One night after securing a NBA playoffs spot, the Milwaukee Bucks continued their five-game road trip with a loss to the Utah Jazz. Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 43 points, but wasn’t enough for the “W”. “They made the shots down the stretch and we weren’t able to stop them. That was playoff basketball” he mentioned after the NBA 2018-19 Regular Season match.
The Greek Freak was brilliant on Saturday making 15/26 from the field including 2/3 three-pointers. However, his 11/19 from the charity line and his three missed free throws in the final seconds played their part in the defeat. “Tough game, back-to-back, guys not playing, but our effort was there. That’s all we ask for. We have to keep going forward with this kind of energy” he said.
Despite right knee soreness he played 32 minutes and fell one point short from his personal-best 44 points. He was on the bench during the hosts rally in the fourth quarter, but stressed that he’s feeling better. “I’m good. I’m ready to play. If the coach wants me to play less minutes, I’ll play less minutes” he pointed out.
Donovan Mitchell plays best when he feels free and just lets his instincts take over. Down 17 in the 4th quarter to the NBA’s best team Saturday night, Mitchell turned to his Jazz teammates and said: “We’ve got nothing to lose now. Let’s go!” Mitchell scored a career-high 46 points and led Utah back from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to a 115-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
“You take certain risks that maybe you don’t take when you are up 17. But we made the right plays and we got stops,” said Mitchell, who said it was probably his best regular-season game of his NBA career.