Jazz at Bucks
The All-Star break may have come at the wrong time for the Milwaukee Bucks, who were finally beginning to build some positive momentum after a horrid stretch bridging January and February. The Bucks will try to find that spark again and post a fourth straight win when they return from the break and host the Utah Jazz on Friday.
Milwaukee dropped 12 of 14 games to fall out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference before the brief surge heading into the break, and it begins the stretch run ninth in the East but among a cluster of teams between the No. 6 and 10 spots separated by four games. "We know everything steps up in the run home," Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after the team returned to practice on Wednesday. "Everybody is either racing to make the playoffs or they’re racing for seeding." The Jazz would qualify as one of those teams racing for seeding in the Western Conference, where they are battling the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 spot while trying to stay clear of sixth-place Memphis. Utah was in its own small rut with three losses in a row before going into the break happy with a 111-88 triumph over Portland and will close February with three straight on the road.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (35-22): Utah leads the NBA in scoring defense, surrendering an average of 95.7 points, but is looking for a boost at the other end from a player already on the roster. Shooting guard Rodney Hood, who has been out since suffering a bone bruise and an LCL sprain against Milwaukee on Feb. 1, is close to returning and began practicing with the team when it returned from the break on Wednesday. Hood is averaging 13.7 points - third on the team behind All-Star small forward Gordon Hayward (22.2 points) and point guard George Hill (17.5) - and shoots 36.6 percent from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (25-30): Milwaukee lost power forward Jabari Parker to a season-ending ACL tear recently but got shooting guard Khris Middleton back from a hamstring tear on Feb. 8. Middleton is working his way back slowly but exploded for 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 26 minutes at Brooklyn in the final game before the break and gives All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo a viable second scoring option. "I think Khris is getting back to 100 percent and getting back to total rhythm," guard Malcolm Brogdon told the Journal Sentinel. “I think we’ll go as he and Giannis really go. We’re a team; we all contribute. But those are our guys right now. I think we have a chance to really make a push in the playoffs."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Bucks sent C Roy Hibbert to Denver in exchange for a protected second-round pick at Thursday's trade deadline.
2. Jazz C Rudy Gobert is enjoying a string of five straight double-doubles.
3. Utah earned a 104-88 home win over Milwaukee on Feb. 1 - its fifth straight victory in the series.