Taylorsville • Apparently planning to promote him from Wisconsin of the G League, the Milwaukee Bucks kept former Jazz forward Joel Bolomboy from making a homecoming appearance Wednesday night in the Salt Lake City Stars’ home opener.
The Herd could have used Bolomboy in the second half. But after losing a 23-point lead, Wisconsin steadied itself in a 103-97 victory in front of 2,100 fans at Salt Lake Community College’s Bruin Arena.
Wisconsin (2-0) scored the game’s first 15 points and went ahead by 23 points in the second quarter before settling for a 57-41 halftime lead. The Stars (0-3) took a 96-94 lead on center Tony Bradley’s rebound basket in the last three minutes of the game. Michael Dunigan responded with three straight baskets for Wisconsin, coached by Jordan Brady, a Utah Valley University alumnus who spent last season as a Stars assistant.
After the Jazz waived Bolomboy before the season opened in mid-October, he signed a two-way contract with Milwaukee. That deal allows him to spend up to 45 days in the NBA this season. The former Weber State star posted 21 points and nine rebounds Monday in 34 minutes of Wisconsin’s season-opening victory at Rio Grande Valley.
Bradley and Royce O’Neale, rookies assigned by the Jazz, made their first appearances for the Stars. Bradley played 24 minutes in the game and scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half. O’Neale went 4 of 17 from the field, scoring 11 points in 36 minutes. Guard Nate Wolters led the Stars with 22 points, nearly registering a triple-double.
The Stars have a pair of two-way players, Wolters and center Eric Griffin. After averaging 22.0 points in the team’s first two games, Griffin scored six points in 11 minutes Wednesday. Wolters came alive in the second half and finished with 10 rebounds and eight assists to go with his 22 points.