Nuggets beat Bucks 108-104 despite big effort by Giannis Antetokounmpo

DENVER – Even though Denver was without MVP front runner Nikola Jokić, all-star candidate Jamal Murray and fellow starters Cam Johnson and Christian Braun, the Milwaukee Bucks could not beat the Nuggets, losing 108-104 at Ball Arena on Jan. 11.

Milwaukee finished their four-game, nine-day West Coast trip 2-2 and head home for a game against Minnesota with a 17-22 record. Denver, meanwhile, improved to 26-13. The diminished Nuggets were led by Aaron Gordon’s 21 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to score 25.

BOX SCORE: Nuggets 108, Bucks 104

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who acknowledged he didn’t feel great in taking just 11 shots in a win in Los Angeles on Jan. 9, tried to will his team to a comeback victory in Denver in scoring 31 points. He scored 14 of them in the fourth quarter, during which he played all 12 minutes.

Antetokounmpo went 10-for-17 from the field and made 10 of his 14 free throws. He added 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Nuggets use big runs to outpace Bucks

Denver used an 11-0 run late in the first quarter to flip a seven-point deficit to a 27-23 lead after the first quarter and then went on a 14-0 run late in the second to take a 62-52 lead into the break.

For Milwaukee, Ryan Rollins, Kyle Kuzma and Gary Trent Jr. all went scoreless while shooting a combined 0-for-8 in the first half. Kevin Porter Jr. was just 2-for-8 for four points.

The Bucks went on a rare run of their own with a 13-1 rally out of the gate in the second half and took a brief 2-point lead, but the Nuggets responded with a 20-9 finish to the quarter to take an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Denver pushed that lead to 14 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, and they needed all of it as the Bucks eventually got to within a possession late.

Kuzma made his first basket with just under three minutes left in the third and was just 5-for-13 for the game. Porter was just 4 of 16 overall and 1-for-6 from behind the 3-point line. Rollins was 1-for-9 in 35 minutes and Trent was 0-for-2 in 15 minutes.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo lines up a shot while being guarded by Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon during the first quarter on Sunday, Jan. 11 at Ball Arena in Denver.

Did you notice?

Bucks center Myles Turner was battling something throughout the game, as he spent the last part of the first quarter in the Bucks locker room and did not start the second half, joining the team after play resumed.

He didn’t check in until five minutes remained in the third quarter and played just 10 second half minutes.

When he was on the court in the first half, he was very effective in scoring 16 first half points on 5 of 6 shooting. He also had five rebounds.

Bucks still looking for silver lining lineups

When Antetokounmpo was going through his adductor and calf injuries, strains that cost him 12 games, the Bucks were just 2-10. The team struggled to score consistently, but Bucks head coach Doc Rivers maintained the team would find something positive with potential pairings to help the team win games when Antetokounmpo was off the floor.

While that process hasn’t been totally smoothed over, but there have been some glimpses Rivers has staggered different starters with reserves Bobby Portis Jr., Kuzma, Trent and Gary Harris while Antetokounmpo has worked through his minute restriction since Dec. 27.

“Yes, they were really good (in Los Angeles),” Antetokounmpo said after the win over the Lakers. “They have to be better. They have to be better. They were really good (Jan. 9).

“There’s been games the second unit would come out, we don’t move the ball, we come out flat. But (against the Lakers) Bobby was engaged, ‘Kuz’ was engaged, Gary Harris was engaged. Most of the guys that came in the second unit were really good. And I’m happy about that.

“We just gotta keep it up. We gotta stay in that mentality, like whenever the second group come in, they gotta be better than the other second group.”

Of the nine lineups that have played at least 17 minutes together without Antetokounmpo, all of them still have a negative rating (they’ve allowed more points per 100 possessions than scored), but some of the smaller sample-sized pairings are not being outscored by massive margins.

But, those various lineups have been together in smaller combinations of minutes because Antetokounmpo and Porter have been together for their longest stretch of time all season.

“We haven’t had this to be able to do this,” Rivers said before the Nuggets game. “It’s not like we’ve found anything new, this is the first time that we’ve been actually able to do it. So it’s been nice. And we’re still looking.

“We still don’t think we have found the perfect group yet. And you know, with our team, there may not be a perfect group.

“Some teams have the luxury of knowing their exact nine. This may not be that team. We don’t know that yet. All I know is right now having the ability to do that more has been helpful.”

To that point, the bench-heavy units in Denver could not keep an early first quarter lead and fell into a deficit by the time the starters all returned later in the second quarter. Then after the starters (with Bobby Portis Jr.) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to tie the game, the mostly bench unit immediately fell back into a major hole.

Prior to the game in Denver, the Bucks allowed just 109.2 points per game while going 6-4 in their last 10 games. Granted, they only scored 111.8 in that stretch, but if they’re looking for silver linings the defensive improvement is something they can point to as well.

“We’re just playing better,” Rivers said before the game of the broader defensive effort. “The season goes in ebbs and flows and right now I think, No. 1 we’re rebounding the ball better on both ends of the floor, we’re taking away transition baskets. I think having Myles in the drop has really helped our defense.”

5 numbers

8: Rebounds for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished just shy of his first triple-double this season after notching a career-high 11 last season.

7-4: Bucks record with their new starting lineup of Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, AJ Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner.

Rollins after the game in Los Angeles: “We’re all empowered. Everybody on the court is liable and a threat from beyond the arc, so just playing off that, just playing the right way, moving the ball, just drive-and-kicks. We get a lot of good looks off that.”

14-11: Bucks record in games Giannis Antetokounmpo plays.

2: Points for Ryan Rollins vs. Denver, snapping his consecutive games streak of reaching double figures at 37. The streak was the fourth-longest such streak by any Bucks player since the 2021-22 season behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (171 from Feb. 28, 2023 -Dec. 1, 2025, and 99 from Oct. 19, 2021-Jan. 4, 2023) and Damian Lillard (75, Oct. 30, 2023-Oct. 28, 2024).

11/26/21: The last time the Bucks won in Denver. From 2010-18 the Bucks lost eight straight games in the high altitude. Since 2018 they have gone 3-5 but had lost four in a row.

Rivers pregame on playing in the thin air: “I think everybody is different. For me, it lasted the first four, five minutes of the game, then you caught your breath and then you went on with it. But other guys say it affects them all game, or in stretches. I know they believe here that if they get you to a close game in the fourth quarter that they feel good about the game. It’s definitely something there.”

Nov 15, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Giannis, Jokic MVP chances hurt by 65-game rule

In the locker room following the Bucks’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 7, Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked about the collectively bargained league rule that says players must appear in a minimum of 65 games to be eligible for postseason awards, such as all-NBA and MVP.

Antetokounmpo’s adductor and calf injuries have put him at risk of ineligibility, as he has missed 14 full games and played just three minutes in another, meaning he can only miss two more games the rest of this season.

“I’ll be honest with you, like through 13 years of being in the league I think I’ve played 65 games every year, and up, this might be – I’m still gonna try, I think I’m still gonna play 65 games – but it’s hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s hard. If you want to be a really good player, help your team get deep in the playoffs and then come back it and then play again 65 games, you do it for a couple of years, because I’ve been all-NBA I think the last nine years in a row, seven-times first team, it’s hard to be consistent.”

Across the court from him on Jan. 10 in Denver is Nikola Jokić. Already a three-time winner of the MVP, Jokić was a favorite for a fourth award as he was leading the NBA in rebounding and assists while averaging over 29 points per game. But, Jokić injured his knee on Dec. 29 and will not be re-evaluated until the end of January. He has only missed seven games to date, but should that original timeline of a potential return hold, Jokić will have missed more than 17 by the end of the month.

“And just putting that rule there, it doesn’t give you a break,” Antetokounmpo said. “The margin of error is hard. You get one injury and you’re off the race. I might not make it. Jokić might not make it. So, again, I was all for it because it kind of benefit me at first but now as I get older I’m like, ah, take it off! Take it off, you know! But at the end of the day, these are the rules you just gotta play by the rules.”

Other players perilously close to becoming ineligible for postseason awards include the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (17 missed games), San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama (14) and the Lakers’ Austin Reaves (14)

Former all-NBA players already ineligible include Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams, Dallas’ Anthony Davis and Washington’s Trae Young.

“I think it’s a ridiculous thing, personally, but I don’t know the fix,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said before the game in Denver. “I think it should be something to do with it’s injury, like a real injury, compared to if it’s just a lot of rest games. The thing is no one tells the truth on the rest games. But I do think you should be able to make a difference, like if you’re actually injured. You’re out three weeks, you’re injured, you know? And those games, to me, shouldn’t count against someone who is having an MVP season or whatever season.”

Is Giannis playing?

Yes. The Bucks’ MVP candidate is not on the injury report and is set to play in his eighth straight game since returning from a calf strain on Dec. 27. He remains under a minute restriction, however, as he has yet to play 32 minutes. The last three games he has played between 30 and 31:37.

Is Nikola Jokic playing?

Unfortunately for basketball fans wanting to see this era’s preeminent big men play against one another, the 3-time league MVP is not playing against the Bucks as Jokić suffered a knee injury on Dec. 29. Jokić was in the mix for yet another MVP as he was scoring 29.6 points per game while averaging a league-best 12.2 rebounds and a league-high 11.0 assists.

Milwaukee Bucks injury report

Taurean Prince, out (neck surgery)

Kevin Porter Jr., available (right hip contusion)

Milwaukee Bucks starting lineup

Guards: AJ Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins

Forward: Giannis Antetokounmpo

What time is the Bucks game?

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT.

What channel is the Bucks game on?

The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Wesley Matthews and Stephen Watson on the call.

Bucks vs. Nuggets odds

Milwaukee is a 1.5-point favorite over Denver, with the over/under set at 221.5 points per BetMGM.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Nuggets beat Bucks 108-104 despite big effort by Giannis Antetokounmpo

Nuggets beat Bucks 108-104 despite big effort by Giannis Antetokounmpo

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