March 4, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) hits the ball toward the goal in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at the Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images With postseason aspirations hanging in the balance, the Milwaukee Bucks will be looking to get back on track when they host the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
The Bucks lost their fourth straight game by at least 18 points with a 131-113 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday night, leaving Atlanta five games out of the final spot in East play.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team with 24 points in an outing limited to 26 minutes in his second game back from injury. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points off the bench.
Antetokounmpo showed his frustration by throwing the ball into the goal post with 4 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game, earning a technical.
“I’d rather have emotion than no emotion,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “I’m not going to overuse that as a boiling point in the game.” “He was frustrated, everyone was frustrated. We were up 18 points in the third quarter. We were stuck.”
“I’m frustrated, that’s all,” Antetokounmpo said. “When you’re 11 or 12, you have to play smarter and try to get the best position possible. At the end of the day, we have to be on the same page. We didn’t do that.”
Utah, which has faced financial penalties and general criticism from the league for tanking, earned this victory for its first win since Feb. 11. The Jazz ended a seven-game skid with a 122-112 win over Washington on Thursday night.
Ace Bailey led Utah with a career-high 32 points on 7-of-11 shooting from deep. Isaiah Collier added a career-high 27 points with 11 assists, and Kyle Filiposki added 20 points with 14 rebounds.
Jazz coach Will Hardy said, “Obviously this is Ace’s best game as a pro. He made a lot of good reads, especially on handoffs. I was happy for him.” “It’s a good win for our group.”
Some of the noise around the Jazz is the lengthy injury report. The list of players not playing this season includes Walker Kessler, Jusuf Nurkic, Vince Williams Jr., and most notably recently acquired Jaren Jackson Jr.
Lauri Markkanen (hip) is out and will be re-evaluated late next week, and Kyonte George, who scored 30 or more points in two straight games, missed Thursday’s game due to ‘management of a right ankle injury.’
Without Markkanen, George, and Jackson, they’re missing 73 points per game (based on Jackson’s three games against Utah).
On the other hand, Milwaukee received more serious injury news as Kevin Porter Jr. returned from right knee swelling shortly after Antetokounmpo’s return. He is officially registered day by day.
“We’re hoping not. We’ll just leave it at that,” Rivers said when asked if it was serious and cause for concern. “But there is some concern because the swelling is so much and has been bothering him for the past few weeks.”
This is the first of two matches between the two teams this season. Milwaukee has won two straight against Utah after sweeping a pair last year. Over the past three seasons, the two teams have alternated between sweeping two-game sets.
–Field level media
