These days, one of the most relevant statistics in every Nuggets game is the number of players out of the lineup due to injuries or illness.
Yet for the most part, the Nuggets have played as if they’re missing nobody. The number was five on Sunday, but Denver grinded out a 108-104 win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks anyway at Ball Arena.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Nuggets with 25 points off the bench. Aaron Gordon contributed 23 points, six rebounds and four assists, often initiating the offense from the high post as Nikola Jokic usually does. Peyton Watson added 19 points, eight boards and six assists.
The Nuggets (26-13) advanced to 4-3 since Jokic’s knee injury. They’re back on the road early next week for a back-to-back in New Orleans and Dallas.
Jamal Murray missed his second consecutive game with an illness that’s been going around the locker room since before Christmas. Christian Braun was downgraded at the last second due to lingering pain from his left ankle injury. They joined Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas and Cam Johnson on the list of inactive players who usually populate David Adelman’s rotation.
Spencer Jones returned after missing Denver’s loss to the Hawks with a foot injury. Jalen Pickett and Hunter Tyson started. So did Gordon, who had come off the bench in his first three games back from a hamstring strain. The Nuggets tried deploying him alongside Jones in the starting frontcourt this time, going away from DaRon Holmes II. In a switchable lineup, Gordon guarded Antetokounmpo, while Jones often matched up on Turner, the Milwaukee center acquired in free agency from Indiana last summer.
Gordon’s medically restricted minutes hadn’t exceeded 25 yet, but the Nuggets mirrored his substitution pattern with Antetokounmpo’s in the first half. Gordon had logged 15 minutes by the break, on his way to 31 total. He played a longer stint than Antetokounmpo coming out of halftime, which eventually left Zeke Nnaji as the primary matchup at the start of the fourth quarter.
Adelman had no intention of making anyone fend for himself against the “Greek Freak,” of course. Switchable personnel and help in the paint were crucial. But shrinking the defense against Milwaukee has its risks. The Bucks entered Sunday’s game with the second-highest 3-point efficiency in the league (39.5%), behind only Denver. They shot 41% from outside the arc Sunday.
“I mean, you’re caught in between. That’s why he’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game,” Adelman said. “If we don’t shrink, Giannis will have 50 on 21 shots. So it’s like, yeah, you have to put bodies in the paint to deal with him. Yes, they do have really good shooters around him. That’s the roster you should create for a guy like that. But there’s a balance to it. And I think it’s (about) when you attack with a second defender. Is it on his counter moves? Is it in the post, which gives you a better chance to rotate behind his first pass? So it’s a challenge with him every time. There is no right coverage with that guy. That’s why he’s so special.”
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The Bucks have struggled to survive injuries to their two-time MVP this season, but they still possess a winning record when he plays. Antetokounmpo gained momentum throughout the evening and truly heated up in the fourth quarter, cutting into a double-digit deficit until it was three with 1:20 to go. Gordon and Pickett missed jump shots off the dribble with a chance to go back up two possessions, setting up a frantic defensive possession in the last 30 seconds.
Gordon ran Ryan Rollins off the perimeter, prompting him to drive and miss a layup. He seized his own offensive rebound, and in the ensuing scramble, Nnaji and Peyton Watson both blocked game-tying 3-point attempts by AJ Green and Rollins. Gordon finally reeled in a rebound, taking a hard-earned trip to the foul line with 9.2 seconds left.
He made three out of four tries in what little time remained — just enough for the Nuggets to keep a winning record without their own multi-time MVP.
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