Ellis, Bucks beat Jazz 109-108 in overtime
MILWAUKEE — Monta Ellis scored 34 points, Brandon Jennings added 20 points and 17 assists, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Utah Jazz 109-108 in overtime Monday night.
J.J. Redick scored 17 for the Bucks, including their first eight in overtime. Milwaukee won its fourth consecutive game after dropping three in a row following the All-Star break.
Larry Sanders chipped in with eight points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots for Milwaukee.
Derrick Favors tied a career high with 23 points and added 15 rebounds for Utah, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Paul Millsap had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Alec Burks added 19 points and Enes Kanter had 18 points.
Millsap made a layup to start the overtime period but Redick hit a 3-pointer to give the Bucks the lead. Kanter and Redick then traded baskets before Millsap’s shot in the lane gave the Jazz a 105-104 edge. Milwaukee regained possession of the ball with a minute remaining and Redick drained a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 107-105 lead with 47 seconds remaining.
DeMarre Carroll hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to 107-106 before Ellis nailed a jumper over Carroll from around the top of the key to give the Bucks a 109-106 lead with 14.7 remaining.
Randy Foye missed a 3-point attempt with 5.4 seconds left but the ball went out of bounds off Sanders, allowing Utah to retain possession. Kanter’s putback of Millsap’s missed 3-point shot cut the lead to 109-108 with 1.6 remaining. Following a timeout, the Bucks were able to run out the clock.
A layup by Burks gave Utah a 94-91 lead late in regulation. Ellis the made a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the score at 94. Millsap and Ellis exchanged baskets to deadlock the score at 96. A Kanter layup gave the Jazz a 98-96 lead with 23.8 seconds remaining. Ellis missed a shot in the lane with 14.9 left. Ersan Ilyasova then fouled Millsap, who made one to two free throws to give the Jazz a 99-96 lead.
After a Bucks timeout, Jennings drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 8.4 seconds remaining to again tie the score. Gordon Hayward’s shot in the lane was altered by Sanders and Kanter missed a put back, forcing overtime.
Milwaukee, which trailed by three points at halftime, appeared to gain control of the game with a 21-6 run over the first 8 minutes of the third quarter to take a 66-54 lead. The Bucks held their biggest lead of the quarter at 73-60 and maintained at 75-65 margin at the end of the period. Ellis had 11 third-quarter points for Milwaukee.
The Jazz held a 24-20 lead after the first quarter, paced by Favors’ 15 points and nine rebounds. In the quarter, Utah outrebounded Milwaukee 18-9 and held an 11-0 advantage on second-chance points.
Utah built an eight-point late in the second quarter but a 3-pointer by Ersan Ilyasova in the waning seconds of the quarter cut the lead to 48-45 at the half.
Favors had 17 points and 14 rebounds in the first half to lead Utah. Jennings had 10 first-half assists for Milwaukee.
Notes: Jazz center Al Jefferson sat out a second consecutive game with an injured left ankle. Millsap returned to the lineup after missing two games due to an injured left ankle. . Utah guard Jamaal Tinsley missed the game after being excused from the team Monday morning to attend a funeral, according to coach Tyrone Corbin. .The Jazz have been doing some scoreboard watching as the team battles for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, Corbin said. “We’re always aware of what’s going on with our opponents, but you can’t get crazy about it. All we control is what we do,” he said. . Sanders extended his streak with at least one blocked shot to 40 games, the longest by a Milwaukee player in more than 25 years. . Ellis was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week ending March 3.