The Utah Jazz entered the final game of their Eastern Conference road trip with a 1-1 mark, and hoping to take advantage of another team missing a star player - Damian Lillard was out for personal reasons for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Jazz came out rolling in the first quarter on Monday night, hitting 3-pointers with reckless abandon and leaving the Milwaukee Bucks looking stunned and staring like the Washington Generals early on.
And the quarter wasn't just offense - Walker Kessler and ___ had blocked shots, there were a few steals, and the Jazz finished the quarter on a 9-0 run, for a 41-23 lead after one and a silent Milwaukee crowd.
The 2nd quarter started with a 9-3 Jazz run that forced a quick MIlwaukee timeout near the 9-minute mark, and it seemed like the Jazz couldn't miss from distance.
By the 6-minute mark, it was 58-31 for the Jazz and a minute later the crowd was booing the home team after the Jazz scored yet again. An unlikely event for the 2nd best team in the East.
At the 3-minute mark, the Jazz had a 29-16 rebounding advantage, and were going after every loose ball and getting most of them. Really good energy from a team that has lacked it at times this season.
At halftime, the Jazz held a 77-46 lead and had played possibly their best half of the season, with five players in double figures.
In the 3rd Quarter, the Bucks finally responded with 68% shooting, better defense, and hustle. They cut the lead down to 8, as the Jazz went over 4 minutes without making a shot. The Jazz led 100-90 at the end of the 3rd after being outscored 44-23 in that quarter.
But the Jazz weren't finished. They started a run of their own, outscoring the Bucks 9-2, forcing a timeout with 10:19 remaining and extending the lead back to 17 points.
The next few minutes saw another Milwaukee push, a 11-2 run to cut it to 8 points.
A Simone Fontecchio 3 made it 120-108 to give the Jazz a more comfortable lead with 4:40 remaining.
The Bucks didn't score until 2 free throws with 2:59 remaining, at which point the crowd started to whittle out, sensing another Bucks defeat.
The final was Utah 132, Milwaukee 116. The Jazz continued their streak of winning when they had 6 or more players in double figures, led by Lauri Markkanen with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots.
Keyonte George had 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Kris Dunn had 5 points, but led the way with 13 assists and kept the ball moving throughout the game.
The Jazz improve to 18-20 on the season, and return home for 6 straight games starting with Denver on Wednesday night.