DENVER (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Pat Connaughton added 20 points off the bench and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the depleted Denver Nuggets 120-109 on Friday night for their sixth straight win.
Antetokounmpo hit 10 of 13 shots in just 30 minutes, and the Bucks never trailed in winning by double digits for the third straight game.
The anticipated matchup of the last two MVPs didn’t happen. Nikola Jokic, who won last season in becoming the first Denver player to capture the award, missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right wrist. Michael Porter Jr. hasn’t played since Nov. 6 due to lower back soreness and P.J. Dozier suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Tuesday night in Portland.
Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 19 points and nine rebounds. Will Barton scored 17, and Facu Campazzo finished with 16 points for Denver.
Milwaukee, which never trailed, threatened to run the Nuggets the court from the start. The Bucks led 24-8 early in the first quarter and were up by 17 points in the second quarter before Denver made a run to get within 48-43 with 3:45 left in the period.
Milwaukee led by 11 at halftime. The Nuggets closed within five in the third quarter. They had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Monte Morris missed a 3-pointer. The Bucks built a 19-point lead late in the quarter. Denver got within 12 points in the fourth period, but never threatened.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Connaughton took an inadvertent elbow in the first quarter and ended up with a bloody nose. It was ruled a common offensive foul on Jeff Green. ... F Semi Ojeleye missed his fourth straight game with right calf soreness. ... Rodney Hood played despite soreness in his right Achilles.
Nuggets: G Bones Hyland (right ankle sprain) missed his second straight game. ... Green and Morris scored 15 each for Denver, while Vlatko Cancar had 10 points in his first extended play this season.
MILESTONE BUCKET
Khris Middleton entered Friday with 9,999 career points, and wasted little time in eclipsing the 10,000 mark. He got the ball in front of the Denver bench, rose up and hit a 3-pointer over Green just 36 seconds into the game. He finished with 17 points.
UP NEXT
Bucks: At Indiana on Sunday.
Nuggets: At Miami on Monday night.
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