MILWAUKEE -- — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, pulled down a season-high 19 rebounds and dished out seven assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Denver Nuggets 121-112 on Thursday night.

The two-time MVP helped Milwaukee offset another brilliant performance from Nikola Jokic, who shot 13 of 16 and had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Jokichas 27 triple-doubles in the 53 games the three-time MVP has played this season.

This was the first matchup of the season between these two multiple-MVP winners. The Bucks play at Denver on March 26.

Brook Lopez added 22 points, Damian Lillard 19, Kyle Kuzma 16 and Gary Trent Jr. 15 for the Bucks, who have won five of their last six.

Jamal Murray scored 20 points for the Nuggets.

Takeaways

Nuggets: Denver has followed a nine-game winning streak by dropping two of three. After trailing by 12 with four minutes left, the Nuggets got the margin down to five with two minutes remaining but couldn't get any closer.

Bucks: Milwaukee is continuing to monitor the workload of Antetokounmpo, who missed six straight games just before the All-Star break while dealing with a strained left calf. The Bucks won this one anyway in part because they outscored Denver in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter while Antetokounmpo was on the bench. A.J. Green made a couple of big 3-pointers during that stretch.

Key moment

Antetokounmpo made just his eighth 3-point basket of the season to give Milwaukee a 67-66 lead with just over seven minutes left in the third quarter. He got a dunk off Taurean's Prince steal 35 seconds later to cap a 12-4 run that put the Bucks ahead for good.

Key stat

The Bucks capitalized on a big disparity at the foul line. Milwaukee was 23 of 28 and Denver 9 of 11.

Up next

The Nuggets play at Detroit on Friday. The Bucks visit Dallas on Saturday.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Nikola Jokic vs. Brook Lopez (Damian Lillard gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Brook Lopez makes layup (Damian Lillard assists)	2	0
11:23	Nikola Jokic makes 11-foot driving floating jump shot (Jamal Murray assists)	2	2
11:05	Taurean Prince misses 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	2	2
11:03	Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound	2	2
10:57	Michael Porter Jr. misses running pullup jump shot	2	2
10:54	Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive rebound	2	2
10:46	Giannis Antetokounmpo makes 15-foot pullup jump shot	4	2
10:25	Michael Porter Jr. misses 22-foot three point jumper	4	2
10:23	Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound	4	2
10:16	Brook Lopez makes 27-foot three point jumper (Kyle Kuzma assists)	7	2
9:56	Brook Lopez shooting foul	7	2
9:56	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 1 of 3	7	3
9:56	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 2 of 3	7	4
9:56	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 3 of 3	7	5
9:38	Giannis Antetokounmpo makes driving layup	9	5
9:31	Nikola Jokic misses 23-foot three point step back jumpshot	9	5
9:28	Taurean Prince defensive rebound	9	5
9:18	Giannis Antetokounmpo misses 15-foot two point shot	9	5
9:17	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	9	5
9:04	Aaron Gordon out of bounds lost ball turnover	9	5
8:51	Kyle Kuzma misses 25-foot three point jumper	9	5
8:48	Christian Braun defensive rebound	9	5
8:40	Christian Braun misses dunk	9	5
8:37	Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive rebound	9	5
8:23	Taurean Prince makes driving dunk (Giannis Antetokounmpo assists)	11	5
7:58	Christian Braun misses driving floating jump shot	11	5
7:56	Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive rebound	11	5
7:50	Kyle Kuzma makes 22-foot three point jumper (Giannis Antetokounmpo assists)	14	5
7:48	Nuggets Full timeout	14	5
7:35	Christian Braun misses layup	14	5
7:34	Taurean Prince defensive rebound	14	5
7:31	Damian Lillard misses 25-foot three point shot	14	5
7:29	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	14	5
7:13	Christian Braun makes 23-foot jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	14	7
6:54	Nikola Jokic shooting foul	14	7
6:54	Brook Lopez makes free throw 1 of 2	15	7
6:54	Brook Lopez makes free throw 2 of 2	16	7
6:42	Kyle Kuzma blocks Michael Porter Jr. 's 3-foot layup	16	7
6:41	Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound	16	7
6:40	Michael Porter Jr. makes tip shot	16	9
6:31	Damian Lillard lost ball turnover (Christian Braun steals)	16	9
6:28	Michael Porter Jr. misses running pullup jump shot	16	9
6:24	Kyle Kuzma defensive rebound	16	9
6:14	Giannis Antetokounmpo bad pass (Jamal Murray steals)	16	9
6:07	Jamal Murray bad pass (Damian Lillard steals)	16	9
6:03	AJ Green enters the game for Kyle Kuzma	16	9
6:03	Russell Westbrook enters the game for Christian Braun	16	9
5:51	Russell Westbrook shooting foul	16	9
5:51	Damian Lillard makes free throw 1 of 2	17	9
5:51	Damian Lillard makes free throw 2 of 2	18	9
5:32	Jamal Murray misses 17-foot two point shot	18	9
5:32	Russell Westbrook offensive rebound	18	9
5:32	Russell Westbrook makes two point shot	18	11
5:32	AJ Green shooting foul	18	11
5:32	Russell Westbrook makes free throw 1 of 1	18	12
5:15	Brook Lopez misses 15-foot two point shot	18	12
5:14	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	18	12
5:08	Russell Westbrook makes 23-foot three point shot (Aaron Gordon assists)	18	15
4:52	Giannis Antetokounmpo makes 1-foot dunk (Brook Lopez assists)	20	15
4:47	Taurean Prince personal foul	20	15
4:35	Nikola Jokic makes driving layup (Michael Porter Jr. assists)	20	17
4:16	Damian Lillard misses 23-foot three point shot	20	17
4:14	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	20	17
4:05	Aaron Gordon misses 4-foot two point shot	20	17
4:03	Giannis Antetokounmpo defensive rebound	20	17
4:01	Giannis Antetokounmpo lost ball turnover (Aaron Gordon steals)	20	17
4:00	Giannis Antetokounmpo blocks Aaron Gordon's dunk	20	17
3:58	AJ Green defensive rebound	20	17
3:54	AJ Green misses running pullup jump shot	20	17
3:51	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	20	17
3:44	Nikola Jokic makes two point shot (Michael Porter Jr. assists)	20	19
3:34	Damian Lillard bad pass (Michael Porter Jr. steals)	20	19
3:27	Nikola Jokic lost ball turnover (AJ Green steals)	20	19
3:23	Taurean Prince makes 1-foot dunk (AJ Green assists)	22	19
2:56	Aaron Gordon misses 22-foot three point jumper	22	19
2:54	Damian Lillard defensive rebound	22	19
2:46	Brook Lopez misses 25-foot three point jumper	22	19
2:43	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	22	19
2:41	Russell Westbrook makes two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	22	21
2:34	Bucks Full timeout	22	21
2:34	Kyle Kuzma enters the game for Taurean Prince	22	21
2:34	Gary Trent Jr. enters the game for Giannis Antetokounmpo	22	21
2:34	Christian Braun enters the game for Jamal Murray	22	21
2:34	Zeke Nnaji enters the game for Aaron Gordon	22	21
2:26	Brook Lopez makes 5-foot two point shot (Damian Lillard assists)	24	21
2:26	Zeke Nnaji shooting foul	24	21
2:26	Brook Lopez makes free throw 1 of 1	25	21
2:14	Nikola Jokic makes 26-foot three point jumper (Russell Westbrook assists)	25	24
1:54	Kyle Kuzma makes alley oop layup (Brook Lopez assists)	27	24
1:41	Michael Porter Jr. misses two point shot	27	24
1:39	Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound	27	24
1:37	Michael Porter Jr. misses two point shot	27	24
1:37	Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound	27	24
1:37	Kyle Kuzma blocks Michael Porter Jr.'s tip shot	27	24
1:37	Nuggets offensive team rebound	27	24
1:37	Julian Strawther enters the game for Michael Porter Jr.	27	24
1:28	Nikola Jokic makes driving layup	27	26
1:19	Damian Lillard bad pass (Christian Braun steals)	27	26
1:15	Christian Braun makes 1-foot dunk	27	28
52.1	Damian Lillard bad pass (Zeke Nnaji steals)	27	28
48.0	Nikola Jokic makes 7-foot two point shot (Russell Westbrook assists)	27	30
40.1	Christian Braun personal foul	27	30
28.1	Gary Trent Jr. misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	27	30
26.0	Russell Westbrook defensive rebound	27	30
11.1	Russell Westbrook misses layup	27	30
9.2	Brook Lopez defensive rebound	27	30
5.2	Kyle Kuzma misses running pullup jump shot	27	30
2.1	Bucks offensive team rebound	27	30
2.1	Aaron Gordon enters the game for Nikola Jokic	27	30
0.0	Damian Lillard makes 30-foot three point jumper (AJ Green assists)	30	30
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	30	30

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Fiserv Forum

Milwaukee, WI

Date & Time

1:00 AM, February 28, 2025

Coverage

TNT, Altitude Sports, truTV, HBO Max

Attendance

17,566

Referees

Curtis Blair, Phenizee Ransom, Karl Lane

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	44	14	.759	W2
Cleveland	37	24	.607	L2
Milwaukee	26	32	.448	L1
Chicago	24	36	.400	L11
Indiana	15	45	.250	L5

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Antetokounmpo has 28 points as Bucks overcome Jokic's triple-double to beat Nuggets 121-112

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