Denver Nuggets visit Milwaukee Bucks in battle of MVP candidates
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo drives with the ball as Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason defends at Toyota Centre.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MILWAUKEE – Two National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player 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 Feb 27 (Feb 28, Singapore time).
Denver enter this matchup coming off a resurgent 125-116 win over the Indiana Pacers on Feb 24 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 on Feb 25 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 seven-of-22 shooting from the floor.
Coach Doc Rivers was asked after the game how this team will adjust on nights Lillard is not 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,” he 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 against Houston.
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.
Meanwhile in NBA action on Feb 26, the suddenly surging Detroit Pistons toppled reigning champions Boston 117-97 to push their winning streak to eight games and halt the Celtics’ win streak at six.
Malik Beasley scored 26 points off the bench to lead the Pistons, connecting on six of 11 from three-point range.
Cade Cunningham scored 21 points and handed out 11 assists in his 26th double-double of the season and Detroit’s stout defence harried the Celtics into 19 turnovers that led to 24 Pistons points.
“It’s a great feeling,” Cunningham said of the eight-game winning streak – Detroit’s first streak that long since 2008.
In another game, Chet Holmgren scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who rallied from an 18-point deficit and pulled away for a 129-121 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in New York. REUTERS, AFP
