Hayward helps Jazz beat Bucks, get fifth win in 6 games
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Shelvin Mack suggested some defense, and his Utah Jazz teammates listened.
Gordon Hayward scored 18 points, including 13 during a decisive third quarter, to lead the Utah Jazz over the Milwaukee Bucks 94-85 on Sunday night.
"I finally got a couple to fall there in the third, that was about the only quarter I did," Hayward said. "Just happy that we won."
Trey Lyles added 14 points for Utah, which won for the fifth time in six games. The Jazz are in the midst of a five-game trip and won for just the third time in their last 11 away games to remain one game behind Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Mack had 13 points and 12 assists, and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
"We came out the third quarter, I didn't think we defended at all the first 4, 5, 6 minutes, and there was a free throw I can remember," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "Shelvin said, 'Hey, let's get three stops in a row.' And all of a sudden, they talked as a group. I think that collectively they all picked it up. It can't just be one guy."
Milwaukee is 4-18 in its last 22 games against Utah. Jabari Parker had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks.
Khris Middleton had 13 points for Milwaukee, which played at home for the 10th time in its last 12 games.
"This game was a very plain yogurt-type situation that had no flavor, no excitement," Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd said. "There was no juice."
Milwaukee held its biggest lead of the game, 49-44, on a reverse layup by Greg Monroe with 9:21 left in the third quarter, but the Bucks went the next 6:58 without a field goal.
"Our pace slowed down," Middleton said. "We just couldn't get anything going. They did a great job of just running their offense and getting what they wanted."
The Jazz scored 22 of the final 28 points of the quarter, highlighted by a 13-0 run capped on a floating jumper by Lyles for a 64-53 lead with 2:47 remaining.
The Bucks committed four turnovers during that 13-0 stretch, including one by Middleton when he lost the ball out of bounds on a layup attempt.
Joe Ingles, who entered the game averaging 3.8 points per game, equaled his season high with four 3-pointers - all in the first 6:07 of the fourth. He made three in a row to give his team its biggest lead of the game, 82-65, with 9:26 remaining.
"I thought Joe did a good job of throwing himself into the game," Snyder said. "It is nice when the shots go."
TIP-INS
Jazz: Ingles did not attempt a shot until the fourth quarter. ... In Utah, the team has won its last 14 games against the Bucks.
Bucks: Milwaukee lost despite shooting 52.3 percent (34 of 65) in the game. ... The Bucks had 10 blocks after having 18 of them - one shy of a franchise record - Thursday against Memphis. ... Milwaukee begins a three-game trip Monday and is 9-26 away from home.
FOOT IS FINE
Hayward played in the loss at Chicago on Saturday after missing the previous two games because of plantar fasciitis of the right foot.
"It is fine," he said. "It is going to be sore the rest of the season. That is just the nature of that injury. But it is fine."
REMATCH MUCH BETTER
Parker had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting in Milwaukee's 84-81 loss at Utah on Feb. 5.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Wednesday night at Houston.
Bucks: Monday night at Detroit.