The Milwaukee Bucks pulled a second straight victory against defending champions Denver Nuggets. Their first consecutive win under head coach Doc Rivers.
The Bucks followed up their 120-84 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night with a strong defensive effort, and the Nuggets could not breeze past 100.
Rivers’ tenure with the Bucks started with a 107-113 loss to the Nuggets two weeks ago.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 36 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Damian Lillard added 18 points, five assists, and three boards as the Bucks improved to 35-19 in the season.
Bobby Portis Jr. added 13 and Brook Lopez, Malik Beasley, and AJ Green threw nine points each.
Nikola Jokic topped the Nuggets with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Aaron Gordon pitched in 14 points, and Michael Porter Jr. had 11.
“Right now, we are trying to kind of help one another defensively and just make it as tough as possible,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is team defense. Nobody can do it by himself. Right now, I feel like we are buying into that philosophy as a team.”
