Two MVP candidates face off for the first time in over a year as Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks welcome Nikola Jokic and the visiting Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Denver enters this matchup coming off a resurgent 125-116 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday in the first contest of a four-game road swing. The Nuggets have won 10 of their last 11, but they were blown out by the Lakers in the previous game.
“We knew this road trip was going to be a challenge,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “To respond to a tough home loss to the Lakers speaks a lot to our guys understanding of what time of the year it is and handling their business.”
Six Nuggets scored in double figures against Indiana, led by Aaron Gordon’s 25 points. Jokic added 18 and dished out a career-high 19 assists in the win.
The Bucks’ four-game win streak ended Tuesday night in Houston, as they lost 100-97 to the Rockets.
Damian Lillard had two open opportunities from beyond the arc to tie the game in the final minute, but could not get either to fall. He scored 22 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the floor.
Doc Rivers was asked after the game how this team will adjust on nights Lillard isn’t shooting his best after moving on from Khris Middleton at the trade deadline. He mentioned Kyle Kuzma’s lack of touches.
“I didn’t think we used Kuz enough tonight,” Rivers said. “We ran two or three plays for him (in the fourth quarter), and he didn’t get it. … tells you the ball wasn’t moving.”
Antetokounmpo leads Milwaukee with 31 points and 12 rebounds per game. Lillard, averaging 25.5 points, has dished out 7.4 assists per game, and Brook Lopez is averaging two blocks per contest for the third straight season.
On the other side, Jokic is once again dominating the stat sheet for Denver with career highs in points per game (29.2), assists (10.4) and steals (1.8) while also averaging 12.6 rebounds.
Jokic ranks third in NBA scoring behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32.9) and Antetokounmpo, second in assists, and third in rebounds as well as steals.
On the injury front, Antetokounmpo has seen his minutes restriction increase as he recovers from a calf injury that kept him out of five games leading into the All-Star break. He played 31 minutes on Tuesday.
This is the first meeting between these teams this season, but this matchup has provided plenty of excitement in recent years.
The two-game season set has been split in each of the previous four seasons after the Nuggets swept the series back in the 2019-20 season.
The most recent matchup was just over a year ago when Milwaukee won 112-95 at home. Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 18 rebounds, while Jokic put up 29 and 12.
–Field Level Media
