Jazz outlast the shorthanded Bucks on Halloween

The Utah Jazz entered Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back, only to find that the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks were going to be missing Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Brook Lopez. Even with three starters out, the Bucks are a formidable team, still boasting the best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a plethora of strong role players.

Utah started the game on fire from 3, hitting their first five deep balls. Mike Conley’s presence was immediately felt, just as his absence was felt on the night before. Utah built a double-digit lead, which they kept for much of the game.

The bench had another impressive outing, and made some big-time plays, including this hammer from new fan-favorite Eric Paschall.

The Jazz shooting cooled off, but the defense stayed strong. Another strong showing for the center rotation of Rudy Gobert (9 pts, 13 rbs, 4 blks) and Hassan Whiteside (4 pts, 9 rbs, 2 blks) anchored the defense, while Royce O’Neale worked the tough assignment of guarding the two-time MVP. The teams fought back and forth, but Utah mostly kept the lead at arms-length.

The Bucks' scrappy defense and the Jazz's sloppy turnovers allowed the game to get close again in the final minutes. When the Jazz needed a bucket in crunch time, Donovan Mitchell stepped up and closed the game out.

Top performers

• Donovan Mitchell: 28 points, 69% true shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
• Mike Conley: 20 points, 78% true shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
• Rudy Gobert: 9 points, 79% true shooting, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks

Play of the game

Between Rudy Gobert stuffing former Jazzman Grayson Allen, the smooth handles and pass from Donovan Mitchell, and the finish from Royce O’Neale, this play had a little bit of everything.

Game Ball: Donovan Mitchell

Spida stepped up on Halloween, having his first really great scoring game of this season. He put up 28 points on 18 attempts and hit big shot after big shot when they were most needed. When Milwaukee had all the momentum in the second half, Mitchell put the team on his back and scored 7 straight points to extend the lead back to double-digits.

Final thoughts

• Utah still hasn’t had a great game, and they’re 5-1.
• Rudy Gobert only had 13 rebounds? Pathetic (/s)
• Whiteside has not had a bad game yet. If this continues, he was the best pickup for the Jazz.
• Only 32% from 3 as a team tonight. When will the shooting come back?
• Joe Ingles was almost invisible. Maybe he needs to rest on half of the back-to-backs more than Conley does.
• Jordan Clarkson needs to find his shot fast, because he is shooting the Jazz out of leads on the regular right now.
• Mike Conley remains incredibly important on both ends of the court for the Jazz
• Eric Paschall knows how to win the fans over. Know your role, hustle on D, make the occasional highlight.

The Jazz will return home to face the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, November 2nd at 7:00 pm mountain time.