The Milwaukee Bucks have finally put a win together, blowing out the Utah Jazz 123-100, thanks to Damian Lillard's 34 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo's 31, who also added 16 rebounds. Coming off a recent burglary incident, Bobby Portis still helped beat the Jazz with 19 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Moreover, a hard foul in the fourth quarter cut his nose, causing him to receive stitches in the locker room. Still, asked about his availability for the Bucks-Knicks game, Bobby Portis said the stitches wouldn't stop him from playing.
“The best ability is availability… So, I'll be hooping tomorrow at 7:30,” he said, via Bucks beat reporter Eric Nehm on X, formerly Twitter.
Bucks finally get a win
Credit to the Bucks' win goes to Lillard and Giannis, of course, but it also goes to the coaching staff's decision to start Andre Jackson Jr. in place of Gary Trent Jr.
The high-flying Jackson finished with seven points, four steals, and three rebounds in 28 minutes, and most of all, he gave the Bucks' starting lineup a shot in the arm and allowed them to run and play with pace.
“He brings energy,” Antetokounmpo said of the young starter, via Jamal Collier of ESPN. “He plays his ass off, guards the best player. We play faster. He was incredible today. We definitely need that…. We need to play with that energy.”
While both Lillard and Giannis have already scored over 30 points together in three of their first games, the most by any duo in the NBA this year, their combined points have not translated into wins. Before the Jazz game, they had lost to both quality teams and basement-dwellers alike.
They were also tied with the Jazz for the worst record in the league, at 1-6.
“We needed it bad, desperately,” Dame Time added. “It was important for us to not only get off that six-game losing streak, but to feel something good.”
What winning does
Likewise, this win could not have come at a better time. The Bucks would have had to crawl out of a 1-7 hole before starting a brutal stretch of five games in seven nights, with the Karl-Anthony Towns-led Knicks and the defending champion Celtics as their first opponents.
“Going into this next stretch of games, it was important for us to get back in the win column,” Lillard agreed. “Not just win a game, but do a lot of things we can have some carry-over with.”
The Bucks also needed contributions off the bench to beat the Jazz, and they'll need Bobby Portis, despite the stitches, to score and help contain the Knicks wings of Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
While the team might have chemistry issues between Lillard and Giannis, they now have finally proven that they can score in bunches together and win. Their only test is to do it consistently, with the help of their teammates.
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