The Bucks will be looking to extend their winning streak to 5 games as they head to Salt Lake City to take on Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz on Friday night, where the Bucks have not won since 2001.

Milwaukee is on the heels of a 129-124 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night while Utah picked up a big win on Wednesday, triumphing over Philadelphia 106-104. Utah is improved from last year and is one of the favorites in the Western Conference, led by their dynamic pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Mitchell is averaging 25.5 points per game this season while Gobert is putting up an impressive 11.3 PPG/12.5 RPG stat line on the young season. Paired with them is underrated sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic, who is averaging 20.1 points per game while shooting 44.4% from beyond the arc. Those three guys will be the focal points on offense for Utah.

Milwaukee may have a harder time scoring against the Jazz, as Utah comes into the game with the best defensive efficiency rating in the NBA (Milwaukee is 7th). Conversely, Milwaukee has the best offensive efficiency rating in the league so it will be strength on strength in this matchup.

Expected starters:

MIL: Bledsoe, Matthews, Middleton, G. Antetokounmpo, B. Lopez

UTA: Conley, Mitchell, Bogdanovic, O’Neale, Gobert

Injuries: The Bucks will be at full strength while Utah will be missing both Emmanuel Mudiay and Dante Exum due to injury.

Time and TV: 8:00 PM CT on FS Wisconsin

The spread: MIL -2.5

Prediction: The Bucks haven’t won in Utah in 18 seasons. That seems like it is bound to change at some point but I don’t see it happening here. Milwaukee may be a bit weary from travel and they could be due for a letdown game. I like Utah to win a close one. Jazz 105, Bucks 103

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