Only once in the past four years have the Jazz come home from their annual pre-Christmas trip with a winning record. They'll need a victory Tuesday at Milwaukee to wrap up a 3-2 trip that by all accounts should have been better.
The Jazz followed their double-overtime victory Friday at Detroit by fading in the fourth quarter and losing 106-98 to Chicago on Saturday. They have split four games on this trip, losing to the Celtics and Bulls while beating the Nets and Pistons. "It puts a lot of emphasis on this next game," Deron Williams said. "It's definitely going to be a big game for us. To go into Christmas 3-2, we wanted a little better, but 3-2 would be great right now."
At least in one respect, the Jazz are a sure bet. They've beaten the Bucks the last eight times the teams have played, including a 105-94 victory on Nov. 19 in Utah. But Milwaukee is coming off a 119-85 victory Saturday over the Clippers.
BULLS 106, JAZZ 98: The Jazz followed Deron Williams' lead in struggling through the fourth quarter against the Bulls. Williams went 0-for-5 in the quarter and was left fuming at a couple of no-calls on drives to the basket. He was outscored 10-0 in the fourth by Chicago rookie Derrick Rose, who finished with 24 points. The Bulls swept the season series against the Jazz after recording a Nov. 24 victory in Salt Lake City.
