Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 128-97 loss to Denver Nuggets

Second takeaway from loss to Nuggets — Milwaukee Bucks struggle to contain Denver’s star tandem

Milwaukee’s offense was by far the biggest problem they encountered on the night, but their defensive play wasn’t all that much better.

To that point, though, it’s hard for any team, much less the Bucks, slowing down Nuggets All-Star big man Nikola Jokic, who went on to finish with his eighth triple-double of his career. The Serbian international had 37 points on 15-of-23 shooting, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and completely bent the Bucks’ defense to his will that made it that much easier for himself and teammates to thrive offensively.

Playing Robin to Jokic’s Batman, Denver guard Jamal Murray posed the same problems to the Bucks as he consistently sank ridiculous shots when often draped by Bucks defenders. Murray posted 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting (1-for-5 from deep), six assists and three boards in 38 minutes of run.

With both Jokic and Murray dialed in offensively, the Nuggets shot a ridiculous 14-for-20 on mid-range shots all while collectively scoring 56 points in the painted area Tuesday night. No matter the personnel or the defensive coverages the Bucks threw the Nuggets’ way, it did nothing to slow down what ended up being Denver’s most efficient offensive performance of the season as they had a 133.3 offensive rating on the night.

Sometimes, all you can do is tip your hat when you’re going up against a team that is in completely control like the Nuggets were last night.