Jazz at Bucks
A pair of teams looking to stay relevant in their respective conference playoff races meet Sunday when the Utah Jazz continue a five-game road trip at the Milwaukee Bucks. Utah's 92-85 loss at Chicago to open the trek left it a game behind Dallas for the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.
The Jazz are 11-23 on the road and 4-10 away from home versus teams from the East. The Bucks have a much bigger hill to climb to gain a playoff spot but have won four of five to get within 5 1/2 games of the eighth spot. They blocked 17 shots — a franchise record for a home game — in a 96-86 win over Memphis on Thursday, their fifth win in the last six games against a Western Conference opponent. That run began after an 84-81 defeat at Utah on Feb. 5, which represents Milwaukee's second-lowest scoring output this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (33-36): Gordon Hayward returned Saturday from a two-game layoff because of plantar fasciitis but struggled versus the Bulls. He finished with nine points on 4-of-13 shooting and center Rudy Gobert continued his issues on the offensive end with one field goal in 27 minutes. Gobert, who entered Saturday averaging 9.6 points, has produced 5.3 during an eight-game span, but he finished with 15 points and eight boards in the previous meeting with Milwaukee.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (30-39): Milwaukee received 40 points on 57.1 percent shooting from its bench Thursday, and little-used Tyler Ennis continued his recent surge. The second-year pro had career highs with 13 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes and he has scored in double figures in three of his last four games after doing so just once before this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached double digits in assists in five of his last eight games but had zero in 33 minutes against Utah last month.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah has won 17 of the last 21 meetings.
2. Bucks PG Jerryd Bayless has turned the ball over six times in 354 minutes in his last 11 games.
3. Antetokounmpo has missed all nine of his 3-point tries since his last make Feb. 11 against Washington.