Wednesday night hosting Denver was the Milwaukee Bucks‘ first game since the crushing news that Damian Lillard will be out indefinitely with a blood clot in his right calf. Then the day of the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out with sprained foot. Already without Bobby Portis due to his suspension, the Bucks took the court severely undermanned versus a healthy Nuggets lineup.
The available players stepped up to the challenge, though, playing a close game and even taking a five-point third quarter lead. They were within a single possession with under two minutes to go. Although the Bucks ultimately came up short, 127-117, they put up an admirable effort. In Doc Rivers‘ view, a blatant officiating error robbed them of a fair shot to pull off the upset.
Milwaukee Bucks Show Up Vs Denver Nuggets But Blown Call Blunts Momentum
In the absence of Dame and Giannis, Milwaukee trotted out a starting five of Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Kyle Kuzma, Taurean Prince and Brook Lopez. In addition to battling Nikola Jokic on defense, Lopez led all Bucks scorers with 26 points in his third straight 20-point game. Every starter reached double figures. At point guard, Porter Jr. provided 12, 7 and 8.
Ryan Rollins, whom Porter replaced in the first unit, added 17 off the bench on 7-9 shooting, while AJ Green canned five triples.
It was a play involving Green, with Milwaukee trailing 116-110 and 3:15 left, that had Doc upset. Leading a fast break off a Lopez block, he was essentially run down and tripped by Denver’s Peyton Watson trailing the Bucks’ 4-on-2 transition opportunity (video below).
Asked Doc Rivers what he saw that upset him about the officiating in tonight’s loss to the Nuggets.
He asked me what I saw.
Me: “It looked like there was some contact in transition on AJ Green.” (video below)
Rivers: “Right? So, I’m not going to say it. The media said it.” pic.twitter.com/23edKEGVwt
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 27, 2025
“I don’t think there was any doubt,” Doc said about a potential foul on the play.
Doc Rivers Baffled by Egregious Error
The Athletic’s Eric Nehm, the Bucks reporter who tweeted the clip, asked Rivers how frustrating that kind of momentum-killing non-call can be:
“It’s really frustrating. … We got four-on-two numbers, we’re at least going to get a layup or a three, and the way we were shooting the ball, it’s probably going to be a three-point game. Instead, it goes to a nine-point game, and so in a lot of ways the game is over.”
The no-call led to two points for Denver off the turnover. A Rollins triple cut the margin to three, but the Nuggets put it away from there. “You’re right,” Rivers told Nehm, “that was an absolute foul, and you’re right, it was a game-changing call. A game-changing no-call.”
As Rivers pointed out, the Bucks had a good night shooting, going 16-37 from distance (43.2%) and 46-89 overall (51.7%). Led by a 39-point triple double from Jokic, however, the Nuggets matched Milwaukee’s 16-37 mark on threes and shot 54.4% from the field. A 20 to 5 edge in fast break points proved to be the difference.
The Bucks fell to 40-32 with the loss, slipping to 6th place in the East behind the Pistons. They did get some help from the Lakers, who beat the Pacers on a buzzer-beater to keep Milwaukee within two games of fourth place.
Five-game road trip complete, they return home Friday against the Knicks. Rivers said Wednesday that Giannis should be available for the game.
For More Great Wisconsin Content
Follow me on X at @ezsniper14 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
