The Denver Nuggets are finally getting healthy. For the first time in several weeks they had all four of their top players, including Nikola Jokic, and that group fueled a victory against a Milwaukee Bucks team that’s on the opposite side of the spectrum in terms of health. Sans Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard the Bucks gave a spirited effort but ultimately succumbed to too much Joker. Jokic gets a triple double and Denver gets a 127-117 win

Denver’s offense was cooking out of the gate, particularly Michael Porter Jr. That got the Nuggets an early lead. They kept pushing the pace and hitting threes while the Bucks went cold on offense. The lead quickly ballooned to a dozen by the halfway mark of the quarter. Jokic started pouring in the points but Milwaukee had found their shot as well. The Nuggets stayed in front by about a dozen behind Jokic and Porter with a sprinkling of Jamal Murray. Porter didn’t miss a shot in the quarter and had fourteen points but Denver’s offense went cold to close out the quarter and that kept them from getting ahead any more. After one the Nuggets led 38-27.

Aaron Gordon came back in the game after dealing with foul trouble and immediately picked up his third foul and went back to the bench. The offense sputtered at the start of the second quarter with Jokic and Porter also resting. The Bucks started to get back into the game with three pointers. they trimmed it to six which brought Porter back in the game and he immediately hit a three. Jokic checked back in shortly after that but the game ground to a halt with several whistles. The Bucks cut into the lead again and got within five before both teams played a little recklessly and struggled to score. Denver clung to a three point lead with the half winding down and Brook Lopez tied it with a three pointer with two minutes left. Jokic kept the Nuggets in front by a bucket with some threes and they went to the locker room up 67-64.

Murray finally started to get going at the start of the second half and then Jokic started taking control, including throwing a ridiculous dime to Gordon. Denver stayed in front by a couple possessions but kept giving up too many open threes to pull away. The Bucks went on a mini-run and took the lead while Denver’s shot started to go cold. The Nuggets flat out couldn’t buy a basket but luckily Milwaukee went cold too. Christian Braun provided some energy and sparked a run around the four minute mark. Denver got back ahead by three and started knocking down outside shots. After Braun hit another three to go up seven the Bucks called a timeout. Denver’s strong play continued to close out the quarter and they ended the third up 100-92.

The Nuggets offense once again struggled without Jokic and Porter on the floor but they tightened up their defense. Eventually Denver got some easy buckets and pulled ahead by close to ten but then went flat on offense again. The Bucks got close but couldn’t overtake the Nuggets completely who responded with Jokic and Braun back on the court again. They kept pushing the lead back up to the seven point range but then would have a defensive lapse that prevented them from putting the game away. Jokic had a 4-0 run of his own to put the lead back up to eight which drew a Milwaukee timeout. The Bucks started running out of time. They made another push and got within three at the two minute mark but Denver responded again and a Porter three put them back up by eight with a minute to go. They closed it out and earn a 127-117 victory.