Short-Handed Denver Nuggets Show Grit in Nail-Biting Win Over Bucks 102-100
In the NBA, there are “scheduled losses”—nights where the fatigue of the schedule, the length of the injury report, especially for the Denver Nuggets, and the caliber of the opponent all point toward an inevitable defeat. Friday night at Fiserv Forum was supposed to be one of those nights.
With Nikola Jokic sidelined, Jamal Murray out, and the team playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Denver Nuggets had every excuse to fold. Instead, they delivered perhaps their most character-defining performance of the season, holding on by the skin of their teeth to escape Milwaukee with a 102-100 victory.
It wasn’t pretty, it came at a cost, but it was a testament to the culture built in the Mile High City.
Julian Strawther Steps into the Spotlight
Without their three-time MVP orchestrating the offense, the Denver Nuggets needed someone to provide a spark. Enter Julian Strawther. The young wing looked every bit the part of a seasoned veteran, pouring in a season-high 20 points when his team needed it most.
Strawther wasn’t just scoring; he was stabilizing. He was aided by Tim Hardaway Jr. (17 points) and Bruce Brown (15 points), who helped Denver build a commanding 23-point lead that silenced the Milwaukee crowd for three quarters.
For a large stretch, it looked like a blowout. The Denver Nuggets were defending with desperate energy, capitalizing on a sluggish, frustrated Giannis Antetokounmpo, and seemingly cruising toward a shock victory.
Surviving the Fourth Quarter Surge
But in the NBA, 20-point leads are never safe, especially not against a team with a championship pedigree. The fourth quarter saw the momentum shift violently. The Bucks, desperate to avoid their fifth loss in six games, finally woke up.
Ryan Rollins, who exploded for 15 of his 21 points in the final frame, became a one-man wrecking crew for Milwaukee. As the Denver Nuggets’ offense stalled—fatigue clearly setting in—Rollins and the Bucks chipped away. That comfortable cushion evaporated into a suffocating, one-possession game in the final minute.
The tension in the arena was palpable. You could see the exhaustion on the faces of the Nuggets players. They had led wire-to-wire, but they were running on fumes against a team sensing blood in the water.
A Chaotic Finish at Fiserv
The final 30 seconds were pure chaos. With Denver clinging to a lead, Rollins drilled a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left to cut the deficit to 99-97. After Tim Hardaway Jr. calmly sank two clutch free throws to push the lead back to four, Rollins struck again, burying another triple with just 5.4 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game at 101-100.
The game came down to a foul on Jalen Pickett with 4.5 seconds left. Pickett hit the first free throw but missed the second, leaving the door cracked open.
Milwaukee secured the rebound and got the ball to Kyle Kuzma. With no timeouts remaining, Kuzma raced up the floor and heaved a prayer from just beyond half-court. The ball hit the front iron and bounced away, allowing the Denver Nuggets to finally exhale.
The Cost of Victory
While the win goes in the column, the night wasn’t without loss. Aaron Gordon, who had 13 points in the first half and was anchoring the defense, left the game with a right hamstring strain.
It’s another blow to a roster already decimated by injuries. With Jokic (knee), Murray (hamstring), Watson (ankle), and Valanciunas (calf) already out, losing Gordon tests the depth of this team to its absolute breaking point.
Yet, despite the infirmary list growing, the Denver Nuggets (31-15) continue to find ways to win. They remain second in the Northwest Division, proving that even without their stars, their system—and their heart—is championship-caliber.
They will now look to regroup and heal up before heading to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Sunday, hoping this gutsy performance can sustain them through the attrition of the regular season.
