MILWAUKEE -- Gordon Hayward scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and theUtah Jazz held on for a 101-99 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday night as the Bucks missed their last five shots in the closing minute.
The Jazz appeared to be in control after a 15-3 run, taking a 101-92 lead on two free throws by Hayward with 2:35 remaining. But the Bucks pulled within the final score on Jared Dudley's 3-pointer from the top right with 1:29 left.
The Bucks had a final opportunity when an officials review awarded them the ball out of bounds under the basket with 7.1 seconds left. Brandon Knight missed a jumper with two seconds left and Zaza Pachulia missed the tip-in at the buzzer.
Enes Kantner had 23 points and Dante Exum, the fifth overall pick in the draft, scored a career-high 15 points in just his second start in 43 games.
Knight and Dudley had 16 points apiece for Milwaukee, which has now failed to score 100 points for 10 straight games.
The Bucks erased a 53-47 halftime deficit with a pair of third-quarter spurts.
They opened the period with a 7-2 run to pull within 55-54. After a Rudy Gobert dunk made it 57-54, the Bucks answered with an 11-1 burst, opening a 65-58 lead on Giannis Antetokounmpo's drive down the lane.
Utah scored the first six points of the second period for its biggest lead of the half at 32-16.
Two free throws by Rudy Gobert put the Jazz up 52-42, but the Bucks whittled the lead to 53-47 at the half. Milwaukee's reserves outscored the starters 26-21 in the first half.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Forward Derrick Favors, averaging 15.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, was not with the team due to personal reasons. Jazz officials did not give out any further details on Favors, who played Wednesday night in Cleveland, scoring 12 points in a 106-92 loss.
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Bucks: Milwaukee had not scored 100 points in any of its last nine games since a 104-94 victory at Charlotte on Dec. 29. ''It's not a concern,'' said Bucks coach Jason Kidd. ''We play both ends and we are proud of that. We try to hold teams to under 100 points and we have been able to do that a couple of times this year. We aren't an offensive juggernaut of a team, and a lot of games have been close.''
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host Brooklyn on Saturday night
Bucks: Host Detroit on Saturday night