Milwaukee survives Denver’s comeback attempt
In a nationally televised matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to survive the Denver Nuggets’ comeback attempts, closing the door on a 121-112 victory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo concluded the night with 28 points to lead the Bucks. Nikola Jokic did Nikola Jokic things and secured a triple-double with a 32 point/14 rebound/ten assist performance.
Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
What Did We Learn?
Despite Giannis being on a minutes restriction, they were still able to get the victory. This has been something that’s welcomed by Doc Rivers, as it allows them to explore flexibility in these games. Here’s what Doc said during his postgame presser:
“That’s a good question. We’re hoping that during this minute restriction thing, you know, it’s so funny. Giannis is getting about sick of it, though. He’s close. You can feel it. Today, when we took him out, he had made three or four in a row. He was not a happy camper. But he’s doing it and the other guys are playing well for us and that’s great. That second unit, they came in and stretched the lead for us. That’s huge minutes to start the fourth quarter.”
As we inch closer and closer to springtime and start to sniff the postseason, it’s going to be more and more crucial for the Bucks to continue finding ways to win. Tonight, that was exactly the case, as it was a cast of characters that helped get things done. It wasn’t one man that led them the entire way, but rather a culmination of balanced scoring from everyone involved.
Three Observations
The bench unit that started the fourth seemed to develop the turning point of the game.
I mentioned it in the Rapid Recap, but the unit of Jericho Sims, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Kyle Kuzma, and AJ Green found themselves on the court to begin the fourth. In the past, we’ve seen Milwaukee start quarters sluggish and in a sleepwalking manner. However, that wasn’t the case this time around. That group was able to build momentum on the lead and open up a double-digit advantage, carving a path towards victory for the Bucks. Despite only one player from the bench scoring double-digits, (GTJ with 15), it was truly a well-rounded effort.
Brook Lopez was appreciated tonight.
I know some Bucks fans still may be frustrated with him after his 3PA late in the Houston game, but last night, Lopez was big for the Bucks. He finished with 22 points on 7/16 from the floor and knocked down 7/8 free throws. With this outing, he’s now surpassed the 10+ point total for the sixth straight game. On the other end of the floor, Rivers decided to match Lopez’s minutes with Jokic’s. Despite Joker scratching out a triple-double, Doc still praised Brook’s effort, describing his performance as magnificent.
The Bucks were able to close this one out.
As the fourth quarter melted away, it began to seem as if the Bucks were going to be able to maintain their advantage and easily pull out the victory. However, Denver’s starters had other options, as they sliced things down to just a five-point deficit late. Despite that, the Bucks remained composed and able to keep their eyes on the prize. Clutch execution along with timely shots was enough to push them over the finish line. Against a seasoned team like Denver, that’s something that can be appreciated, especially as the playoffs grow nearer and nearer. Those types of games are only going to become more frequent as the season starts to wind down and it’s promising that the Bucks were able to finish the job.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- It’s still awesome to watch Russell Westbrook play basketball. He continues to give it his absolute all and is a freak athlete. He obviously doesn’t have the juice he used to have, but he knows how to amplify an offense.
- The fact that the Bucks had six scorers in double figures was a welcomed sight. Again, it takes the load off of Giannis and Dame and puts more pressure on opposing defenses to find a plug to stop the scoring.
- The Bucks are now 20-1 this season when scoring 120+ points, and its 16 games with 120+ points at home are the fourth-most in the NBA this season.
- The defense was quite effective in this one for the Bucks. Milwaukee held Denver, which entered last night’s game averaging 121.3 points per game (3rd in the NBA) on 38.1% shooting from three (3rd in the NBA), to just 112 points on 26.5% three-point shooting in this one. Milwaukee has now kept opponents under 30% shooting from three in 15 games this season (T-7th in NBA) and they own a 12-3 record in those games.
- In addition to being the team’s leading scorer, Giannis was a rebounding machine. He hauled in a season-high 19 boards while also tallying seven dimes. He’s now secured 15+ rebounds in two of his last three games.
- Julian Strawther is a nice bench piece for the Nuggets. He hit some timely shots in this one as he picked up 12 points in 20 minutes of action, going 5/8 from the floor.
- That dunk by Christian Braun on Brook Lopez sure was something. Wow.
Up Next
The Bucks are now off until Saturday, which is when they’ll head down to Dallas to battle the Mavericks. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST and can be viewed on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or streamed on our Playback and YouTube channels.
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