GAMEDAY: Milwaukee vs Utah - 12/18/10

Turning the Corner

Bucks vs Jazz
Tonight's game had a slightly different slant, but the same basic problem of not playing a full 48 minutes persisted. The Bucks played well in the first quarter and were pretty good in the second and third. fourth quarter was a different story, though... Read Full Article

Head Coach Scott Skiles

On rebounding ...
"The game at Utah (and tonight's game), both games were pretty similar. They had more assists, they had more steals, they had fewer turnovers, they shot the three better, got to the line more. An awful lot of that revolved around just the offense glass. We did a decent job getting the first stop but we just had a hard time reacting to the ball."

On the turning point in the game ...
"They had sort of an often occurrence at the beginning of the game in a back-to-back for them, they were a little slow foot. About the five and half minute mark in the second quarter you could see some things changing and they started to get after it a little more."

On tonight's game...
"They took a little bit of momentum into the half and we came out in the second half and didn't have much.
We got it close and we got some stops, we just couldn't finish it off with clean rebounds."

Center Andrew Bogut

On tonight's game...
"We had our chances early on in the game. We know that they're going to make a run in the fourth quarter, they're probably one of the best fourth quarter finishing teams in the league. Once they start getting momentum in their favor they are very tough to beat."

On tonight's struggles...
"I think offensive rebounds was a huge part of it. Obviously there were a lot of bounces that were going their way too but you get those when you're crashing the boards and we weren't crashing the boards with effort. It wasn't just those things, it was the loose balls they were getting, they were forcing turnovers at crucial times of the game and getting lay-ups. They just really turned it up and we didn't respond."

Guard Chris Douglas-Roberts

On Deron Williams...
"His handle lets him get wherever he wants on the floor and he just knows the system like the back of his hand. That's what makes him so tough to check."

On tonight's game ...
"They outrebounded us, that was pretty much about it. That was the deciding factor in this game was they outrebounded us. That and second chance points, that was it."

• Tonight's game was Milwaukee's last home game until December 27. The team embarks on a three-game west coast road trip, starting Monday night in Portland.
  
  
• Milwaukee started the game on a 16-4 run, thanks to over 50 percent shooting, two steals (Bogut and Jennings) and one blocked shot (Chris Douglas-Roberts). Utah whittled down the Bucks' lead during the second quarter, keyed by a 6-0 run to close out the half and bring the score to 46-43. The Jazz took the lead at the 10:51 mark in the third quarter and battled closely with the Bucks - including four ties - for much of the remainder of the game, until pulling away late.
  
  
• Keyon Dooling was three for four from three, and timed them right. His first extended the Bucks lead to seven points after a CJ Miles jump shot closed the gap; his second came 33 second after he entered the game at 3:11 in the third to cut the Utah lead to three and helped key a comeback run. Dooling's third tre tied the game at 66 a short three minutes later.
  
  
• The fourth quarter did not lack drama. Midway through the fourth, a flagrant foul was called on Drew Gooden (Kirilenko made both shots). A mere six seconds later, Deron Williams was tagged with a technical foul (Dooling made the free throw to tie the game at 75). On the Bucks next possession, John Salmons hit a three to give the Bucks the lead at 78-75.
  
  
• Utah gets an "A" for assists tonight, accumulating 25 total dishes, exceeding the team's season average of 23.7 per game, which was good for fourth in the league coming into the game. Utah guard Deron Williams was ranked fourth in the league in assists per game coming into tonight's contest (9.7) and tallied 11 during the game.
  
  
• Deron Williams put up 22 points, dished out 11 assists and added two rebounds for the Jazz.
  
  
• Rebounds were the story of the game. Milwaukee came into tonight's game ranked fourth in the NBA in rebounds per game (43.04), but was held to only 31 boards tonight. Meanwhile, Utah grabbed 46 total rebounds, after being ranked 29th in the league coming into tonight's game, averaging 38.85 per game. The Bucks had been holding their opponents to a league-low 8.46 offensive rebounds per game, but the Jazz pulled down 14 offensive boards tonight. Milwaukee is now 2-7 when they are out-rebounded.
  
  
• The Bucks are now 1-10 when they score 89 points or less.
  
  
• Milwaukee had been 4-1 when shooting better than its opponent and 5-1 when they shoot between 45 and 49.9 percent. The team drops to 4-2 and 5-2, respectively in those categories, having shot 45.1 percent versus Utah's 42.2 percent.
  

THE BOGUT BAROMETER - In Andrew Bogut's last 20 games played (dating back to last season), a Bucks foe has topped 100 points in regulation just once (L.A. Lakers 118 on 11/16/10 - Boston scored 105 in overtime on 11/3/10). In those 20 games Bucks opponents are averaging 91.5 points (1,829) on 43.8 percent shooting (666- 1,520). The Bucks are also out-rebounding those opponents with an average of 44.2 rebounds to 41.0 (883-819). This season the Bucks are 3-1 when Bogut scores 20+ points, 3-1 when he grabs 17 or more rebounds and 3-2 when he blocks five or more shots.

15/5/5=W - The formula for a Bucks win was foiled for the first time this season on Wednesday night as they're now 10-1 when at least one player records at least 15 points, five rebounds and five assists or blocks. Andrew Bogut finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks, his third game of 10/5/5 on the season. Brandon Jennings has six, John Salmons has two and Ersan Ilyasova has one.

BIG MAN'S BIG GAME - Andrew Bogut has recorded a double-double in five of the last six games and is averaging team-highs in points (19.8), rebounds (14.2) and blocks (4.0) over that stretch. Bogut is also contributing 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals while knocking down 56.2 percent of his shots (50-89).

ELITE COMPANY - Brandon Jennings is currently part of an elite group of NBA players, averaging at least 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. He is one of five players, along with Utah's Deron Williams (23.0 ppg, 9.8 apg, 4.0 rpg), Miami's LeBron James (23.9 ppg, 7.1 apg, 6.2 rpg), Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (23.3 ppg, 8.6 apg, 5.2 rpg) and Chicago's Derrick Rose (23.9 ppg, 8.4 apg, 4.3 rpg) to put up those numbers.

NEARING NUMBERS - On Wednesday, Andrew Bogut recorded his 500th career block. He is (349) also one game from 350 for his career and 29 points (4,471) away from 4,500. Carlos Delfino (249) is one steal away from 250 for his career and (346) needs four threes to reach 350. Drew Gooden (446) is four steals away from 450, (598) two games away from 600 and (395) five blocks away from 400. Brandon Jennings (192) is eight 3-pointers away from 200. Keyon Dooling (348) is two 3-pointers from 350 and Ersan Ilyasova (1,449) is 51 points from 1,500.

DAUNTING DECEMBER - Entering December, 11 of the Bucks 13 opponents had a winning record. Earlier this month, the Bucks went 2-2 in a four-game stretch against teams with a combined 48-27 record. Tonight's game is the second in a five-game span against teams (at Dallas, at San Antonio, vs Utah, at Portland and at L.A. Lakers) that have a combined 90-37 record (.709).

• The Bucks have held their last six opponents under 100 points and have gone 4-2 in that span. Five of those six foes were held under their season average going into the game. Orlando scored 85 and averaged 99.3, Miami 88 and 100.7, Indiana 95 and 100.7, Houston 91 and 105.3, Dallas 99 and 98.7 and San Antonio 92 and 106.4. See the "Six Pack" stat box to the right for more information on the Bucks last six games.
  
  
• Milwaukee is sixth in the league by holding 18 of their opponents under 100 points. That's 75.0 percent of their foes scoring less than 100 each night, better than their 57.3 percent last season.
  
  
• The Bucks are 1-1 in a stretch where they'll play five of six contests away from home. After playing Utah at the Bradley Center, Milwaukee will travel to Portland, L.A. Lakers and Sacramento.
  
  
• Over the last six games, the Bucks bench has the 186-152 (31.0-25.3) advantage.
  
  
• Bucks rookie Larry Sanders ranks first in blocks (1.4 bpg), is tied for 12th in rebounds (3.2 rpg), 13th in minutes (15.2 mpg) and tied for 18th in points (4.0 ppg) amongst rookies who have appeared in at least 15 games.
  
  
• The Bucks recorded their 1,800th win in franchise history on Monday night.