Denver Nuggets came out the gates firing on all cylinders Sunday night to down the reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic paced his team with eight assists in the first quarter against the Bucks’ big three, who were 19-4 when they played together prior to this game. Denver came out motivated on both ends of the floor, ending up shooting a massive 53.5 percent from deep.
“This is a true team win,” head coach Michael Malone. “Couldn’t be more proud for our team and obviously, I’m satisfied with two games to go in this road trip”
Head coach Mike Malone called Denver’s blowout victory a clear-cut ‘team win’ against the reigning champions. Malone replaced Facundo Campazzo in the team’s rotation and used rookie Bones Hyland at the point guard position finishing the contest with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
“I was really excited (during the game) because Bones (Hyland) was running that (second) unit and was making his team better… He’s being vocal, he’s getting them organized.I’ve just seen so much growth from Bones Hyland recently. I’m so proud of him.”
Aaron Gordon was another important factor for the Nuggets, who achieved their fifth consecutive victory to improve to 28-21. Gordon had a team-high 24 points on 10-of-17 from the field in one of his most assertive shooting performances of the season. Nikola Jokic put up a passing clinic with 15 of the Nuggets’ 39 assists, which is a season-high for Denver.
“Just The whole collective effort”, Nikola Jokic told reporters on what was the most important part of the Nuggets’ win. “We had 39 assists, we had 40 rebounds, we had 23 threes. It was a collective team effort. We played really good today”.
The Nuggets improved to 28-21 winning their 10 of their last 13 games and beating the reigning champions in an emphatic way. Jokic topped Giannis in a battle of the MVPs, however, Denver showed a flexibility on its rotation on using Hyland as the primary playmaker when the Joker is sitting.
“I’ll be doing this my whole life. I play point guard the majority of my life. With the rock in my hands, I always feel as though we’re good,” Hyland said on why he thinks he’s good at the point guard role.
The Nuggets are hoping to continue their hot shooting form and make a push for a top-4 ranking in the Western Conference. They play Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday as Nikola Jokic is set to face another superstar big after Giannis Antetokounmpo.
