The Milwaukee Bucks have not won a game as the visiting team against the Utah Jazz since 2001, and that streak continued Friday night.
Utah took firm control of the contest early and never looked back, with Milwaukee’s biggest lead being just a single point in the first quarter. At the 2:41 mark in the second quarter of action, the Jazz built up a double-digit lead that the Bucks were never able to chip away into single-digits, despite their efforts.
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The Jazz held a sizeable 21-point lead at one point and eventually won 129-115. With this win, Utah tacked on their 17th win in their last 18 games to bolster their league-best record of 21-5 this season. This team has always been a formidable opponent for the Bucks, but Friday’s loss was just brutal.
Giannis Antetokounmpo paved the way with another strong performance, scoring 29 points on 12-of-20 shooting while also tallying 15 rebounds and six assists. Brook Lopez also had a strong outing, logging 23 points and six rebounds. Aside from that, there is not much to rave about from Milwaukee’s perspective.
The Bucks have now dropped two in a row and find themselves with a 16-10 overall record. They certainly have some issues to address before Sunday’s matchup, but here are three takeaways from the loss to Utah.
3 takeaways from loss to Utah Jazz — Milwaukee Bucks get little support from the backcourt
Friday marked starting point guard Jrue Holiday’s third consecutive missed game due to the league’s health and safety protocols, and the Bucks have certainly missed him.
Holiday’s absence meant that Bryn Forbes would notch his third straight start in the backcourt, and he did not exactly come out of the gates firing as he did in his last outing. In just over 20 minutes of burn, Forbes finished with five points, shooting 2-of-6 from the floor and 1-of-5 from 3-point territory Friday.
Consistency has been an issue for Forbes offensively, and Friday’s game was undoubtedly one of his more subpar showings. It also goes without saying that Forbes cannot replicate the two-time All-Defensive stature that Holiday provides in the starting lineup, which was apparent all night long in Utah.
Meanwhile, his running mate, Donte DiVincenzo, was not much better. The third-year guard finished with just five points and shot an abysmal 2-of-9 from the field and 1-of-4 from deep. He has also battled with inconsistency issues throughout this season, and he simply could not get the wheels turning Friday night.
Depending on how long Jrue is sidelined, these two will continue to get their opportunities starting alongside one another in the backcourt. When they provide such minimal contributions as they did Friday night, however, the Bucks are not likely to walk away as the winners. In short, these two need to play better consistently.
3 takeaways from loss to Utah Jazz — Milwaukee Bucks had the worse sixth man Friday night
Bench issues have been a staple in the list of growing weak points for the Bucks this season, largely due to D.J. Augustin. The Bucks inked the veteran sixth man to a hefty deal over the offseason, and he has not lived up to expectations in the slightest.
Friday night against the Jazz, Augustin did make an impression on the scoreboard with 12 points, but it was the ugliest dozen that he has ever scored. The guard did a bulk of his work at the free throw line, where he connected on seven of his nine attempts. Elsewhere, he shot just 2-of-7 from the floor, including 1-of-4 from deep. Augustin’s contributions have been hard to come by this season, and given the high hopes this team had for him, he has been a disappointment.
Particularly with Holiday sidelined, the Bucks depended more heavily on Augustin to run the point, but he clocked in another lackluster performance in his near 30 minutes of playing time. Whatever the reason, the veteran has not been able to find his footing with the Bucks, which has undoubtedly hindered their success.
These struggles have particularly been enhanced because of Augustin’s reputation as a liability on the defensive end. When the shots are not falling, there is very little that he brings to the table.
On the other hand, Utah’s sixth man, Jordan Clarkson, torched Milwaukee on the offensive end, as he oftentimes does when they meet. The far-too-early frontrunner for Sixth Man of the Year honors had himself a night to remember with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, along with five assists and four rebounds in his 30 minutes of action. Clarkson was clearly the superior sixth man, which has been a recurring theme for Milwaukee’s opponents this year.
3 takeaways from loss to Utah Jazz — Milwaukee Bucks’ defense nonexistent in the loss
Over the previous two seasons, the Bucks earned the league’s best record consecutively because of their defensive prowess. They were a juggernaut on that end of the floor, but the script has been flipped entirely this season as they have the 12th-ranked defensive rating at this point.
This was apparent Friday night in Utah as the Jazz put up a whopping 129 points against the Bucks. Shooting a collective 43-of 82 from the floor (14-of-38 from behind the 3-point line) helped them run up the score in a game where it seemed like everyone opposite of the Bucks had the hot hand with the ball in their hands.
Sharpshooter Joe Ingles got the start in place of the injured Mike Conley Jr., and he made his mark all night long as he tied his career-high with 27 points by going 7-of-9 from distance. His fellow backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell did not score the ball particularly efficiently, but he still finished the game with 26 points and eight assists.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Clarkson proved to be a pest for the Bucks all night off the bench. Utah’s starting center Rudy Gobert also turned some heads by scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds on the night. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year is unquestionably not known for his offensive skill set, but it did not appear the way against the Bucks.
For the Bucks to give up 25 points to four different individuals is just awful. The Jazz were hitting their shots from distance, mid-range, and down low, all of which the Bucks had no answer to for 48 consecutive minutes. Milwaukee’s defense has taken a hit without Holiday, one of their best defenders, in the lineup, but their efforts in this game were far below par.
The Bucks will close out their six-game road trip Sunday night when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 7 p.m. central time tip-off.