Nuggets outlast slumping Bucks 102-100, Giannis injures calf again
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 23: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks dribbles the ball against Daron Holmes II #14 of the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum on January 23, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Ima
MILWAUKEE - Julian Strawther scored a season-high 20 points and the short-handed Denver Nuggets built a 23-point lead before hanging on to beat the slumping Milwaukee Bucks 102-100 on Friday night.
Game breakdown
What we know:
Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his right calf and Denver's Aaron Gordon strained his right hamstring during the game. Antetokounmpo missed eight games and Gordon was out 19 games with similar injuries earlier this season.
After trailing 86-63 with 10½ minutes left, Milwaukee cut Denver’s lead to 99-97 on Ryan Rollins’ 3-pointer with 29.3 seconds remaining. Denver made it 101-97 when Tim Hardaway Jr. sank two free throws with 10.6 seconds left.
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Rollins hit another 3 to make it 101-100 with 5.4 seconds left. Jalen Pickett got fouled with 4.5 seconds remaining and hit his first free throw, but missed the second.
Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma got the rebound, dribbled just beyond mid-court and fired a desperation shot that bounced off the front rim.
Rollins scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Bucks, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee before leaving with 34 seconds left.
Antetokounmpo had his lower right leg wrapped in the first half and never appeared to be comfortable the rest of the way.
The Nuggets remained without three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who last played Dec. 29 as he deals with a bone bruise in his left knee. Gordon scored 13 points in the first half and didn't play the rest of the game.
Other players missing for Denver included Jamal Murray (inflammation of right hamstring and left hip), Peyton Watson (left ankle sprain and right ankle strain) and Jonas Valanciunas (right calf strain). Watson had scored 35 points in a 107-97 victory at Washington one night earlier.
Hardaway had 17 points and Bruce Brown 15 for Denver.
Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. missed a second straight game with an oblique strain. The Bucks also didn’t have AJ Green or Gary Trent Jr. due to illnesses.
Giannis' injury
Dig deeper:
Giannis Antetokounmpo thinks he will be out for an extended period after hurting his right calf again after a similar injury caused him to miss eight games earlier this season.
"At the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop playing," Antetokounmpo said.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JANUARY 23: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks sustained an apparent injury during the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum on January 23, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDer
The two-time MVP said he expected to undergo an MRI on Saturday and predicted the results wouldn’t be much different from what he heard after straining the same calf last month.
"After the MRI, they will tell me probably I popped something in my calf, or in my soleus or something, probably give me a protocol of four to six weeks I’ll be out," Antetokounmpo said. "This is from my experience being around the NBA. After that, I’m going to work my butt off to come back. That will probably be end of February, beginning of March."
Bucks coach Doc Rivers was similarly pessimistic.
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"I don’t think it looks great, honestly," he said. "This calf keeps coming up and it’s concerning. I’m not a doctor, but I’m smart enough to know that his calf keeps bothering him. There’s something that is there. It keeps happening. That’s troublesome for all of us."
Playoffs in jeopardy
Big picture view:
This latest injury puts the Bucks’ hopes of a 10th straight playoff berth in serious jeopardy. The Bucks (18-26) are 11th in the Eastern Conference standings and have lost five of their last six games.
Milwaukee has gone just 3-11 in games Antetokounmpo has missed this season. Antetokounmpo said he would have exited Friday's game as soon as the calf issue arose if the Bucks had a significantly better record.
"I don’t like to quit," Antetokounmpo said. "I felt like I couldn’t explode. I could jog. I couldn’t get on my toes, so I was kind of jogging on my heel the majority of the game. I didn’t have the same explosiveness, but I still felt like I could help. At the end, when it popped, I had to get out. I couldn’t walk."
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.