The Utah Jazz wins the Milwaukee Bucks to win its sixth straight

Over the course of the past week or so, much of the story surrounding the Utah Jazz was that the upcoming series of tough games would prove who they were. Well, after victories over the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics, the Jazz had another tough test in the Milwaukee Bucks.

Joe Ingles, who started in the place of the injured Mike Conley, came into this game looking for some fools. He started hot, scoring the first nine runs for Utah and came with three shots from outside the arc. He followed it with a pick and roll pocket pass to Rudy Gobert, who fired a fierce dunk right in the face of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Joe finished the first half with 20 points, teasing Jazz fans everywhere he could get a new career high. Jordan Clarkson came off the bench and immediately scored three runs on one-and-one. As soon as that went down, everyone knew he was going to leave. And he did go away. Clarkson made the float work on all cylinders and he even made some nice passes.

Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis kept the Bucks close with their shot. Antetokounmpo played an important role himself, although not by his score. He only scored two runs in the first half, but still contributed with an excellent defense, a strong rebound and some great passes to shooters. Royce O’Neale was Giannis’ main defender for much of this match, and was particularly effective in the first half. Royce gives up a lot of size in that matchup, but he worked and worked on every asset to make the life of the back-to-back MVP difficult. It was clear that Quin Snyder’s plan was to do everything he could to keep Giannis from getting into the ring. It is a very tough task, but one that the Jazz managed to save well in the first half.

Photo by Jeff Swinger / NBAE via Getty Images

Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert owned the paint at both ends of the track. This was the first time this year that we saw the “Wasatch Front” play long minutes together. Those minutes went as they usually were. The Jazz defense was impenetrable, while the attack was a bit clumsy. When Gobert and Favors saw the court separately, they both dominated. Gobert closed the paint for the Bucks in defense and got dunks or free-throws on fouls.

The Jazz shared the ball very well tonight. Take a look at this absolutely ridiculous asset.

The Jazz led 69-52 at half time.

The first part of the third quarter was when Utah pushed the lead up above 20. Gobert dominated, Donovan Mitchell facilitated, and the Jazz had fun.

As the quarter progressed, Milwaukee did what great teams are doing. They went on a long flight. Antetokounmpo cannot be stopped for long. In this second half, he showed why he has won two MVP awards. He attacked the basket relentlessly, showing his incredible physical gifts. The man can just dunk anywhere on the field.

As the Bucks worked their way back into the game, Jordan Clarkson, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert took over from Utah. Clarkson kept on the track, hitting floaters, occasionally making nice passes from his drives, like this one to Gobert.

Joe Ingles was calling on anyone who thought he might make a new career high. We should all know by now, he gets exactly 27 points and stops scoring. My theory is that it is out of respect for Rudy Gobert. The Bucks had a strong fight, winning the third quarter by three points and holding the fourth quarter, but the Jazz weathered the storm and held the lead in the double digits.

Utah Jazz wins 129-115.

Rudy Gobert: 27 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 9-12 field goals

Donovan Mitchell: 26 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 13-14 free throws

Joe Ingles: 27 points, 5 assists, 7-9 three pointers

Jordan Clarkson: 25 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

Tonight is the first time in franchise history that four Utah Jazz players have scored 25 or more points in the same match.

While there are four legitimate candidates tonight, Rudy Gobert is the easy choice. Anyone who watches this game can see why he deserves to win another Defensive Player of the Year. He chased Bucks away from the hoop all night. He blocked Khris Middleton by three points, he got rebounds, and, oh yeah, he also scored 27 points. Rudy owned the paint on both sides of the court tonight, which is really hard to do when you go against the Greek Freak.

The Jazz continued their dominance tonight, taking their record to a franchise best start of 21-5. Enjoy this time, jazz fans. This may be the best Utah Jazz has ever played.

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak / NBAE via Getty Images