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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Any shot would have won the game, but
Milwaukee's Glenn Robinson chose a 3-pointer.
With the score tied, Robinson's buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave
the Milwaukee Bucks a 102-99 win over Utah and extended the Jazz's
losing streak to five games, their worst in almost six years.
With the score tied 99-99, Robinson took an inbounds pass from Vinny Del Negro and stepped back and sank the shot over the outstretched arm of Adam Keefe.
"I just had to take one dribble and shoot the ball," Robinson
said. "Worse come to worse, we would have had to go into overtime,
but we didn't want to go into overtime with Utah. They're a pretty
smart team. You want to get out of here early."
Keefe said he did everything he could. "He came in, drew some
contact, was able to step back off of it and get it up," Keefe
said. "Defensively, I don't think there was much more I could've
done."
Robinson finished with 30 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 on
3-pointers. Ray Allen, who scored a season-high 36 points for
Milwaukee, made 5-of-7 3-pointers. The Bucks shot 60 percent
(9-of-15) on 3-point shots.
"They shot the ball like that all night," said Karl Malone,
who led the Jazz with 28 points. "They came down and put it up. We
acted like we were surprised they shot all those 3-pointers."
Allen hit three free throws in the final minute to help the
Bucks win for the first time in eight games at the Delta Center.
John Stockton added 18 points for Utah, Bryon Russell 14 and Jeff Hornacek 12.
There were 23 lead changes and 18 ties. Every time the Jazz
charged, Allen answered. Allen sank 3-of-4 free throws in the final
minute to give the Bucks a 99-97 advantage.
Stockton responded with a driving layup with 2.6 seconds
remaining to tie it 99-99.
Robinson, selected to join Allen as an East All-Star reserve,
hit a long jumper with 1:00 remaining to give the Bucks a 96-95
lead. Karl Malone answered with two free throws to reclaim the
advantage for Utah.
Utah hasn't lost five consecutive games since March 1994, a
stretch of 435 games. The Jazz are also mired in a three-game home
losing streak, their first since April of 1996.
"You've just got to go out and win a ballgame," Malone said.
"We just have to play through it. ... The most interesting part
of sports is who is tough enough to come play tomorrow. Nobody
cares what you did today," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.
The Jazz face the Lakers in Los Angeles on Friday.
"It doesn't get any easier," Malone said. "But I think this
gives us a great opportunity to rally around as a team."
The Bucks, on the other hand, were elated to finish 3-2 on their
swing through the Western Conference.
"We go home with a great road trip," Bucks coach George Karl
said. "It's a long flight, so hopefully we'll have a lot of
celebration."
Malone put Utah ahead 79-77 with 9:57 remaining with an 18-foot
jumper from the right side. The Bucks are accustomed to Malone's
big games, having seen him score a season-high 40 points on Nov. 20
at Milwaukee.
Game notes After the opening minute of play, Hornacek reached the
30,000-minute mark for his career. ... Malone gave Bucks coach
George Karl a playful smack to the head after inbounding the ball
in front of the visitors' bench in the first quarter. ... Play was
stopped three times during the game due to mechanical problems with
the game clock.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 98 Portland 88
Dallas 106 Charlotte 96
Houston 109 Philadelphia 106
San Antonio 112 Toronto 95
Milwaukee 102 Utah 99
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