Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To Denver Nuggets

The Milwaukee Bucks failed to break out of their losing ways against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, but showed the kind of effort and energy that had been painfully missing of late.

This was another loss at a time when the Milwaukee Bucks desperately needed a win to keep their season alive, but there was something a little different about the team’s demeanor and performance on this occasion.

For a change, it wasn’t the opposition’s corner threes or Milwaukee’s defensive lapses that the blame for this loss could be solely pinned on. Make no mistake, there were still instances of both, but on the whole this was a much more focused and attentive effort.

Ultimately as a margin of only four points denied them a shot at victory, the Bucks will be left to rue a disastrous second quarter which saw them take poor shots on offense and give up too many easy looks defensively.

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Outside of that quarter the Bucks held a 13-point advantage, which should act as yet another reminder for this young team that if they want to win with regularity in this league, they’ll need to remain consistent for all four quarters.

On the positive side of the board, Jabari Parker looked much better than he has in many of Milwaukee’s recent struggles. Parker willed the Bucks along throughout much of the second half to get them back within striking range and keep them there.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was as active as ever, but also in something of a return to form for the Greek, he boasted much improved efficiency with his 23 points coming on 9-13 shooting from the field.

John Henson put in a notable performance in his own return to the starting lineup, while Thon Maker continued to impress, even if foul trouble limited his time on the floor.

Confronted by a first career triple-double triple-double from Nuggets star big man Nikola Jokic, who also played his part in a dominant rebounding showing for his team, even in a better run of form than they’ve recently found themselves in there could be no guarantee that the Bucks would have prevailed at Denver’s high altitude.

Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the most prominent takeaways from the action, though.