The Denver Nuggets traveled to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on Thursday night. It was a complete offensive performance from the Nuggets, who shot the lights out in a 134-123 victory.
The Nuggets went small to start this game, with Wilson Chandler getting the start at power forward. If the rationale behind that decision was to push the pace, then that mission was accomplished — the pace was absolutely exhilarating. Both teams shot the lights out for the first five minutes, but Denver’s offense, in particular, was thermonuclear. By the time interim head coach Joe Prunty called his first time out, Barton and Harris had already combined for 20 points on 7-8 shooting.
Coming out of the timeout, Jokic began to take over the game. He ate Milwaukee alive on the glass — an area in which the Nuggets have a massive advantage on paper — and created numerous baskets for his teammates. He was well on his way to a triple-double before the quarter closed. Both teams were sloppy with the ball, but Denver went 5-7 from deep and held a firm advantage in points in the paint as well. They led 35-28 after one.
The bench unit struggled for Denver to start the second quarter. Malone had just Chandler remain on the floor as Devin Harris, Malik Beasley, Trey Lyles and Darrel Arthur filled out the rest of the rotation. The Bucks took advantage and engineered a quick 8-0 lead after the Nuggets had pushed the lead to ten. Antetokounmpo did his best to take over the game. The Greek Freak scored eight of 10 points for Milwaukee in just over two minutes of game time before Michael Malone called a timeout and checked his starters back into the game.
Nikola Jokic picked up right where he left off. The big Serbian checked in, immediately grabbed a rebound and then knocked down a triple. The Nuggets pushed the lead back to double-digits behind Jokic, who had recorded a triple-double with 1:54 still remaining in the quarter — the earliest a triple-double has been recorded in a regulation game in the past 20 NBA seasons.
The Nuggets led 74-62 at the half behind Jokic, Barton, Harris and a ridiculous 13-19 from three-point land.
The Bucks made their push in the third quarter, opening up a 6-0 run to begin the second half. The Nuggets steadied the ship though as Jokic continued to dissect Milwaukee’s defense like a surgeon. One of the few Nuggets who wasn’t hot in the first half, Jamal Murray, found his rhythm in the third and began to fill it up. Denver rained hell from above, knocking down seemingly every three they look as the Nuggets lived up their reputation as one of the elite third quarter teams in the NBA.
Murray drilled a three near the end of the third quarter; it was Denver’s 20th three-pointer of the game and the first time in Bucks’ history that a visiting team drained that many shots from deep. It only took them 29 attempts and three quarters to do it. Denver carried a 10-point lead into the final quarter.
The Nuggets would push the lead to 23 — their largest lead of the game — when the fourth quarter began. They’d spend the rest of the quarter in survival mode, as Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to single-handedly save the game for Milwaukee. He pushed his point total towards 40 and came close to a triple-double of his own as the Bucks outscored the Nuggets in the quarter for the first time all game. 23 points were just too large of a lead though and Giannis’ efforts fell short.
The Nuggets tied the franchise-record for three-pointers and finished just one shy of tying the record for most ever in an NBA game as they walked away with a 134-123 win. Jokic finished with a monster stat line of 30 points, 17 assists and 15 rebounds — including four on the offensive end.
Following the win, the Nuggets improve to 32-26 on the year and 9-19 on the road. They will have the weekend off, along with the rest of the league, for All-star weekend. They’ll return to action on the 23rd as they travel to San Antonio to take on the Spurs.
