Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 131-118 loss to Utah Jazz

Jan 8, 2021; Milwaukee, WI, USA Nick Monroe/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2021; Milwaukee, WI, USA Nick Monroe/Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports /
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Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 29 (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

No. 2 – An off night from behind the arc doomed the Bucks

Much like their bench, the first eight games of the season had been kind to the Bucks in terms of 3-point shooting. They were leading the league in percentage by a fair amount at 43.5 percent, but after watching Friday’s blowout defeat at the hands of the Jazz, you would have never guessed it.

The Bucks shot 13-for-42 from behind the arc in the contest, making for an abysmal 31 percent. Despite dominating Utah in the paint, it will always be a longshot for Milwaukee to win when they have such a poor night shooting. Brook Lopez finished with a team-high four triples for the Bucks, but it was not much to rave about as he took a whopping 12 attempts total from distance on the night to get there.

Circling back to the bench’s minimal contributions, the reserves did not hit a single shot from long-range in the contest. Going 0-of-8 on 3-pointers certainly did not help the Bucks, but these issues plagued the entire roster from top to bottom for 48 straight minutes.

In short, it was simply an off night for the entire team shooting the ball. Milwaukee has several games this season with 20 or more triples in a single outing, so this is a team that is capable of lighting it up from deep. However, it was the Jazz that were firing on all cylinders on Friday night.