In a Thursday night nationally-televised matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks hung on over the Denver Nuggets, 121-112. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 28 points fueled the Bucks while Nikola Jokic’s triple-double of 32 points, 14 rebounds, and ten assists highlighted Denver’s side of the box score.
Milwaukee wasted no time in getting things rolling to begin this one. Lead by a quick five points from Brook Lopez, the Bucks captured a 14-5 lead at the first break of the quarter. However, with all the offensive firepower Denver boasts, that lead wouldn’t last long. Led by Nikola Jokic (16 points, five rebounds, and three assists in the first quarter), the Nuggets capitalized off some Milwaukee turnovers to knot it all up at 30 apiece going into the second.
Both teams remained in sync with one another throughout the second. Jokic crossed into double-double territory with 18 points and ten rebounds (and five assists as a cherry on the top) as halftime rolled around. Kyle Kuzma’s 13 points led the stat sheet in the first half for Milwaukee, followed by Brook Lopez with 12 and Antetokounmpo with ten. All that culminated into the Nuggets holding a 57-54 advantage at intermission.
Milwaukee utilized a 12-4 run in the third quarter to keep the Nuggets from growing too large of a lead. Then, as the quarter crept on, the lead eventually shifted to the Bucks. Brook Lopez began to settle into a scoring groove from both a free throw and field goal perspective. Heading into the fourth, all five Bucks starters had scratched out double digits, providing them with an 84-81 lead going into the fourth.
A unit of Sims, Porter Jr., Trent Jr., Kuzma, and Green started the fourth for the Bucks and immediately ignited things, spring-launching Milwaukee to a double-digit lead. As the fourth quarter wound down, Denver chiseled the deficit down to just five points at the 2:15 mark. However, the Bucks were able to evade the final comeback attempt. A Damian Lillard 3-pointer with 58.2 seconds left padded Milwaukee’s lead to nine points and served as the eventual dagger and provided them with a 121-112 victory.
Stat That Stood Out
The balanced scoring efforts up and down the starting lineup provided Milwaukee with all they needed to win this one. Looking at the box score, everyone contributed — Taurean Prince (ten points), Giannis Antetokounmpo (28 points), Kyle Kuzma (16 points), Brook Lopez (22 points), and Damian Lillard (19 points) all had their fingerprints plastered over the box score. Obviously, Giannis and Dame are the dynamic duo of this team. However, whenever there’s a night where the scoring load doesn’t fall squarely on their shoulders is welcomed by the Bucks. Tonight, that was exactly the case.
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