Despite staying attached for most of the game, the Denver Nuggets let go of the rope in the fourth quarter, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 121-112.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks in a heavyweight battle between him and Nikola Jokic. Giannis logged 28 points, 19 rebounds, and seven assists on the game, hitting several jump shots en route to an impressive performance on national television.

Jokic effectively played him to a standstill, logging 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists while shooting an impressive 13-of-16 from the field. Jokic’s numbers were better, but be had some bad defensive possessions while accumulating five turnovers, so it wasn’t a perfect game. Still, Jokic did enough for Denver to get the win.

Unfortunately, he was just about the only one.

Michael Porter Jr. led the struggle bus for Denver tonight, scoring just 12 points on 5-of-22 from the field and 2-of-11 from three tonight. It was by far Porter’s worst game of the season, contributing to a subpar stretch after the All-Star break. Porter’s shots were mostly open and shots he was capable of making, but he looked uncomfortable dealing with the physicality of the Bucks starting unit in which the 6’8″ Taurean Prince was the smallest wing defender on the floor. Prince mostly guarded Murray while Kyle Kuzma guarded Porter, and though Kuzma shot poorly on the other end of the floor, he was a +19 and thoroughly outplayed the Nuggets third scorer.

Aaron Gordon, who matched up with Giannis on defense consistently, was “solid” on that end. Giannis scored because he’s a star, while Gordon got the occasional stop within the flow of things. Gordon was slow to switch onto Damian Lillard multiple times though, leading to important Bucks three-pointers. Gordon also shot 1-of-6 from three himself and simply didn’t make enough of an impact on either end of the floor.

Jamal Murray was merely “fine” tonight with 20 points on 20 shot attempts. He went to the free throw line zero times and appeared upset at the lack of foul calls going his way and Denver’s way. He might have a point, to be clear, with Denver shooting 9-of-11 from the free throw line and Milwaukee shooting 23-of-28.

Part of that was simply Denver’s inferior defense though. Milwaukee has a solid defense and knew how to cut off various scoring opportunities for Denver, while the Nuggets were simply a step slow in the halfcourt and transition as often as they were ready. Milwaukee shot 14-of-34 from three, 41.2%, bringing their respective records to 23-8 when they make at least 14 threes and 30-10 when they shoot 35% or better. It’s unsurprising that Denver struggled to handle that. They’re simply a subpar defense.

There were flashes from others in the rotation, from Christian Braun dunking on Brook Lopez to Russell Westbrook making an impact in the first half to Julian Strawther finding some scoring. Unfortunately, the Nuggets just didn’t have enough without Porter, Gordon, or Murray playing well.

Defense Kills

It’s unfortunate that so many games of Denver’s against “good” teams with elite talent often end up like this. Denver didn’t have enough of an answer for a team that had a way to break down their defense. A tale as old as time.

And yet, Denver can outscore almost anybody in the NBA when their offense is humming. Denver had 68 points in the paint and 32 fast break points tonight, doing some of the difficult things and taking advantage of mistakes from the Bucks second unit. Unfortunately, they didn’t do enough, because Milwaukee’s defense caused enough issues with Denver to get them uncomfortable. 13 turnovers is about average for the Nuggets, so they didn’t hurt themselves that much. it was simply Denver not being good enough offensively for the second time in the last four games.

Against the Nuggets, if any team can get Denver to play below their usual powerhouse offense, then they’re in a good spot. The Nuggets have the second ranked offense at 119.1 points per 100 possessions after tonight. In games when Denver exceeds a 120 offensive rating, they have a 23-2 record. Usually, Denver does well enough offensively that other teams can’t keep up.

Still, in games when Denver can’t scrounge up an insane 120 offensive rating, they have a 15-19 record. Denver CAN win when they don’t score at an elite level, but they certainly seem much more comfortable when things go well offensively.

So, any bit of defense kills Denver right now. When opposing teams play defense, Denver turns into a sub 0.500 team. When Denver tries to play some defense, it burns them like the Wicked Witch of the West trying to touch water or a vampire being hit by a sun beam.

Before this season is over, the Nuggets need to find a way to get over their allergy to defensive competence. Or else the playoffs will be over before they can even begin.

Final Rotations