Entry 18: "Make That Two In A Row"
After Defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, Your Denver Nuggets are Half A Game Out Of First In The West
By: Liz
January 29, 2024
With back-to-back wins against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Denver Nuggets are half a game behind the Timberwolves for the first seed in the west. What a game this was, a good game from about mid-way through the first quarter up until the end. The Nuggets gave their fans a good scare at first, but ultimately pulled through and defeated Milwaukee 113-107. Let’s get into it.
On Milwaukee's side of things, four of five of the starters were in double-figures. Kris Middleton had 14 PTS on 6/10 shooting [60%; 2/6 3PT], 8 REB, and 3 AST in 30 minutes, Damian Lillard had 18 PTS on 5/13 shooting [38.4%; 2/4 3PT], 5 AST, and 3 REB in 35 minutes, and Brook Lopez had 19 PTS on 7/13 shooting [53.8%; 5/9 3PT], 2 REB, and 2 AST in 34 minutes. However, Bucks star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, stole the show tonight for them with 29 PTS on 11/19 shooting [57.8%; 6/11 FT], 12 REB, 4 AST, and 4 STKS* in 37 minutes.
{* 2 STL/2 BLK}
Giannis made his way to the line 11 times tonight, taking about 12 seconds per freethrow each time. Katy Winge, Scott Hastings, and Chris Marlowe timed almost every attempt since it has been known that Giannis takes his time shooting.
Anyway, on Denver’s side, four of five starters were in double-figures as well. Aaron Gordon missed it by one score, and he fouled out of the game late in the fourth quarter. Still, he ended his night with 8 PTS on 2/6 shooting [33.3%; 1/2 3PT], 6 REB, and 2 AST in 25 minutes. Not a bad performance, he even had the biggest block of the game just before fouling out. Alongside him, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr. had decent games themselves. Pope ended his night with 12 PTS on 5/9 shooting [55.5%; 0/3 3PT], 2 AST, 1 REB, and 1 STL in 34 minutes, and Porter ended his night with 13 PTS on 6/14 shooting [42.8%; 1/3 3PT] and 8 REB in 37 minutes.
However, it was once again the dynamic duo, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić, who showed out the most for the Nuggets. Jokić ended up having 25 PTS on 10/25 shooting [40%; 4/5 FT], 16 REB, 12 AST, and 5 STKS* in 39 minutes, giving him his 119th career triple-double as well as putting him only 19 behind Irving “Magic” Johnson on the All-Time list. And while that was good and well, Jamal Murray took it one step further by having 35 PTS on 13/22 shooting [59%;9/10 FT], 5 AST, and 2 REB in 36 minutes. Not only was he tonight's leading scorer, Murray also had 21 first-half points to help bring the Nuggets back from an early 13 point deficit.
Denver plays Oklahoma City on Wednesday, and though they lost to Minnesota tonight [107-101], Denver needs to remain focused and win this next game after losing the last two to the Thunder. With that, great win today, and Go Nuggets!
References:
NBA (2024) Jokic, Murray Down Bucks: Box Score NBA.com https://www.nba.com/game/mil-vs-den-0022300667/box-score#box-score
B. Report (2024) Milwaukee Bucks vs. Denver Nuggets: Box Score BleacherReport https://bleacherreport.com/game/milwaukee-bucks-vs-denver-nuggets-2024-1-29-19-00
H. Wind (2024) Nikola Jokic 119th Career Triple Double X.com https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1752176432854229017