Some nights you just don’t have it.
Playing against arguably the best team in the NBA, Utah knew it would be an uphill climb against Milwaukee on Friday night. Despite a special night from Simone Fontecchio, the Jazz fell 144-116 to the Bucks.
“We almost had them," head coach Will Hardy said with a laugh. "Credit to Milwaukee, they’re the best team in the NBA for a reason. It's a great learning moment for our team because that’s where we want to be. … We want to be at the level of that team."
On nights like Friday, when you’re severely shorthanded without your three leading scorers, teams will often look for any positives to grow on. Against Milwaukee, Fontecchio was that favorable for the Jazz.
After getting more run since the trade deadline, Fontecchio has adapted to the speed of the NBA game — and that culminated with a career night on Friday. He finished with a career-high 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 4-of-7 from deep. He also added three rebounds in 25 minutes.
The impressive part about his game was that he never settled for just three-pointers. He looked comfortable pump-faking and putting the ball on the ground to get to the hoop, resulting in a 4-for-4 showing from the free throw line.
There’s a reason Milwaukee is regarded as arguably the best team in the league, and the Jazz found out why from the opening tip. Grayson Allen scored the game’s first 11 points as the Bucks jumped all over Utah to lead 19-4 less than five minutes in.
Behind Kelly Olynyk, the Jazz steadied the ship and matched Milwaukee point-for-point for the rest of the quarter. He did a bit of everything for Utah, scoring at the rim, from beyond the arc, while getting to the free throw line.
A Joe Ingles three would extend Milwaukee’s lead to 17, but Talen Horton-Tucker and Kris Dunn buckets allowed Utah to the quarter on a high point.
The Jazz trailed 40-25 after one.
The start of the second quarter belonged to Pat Connaughton as he drilled three threes in the opening three minutes as the deficit grew to 16 — but Utah had an answer.
Simone Fontecchio found nothing but net from deep on back-to-back possessions, cutting the deficit to 10 and forcing a Bucks timeout. An Olynyk three ended a quick 5-0 run for Utah as they cut the deficit to six with four minutes left in the half.
That deficit didn’t last long as Milwaukee responded with a 16-2 run to push the lead back up to 20 with just over a minute to go in the second. Utah didn’t go quietly, ending the quarter on a 6-0 run punctuated by a filthy dunk from Horton-Tucker.
The Jazz trailed 72-58 at the break.
Utah cut the deficit to 11 after a bucket by Fontecchio and a free throw by Walker Kessler, but the Bucks looked to put this game away early as they rattled off a 23-9 run over the next five minutes to lead 95-70 midway through the third.
Utah’s deficit would later grow to 33 late in the quarter, but Fontecchio knocked down a stepback three with nine seconds left to continue his solid night.
The Jazz trailed 115-85 after three.
EMBED — SOMETHING
Hardy elected to pull his starters to begin the fourth, which allowed Udoka Azubuike and Johnny Juzang to see more time than usual. They responded with solid performances in the final 12 minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the Jazz dropped their second straight game.
"Sometimes in the NBA, it feels worse than it is," Hardy said. "My perspective is that we tried, the intent was there. ... But now we move on to the next one.I 'm very glad we can play tomorrow."
Olynyk finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Horton-Tucker chipped in 13 points and eight assists. Juzang finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while Azubuike added nine points, nine rebounds, and two blocks.
The Jazz will head to Sacramento tonight for a rematch against the Kings on Saturday — tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MT.