The second in the East met the first in the West here. The jazz are setting the standard for taking the game by the neck and seizing the initiative early. The Bucks led by Giannis Antetoukounmpo points contribution are a very dangerous side offensively. The Jazz had a clear game plan to match the offensive talent by staying close to the Bucks especially in the first quarter. Utah matched the Bucks’ 3- point record for the match with an even 36%. What ultimately did the trick for the Jazz was them taking advantage of the fouls committed by Milwaukee and shooting 85% from the free throw zone,(29/34) to 19/27 Bucks. Rudy Gobert’s 12 rebounds were crucial in the defensive part of the game for the Jazz(he was not bad offensively either with 27 points). Giannis’s 29 points could not inspire the Bucks to victory. An impressive victory for the Jazz against the best offensive team in the league underlying the championship credentials. Check out what I mean by this below with the points per game league. Giannis is third on the NBA player ratings.

2020-2021 NBA Season Leaders

Season Leaders Rating
RK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	3PM	RPG	APG	STPG	BLKPG	TOPG	PTS	RATING
1	Nikola Jokic, C	DEN	24	35.9	.567	.850	1.4	11.3	8.6	1.6	0.6	3.5	26.9	55.5
2	Luka Doncic, PG	DAL	25	35.1	.461	.788	2.2	8.7	9.3	1.0	0.7	4.2	27.8	50.5
3	Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF	MIL	24	33.1	.562	.633	1.1	11.1	5.5	1.0	1.2	3.6	28.1	50.1
4	Joel Embiid, C	PHI	21	32.1	.545	.849	1.1	10.9	2.9	1.3	1.3	3.4	29.4	49.7
	Kevin Durant, PF	BKN	18	35.9	.529	.872	2.7	7.4	5.2	0.8	1.4	3.5	29.5	49.7
6	James Harden, SG	BKN	21	38.0	.465	.890	2.7	7.0	11.0	1.0	0.8	4.2	23.9	48.2
7	Stephen Curry, PG	GSW	26	33.9	.490	.930	5.0	5.5	5.9	1.3	0.1	3.3	30.0	48.0
8	Bradley Beal, SG	WAS	21	35.3	.468	.891	2.5	5.0	4.5	1.3	0.6	3.0	32.8	47.5
9	Damian Lillard, PG	POR	23	36.0	.446	.941	4.1	4.4	7.1	1.0	0.3	3.0	29.4	46.7
10	LeBron James, SF	LAL	26	34.7	.495	.723	2.7	7.9	7.9	1.1	0.5	3.7	25.5	46.5

Points Per Quarter

	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Avg Total
Bucks	33.0	34.3	33.2	32.8	117.8
Mavericks	32.4	31.9	31.5	29.2	117.0
Rockets	34.1	34.9	33.9	32.2	116.4
Clippers	34.1	35.9	33.8	32.3	116.0
Pelicans	29.3	29.2	28.9	27.6	115.8
Trail Blazers	31.8	30.6	30.0	30.8	114.6
Wizards	28.6	29.5	27.5	28.4	114.4
Spurs	27.8	28.1	29.2	27.9	114.1
Suns	28.5	27.8	28.7	28.2	113.6
Lakers	38.2	38.4	36.4	33.5	113.3
Timberwolves	28.3	29.3	27.0	27.4	113.3
Grizzlies	28.5	27.7	29.4	28.3	112.8
Celtics	33.2	34.8	35.7	34.6	112.8
Raptors	32.2	31.8	32.4	32.2	112.3
Hawks	26.6	29.1	27.9	27.0	111.8
Heat	37.0	36.6	34.5	33.9	111.6
Nets	30.3	29.4	29.4	27.4	111.5
Jazz	30.6	29.8	31.1	30.1	111.5
Nuggets	34.7	34.3	34.0	34.4	110.5
76ers	30.4	28.8	28.4	28.2	110.2
Kings	27.2	27.8	27.1	27.1	110.1
Thunder	29.4	31.0	29.7	29.2	109.8
Pacers	27.9	29.6	28.7	28.2	109.0
Magic	27.4	29.7	29.5	27.8	107.3
Pistons	27.5	27.5	25.5	26.0	107.2
Cavaliers	26.7	26.3	26.3	26.7	106.9
Bulls	26.0	27.5	26.4	26.5	106.8
Warriors	25.5	27.3	26.2	26.4	106.3
Knicks	26.5	26.5	25.8	26.0	105.8
Hornets	26.6	25.9	24.7	24.6	102.9