Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo calls Utah Jazz ‘best team in the West’

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo certainly didn’t enjoy suffering a Route 129-115 loss to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena on Friday night, but he couldn’t help but admire how much the game made them feel. sounded “simple”.

Most importantly, the Jazz earned their respect: Antetokounmpo said they were the “best team in the West”.

Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA MVP, finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, after being limited to two points in the first half – his fewest points in one half of the season.

And after seeing the Jazz have four 25-point goalscorers for the first time in franchise history, Antetokounmpo felt a personal connection to what was happening before his eyes.

“It looks fun. Like when I watch them play, it looks fun, it looks easy,” Antetokounmpo said. “Sounds simple. Sure, they look like us last year, and man, when you’re at this point and playing with that confidence, you’re hard to beat, for sure.”

Like the Bucks last season, the Jazz (21-5) have the best record in the NBA. They’ve won 17 of their last 18 games, with the first victory in that streak also coming against the Bucks on January 8.

Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles had 27 points each, and Donovan Mitchell added 26 points with eight assists and six rebounds. Jordan Clarkson went for 25 points off the bench.

Ingles said they would take a minute to celebrate the win, but after that it would be back to business.

“I don’t think we’re happy just yet,” said Ingles, who went 4-for-4 from 3 points.

That’s because their goals are much more important than the regular season, especially after last season when they lost a 3-1 lead to Denver and were knocked out in the first round.

“We don’t want to be the best team in February; we want to be the best team in July,” Mitchell said.

Being respected in the lead role is something new for Mitchell and his teammates again. As leaders of Utah, Mitchell and Gobert’s paths to becoming NBA All-Stars weren’t always set in stone, and they developed an underdog mentality that passed down to the team.

“It’s different in my four years. You look at all of us and each individual story … [we were] underrated, “said Mitchell.” I think now we’re at a point where people are coming to us, and the way we’ve reacted to that is very impressive. I think there is a lot more that we can do to keep improving, but it doesn’t hurt to be in the moment and understand that what we’re doing is pretty cool. “

The road doesn’t get much easier for Utah, with the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and back-to-back games against the LA Clippers. Then it’s Charlotte on February 22, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers on February 24 and the Heat again on February 26.

While the focus may not be on the regular season, the Jazz know they can’t get around it either.

However, jazz trainer Quin Snyder said, “No one is fighting their chest over everything we’ve done.

“Frankly, you never want to do that and it’s never appropriate unless you’re the last team standing,” Snyder said. “This is something that we will continue to try to avoid.”