Giannis Antetokounmpo has battled injuries and trade rumors this season, but the two-time MVP has been a catalyst for the recent surge by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee has won five of its last seven since Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup on Dec. 27, including a thrilling 105-101 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. The Bucks have a chance to finish their Western Conference road trip with a 3-1 mark when they visit the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
Antetokounmpo missed eight straight games with a calf strain; he has averaged 28.8 minutes in the seven games since he came back. While Milwaukee is 11th in the Eastern Conference, it has made a push to get back into the playoff picture nearly halfway through the season.
“We’re playing well, right? So, we cannot be comfortable,” Antetokounmpo said after scoring 21 points against Los Angeles. “We can’t be complacent right now. We got to keep on pushing, pushing our envelope, put our foot in the pedal and keep on moving forward.”
In addition to his 21 points, Antetokounmpo made two key defensive plays in the final 40 seconds. He blocked LeBron James’ shot with the game tied and had a late steal to seal the win.
Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks in scoring (29.2 points a game) and rebounding (9.8) across the 24 games he has played. Milwaukee has seven players averaging double figures in scoring, including Kevin Porter Jr. (18.6 points), Ryan Rollins (17.0), Bobby Portis (12.9), and Kyle Kuzma (12.8).
Porter leads the team with 7.7 assists per game.
The Bucks face a Denver team coming off a 110-87 loss to Atlanta on Friday night. The Nuggets are just 10-6 at home this season, with four of those coming against teams with a losing record. Friday night was Denver’s first game after a grueling seven-game road trip that included injuries to Nikola Jokic (left knee) and Jonas Valanciunas (calf).
In addition to missing the two centers, Cameron Johnson (right knee) is out, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun are easing back into action after extended absences, and Jamal Murray has missed two of the last four games to manage his sore left ankle.
The Nuggets have managed to tread water without Jokic, who leads the team in scoring (29.6 points), rebounding (12.2), and assists (11). Murray is second at 25.3 points a game and has increased his assists since Jokic was injured Dec. 29. Murray is averaging 7.5 assists a game and had 16 and 17 in his last two games.
Denver struggled Friday night without its two best ballhandlers, turning it over 19 times.
“I don’t think anybody in there intended to turn it over. I think everybody was just trying to find some rhythm and find ways to get themselves involved in other guys,” said Peyton Watson, who had five of them to go with his 25 points. “Sometimes you have that.”
Watson stepped up his scoring in January. He is averaging 24.6 points in the month and has scored 21 or more in his last six games.
