwaukee would eventually slice it to a nine digit halftime deficit, 57-48.

The Bucks would show flashes of being able to pull themselves even in the third quarter, but could never pull off the feat fully. Every time they got close, Utah put the gas on the pedal and opened things back up to double digits. They’d do just that to close things out, as they embarked on a run that provided them an 84-69 lead.

It’d be a similar story in the final quarter of play. The Bucks would work hard to chisel away at the Utah lead, but ultimately, it was just sparks but never an ignition. Every time they got close, the Jazz hit them with a blow, mainly with the punches coming from Donovan Mitchell. After a missed Thanasis Antetokounmpo 3-point attempt, this one was done and dusted and the Jazz left town with a 107-95 win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He’d also take ten 3-point attempts. For the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell was his typical self, putting up a game-high 28 points.

What Did We Learn?

Once again, we learned just how big it was to not have the core outside of Giannis. Obviously, it goes without saying. If a team is missing a chunk of their quality players, they will likely lose the game. However, yet again, we were shown just how crucial those three are to the Bucks. The scoring of Middleton, the aggressiveness of Holiday, and the post presence (especially on defense) from Lopez would’ve all been greatly appreciated last night. It ultimately makes it hard to take away much from these games where they’re absent, just simply due to the fact that the Bucks are without them.

Three Observations

Grayson Allen showed why the Bucks acquired him.

With his 18 points, Grayson Allen has now scored in a career-high seven consecutive games. We all knew the firepower he possessed prior to this season, and while it took some time for him to initially show that off this year, he really seems to be finding his groove as of late. He went 5-of-10 from the floor from beyond the perimeter, with a majority of those being momentous shots. He’s showing the confidence that you want to see, and you know he’ll continue to shoot moving forward. Once the rest of Milwaukee’s Big Three returns, those shots will become even more timely. In Bud’s postgame availability, I asked him about Grayson Allen:

The Bucks continue to have trouble getting over the hump.

In this recent stretch of games, Milwaukee has shown an ability to get things close, but ultimately, fail to come away with a win. It’s encouraging that they’re showing the ability to come back and scratch their way into things. I don’t think it’s any cause for concern that they’re losing these games, just mainly due to the fact that they’re without such a large part of their roster, so think of this as more of an observation than an alarm or anything.

Bobby Portis is starting to get acclimated to the new season.

After missing the first few games of the new campaign due to injuries, Bobby Portis seems to be picking up right where he left off. Coming off the bench last night, he registered 15 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes played. The Fiserv Forum crowd will still get just as hyped for him as they did when he came in during the playoff stretch, which shows the level of energy and boost he can provide. That same energy continues to be displayed on the court, whether it’s a slam of the basketball or a yell into the crowd. Bobby continues to be an X-Factor for this Bucks team.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• I mean, how outrageous is the take foul? This occurred on multiple occasions last night and is so frustrating. Hopefully something happens regarding this relatively soon.
• Obviously, with injuries, some weird lineups are going to happen — and last night, we saw some. It was very weird to see Thanasis and Justin Robinson playing clutch minutes. In his postgame press conference, Bud gave praise to Robinson on how he’s taking advantage of the minutes he’s receiving and being a competitive player. Obviously, his minutes will dwindle once Jrue Holiday returns to action, but it’s still nice to see him making an impact on the floor.
• With last night being Halloween, Fiserv Forum was all decked out for Halloween, including the ushers. Here’s what happened to me, which included a crazy candy feat I’m actually pretty proud of:

• Let’s stay on the Halloween thread for a little bit. What’s your favorite Halloween candy? For me personally, I gotta go with the above candy — Reese’s. Chocolate and peanut butter is simply a combination that cannot beat.
• Alright, I’m ending this with another Halloween bullet point. What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever had? For me, it was when I dressed up as Quailman from Doug. Additionally, Doug is one of the most underrated 90’s cartoon shows.