A bunch of guys who are the Milwaukee Bucks lost against a bunch of guys cosplaying as the Denver Nuggets, 108-104. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 31 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. For the Nuggets, Tim Hardaway Jr. went off for 25 points alongside Aaron Gordon with 23.
Game Recap
The Bucks started out in a small 7-2 hole, with active hands on defense not translating into steals. But Giannis keyed an 11-point run by finding open shooters (AJ Green and Myles Turner twice)—and found Myles again later in the frame. Yet the Nuggets, carried by Gordon, stayed with it: a couple O-boards, a couple turnovers, and all of a sudden a nine-point run saw them back in front. Peyton Watson was doing some damage, especially with Giannis on the bench, which also froze the Bucks’ offense. Milwaukee down by four, 27-23.
The Bobby Portis vs Tim Hardaway Jr. battle straddled the quarters, with both filling the hoop. If those two names didn’t give it away, it was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stretch of play, with exceptions from Gary “Adult in the Room” Harris. Giannis returned and commandeered the Bucks’ offense with a personal six-point run—unfortunately indicative of him overdoing it—only for Jalen Pickett (?) to one-up him with an eight-point run. An AJG3 stopped the bleeding after Denver built a game-high 15-point lead. Denver up, 62-52.
Giannis started the second half commandeering in a good way, playing a role in nine straight points out of the break. That corresponded with the Nuggets deciding to not a make a field goal for over seven minutes, even with Bobby in for Turner (who only joined the bench after play had started). Milwaukee accordingly took a small lead. But it was short-lived, with Denver going on a 10-point run to retake the lead and then some. Despite some buckets from Kyle Kuzma, Watson and Hardaway Jr put up numbers as the Nuggets retained the lead, 85-74. The Bucks scored fewer points in the frame than a team without a field goal until the 5:35 mark.
Giannis again had his fingerprints all over the start of the fourth, as the game muddled along. His spin move was working wonders as Milwaukee tried to reel Denver in. They were within sniffing distance thanks to three-point shooting, despite a key sequence of a challenge overturning a foul on Gordon before he splashed home a jumper on the other end. Rollins scored his first basket (!) to make it a three-point game with a minute and change remaining. They had multiple mediocre chances to tie but it was not to be.
Stat That Stood Out
Some of these were end-of-game, but the Nuggets took 11 more free throws than the Bucks, sinking 10 more. Giannis was the only Buck to really get to the line, whereas Denver spread the wealth. In a game where the Nuggets did most things a little better than the Bucks, the lack of non-Giannis penetration for Milwaukee stood out.
