3 takeaways from the Bucks’ possibly season-saving win over the Jazz

The Milwaukee Bucks are back in the winning circle again, after a six-game losing streak.

There are plenty of caveats to their 123-100 win Thursday night over the lowly Utah Jazz. Chief among them, of course, is that this was a matchup of two 1-6 clubs (thus the Jazz are now 1-7, while the Bucks have improved to a still-poor 2-6). The other big problem is that it’s not yet clear whether this was a permanent sea change or just a temporary reprieve from a doomed start to the season. More may be revealed Friday night when Milwaukee travels to Madison Square Garden to face the 3-4 New York Knicks, a hard-working but very light-on-depth team.

Here are our takeaways from the blowout triumph, starting of course with the top headliner of the night:

It’s been clear since Game 1 that Gary Trent Jr. was a terrible defensive backcourt pairing with All-Star point guard Damian Lillard. Together, the two cultivated a crucifix defense that essentially gave opposing guards free rein to drive to the basket seemingly at will against them.

Trent’s signing looked like the coup of the Bucks’ summer. Coming off an $18.6 million contract with the Toronto Raptors, he had averaged 13.7 points on .426/.393/.771 shooting, 2.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals in his 71 contests with the club across 28.1 minutes per night. Now his offense seems to have hit as well. The 6-foot-5 swingman is averaging a paltry 7.3 points on .295/.231/.929 shooting, 1.4 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks a game, averaging the equivalent of 26.9 minutes per game.

Rivers finally listened to his eyes and demoted Trent, who played just 7:52 in a blowout, and could become the team’s tenth man (once Khris Middleton returns).

In Trent’s place, Rivers inserted a far more athletic, wider, younger option: 6-foot-6 sophomore wing Andre Jackson Jr. As he has all year, Jackson had a modest but efficient scoring night. In 28:19, he scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor (1-of-1 from deep), four assists, four steals and three rebounds, as well as a +19 plus-minus. He also provided solid defense and helped offset Lillard’s lack of effort on that end of the floor.

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard’s offense rose far above everyone else’s

The Bucks’ two All-Stars each scored over 30 points again, while only two other Bucks, both backups, scored in double figures at all, and neither reached 20 points (no Jazz player reached 20 points either). Milwaukee’s offense has been thrown completely out of whack with Middleton indefinitely as no one else has been able to score very consistently, while the team’s defense has cratered just two seasons removed from its Jrue Holiday heyday.

Lillard led all scorers with 34 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field (4-of-11 from long range) and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals in 37:02.

Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, recorded 31 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor and 9-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe, grabbed 16 boards, dished out two dimes, hauled in a steal and blocked a shot.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo also pushed Milwaukee into double-digit lead territory midway through the third quarter. The Jazz had a one-point lead, 71-70, at the 6:10 mark before Damian Lillard hit an 18-6 run that put the Bucks up 88-77 at the end of the frame. The two superstars scored or passed for 17 of those 18 points, mostly around the basket.

Guard AJ Green, reserve power forward/center Bobby Portis and guard Pat Connaughton helped the Bucks build an 18-point lead early in the fourth frame. Portis has been in a massive shooting slump while Green is still flourishing. Portis At 3:25, Rivers subbed out his stars for good and called it a night.

Portis finished with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field (3-of-6 from beyond the arc) and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line and six rebounds. Green was Milwaukee’s only other double-digit scorer (12 points), while shooting only from 3-point range (he went 4-of-6).

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