Jokic ‘as dominating as ever’: Nuggets regain health, best Bucks

Nikola Jokic returned to the floor for the Denver Nuggets and powered his team to their winning ways, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 127-117 on Wednesday behind the big man’s triple-double.

Highlighted by one of the three-time MVP’s best passes ever, Jokic scored 39 points on 25 shots while diming out 10 assists and snagging 10 rebounds. It was his 30th triple-double of the season, the sixth time a player has done that in NBA history, in his first game back in 11 days after missing five contests with a left ankle injury.

JOKIC DIME OF THE YEAR???! 😱😱

ARE YOU KIDDING ME. pic.twitter.com/hyYEnin3XS

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 27, 2025

Jokic’s return meant that, despite lingering injuries to Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets had their healthy starting five for just the 21st time this season. Foul trouble with Gordon kept the starters’ stints unusual—but it was a nice change for the Nuggets to see who they hope to be when the playoffs begin in less than a month.

“That’s the 21st time the whole year when we started that lineup, which is kind of crazy when we think about it,” Michael Malone said. “We have eight games to go. There are a lot of things we can clean up, we can improve upon, but it was good to get a win after a tough loss against Chicago.

Porter broke his slump with a scortching first half where he connected on all six of his shots, five from distance. He finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals after struggling in many games since the All-Star Break, where he returned from a small injury. Porter had been playing some of the best basketball of his career before sitting out and hasn’t been the same since. A back injury popped up on the injury report for MPJ before Wednesday’s game, but he still gave it a go and returned to his pre-break form. After the game, he noted it was actually a hamstring injury not something in his back, which is pretty refreshing given his past back issues.

“We knew that he had not been shooting the way we have become accustomed to seeing him shoot, and I had zero doubt that he would find his rhythm because he’s too good of a shooter not to,” Malone said. “It was great for him to get off to that start… Michael’s a really key part to this team, and when he gets going like that… we become a really tough team to guard.”

The Bucks were without both Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard. The two All-Stars had injuries announced just before playing Denver. They relied on a big game from Book Lopez and hot-shooting from AJ Green that actually gave them a lead in the second half.

Bolsted by a fiery Christian Braun and Jokic’s playmaking, the Nuggets battled back with a 13-1 run in the third quarter, then put the closing touches on the Bucks with a nice quarter from Jamal Murray and a dagger three from Porter.

“I just don’t want to be a team that thinks we can outscore a team to try to win a championship,” Malone said. “I’ve never seen that done, and so defense has to be a part of the conversation.”

The most important thing for the Nuggets, of course, is a healthy Jokic, which they got back on Wednesday.

“He was outstanding, and that’s the thing with him is he was banged up those games that he missed, those were not rest games,” Malone said. “Those games were missed because of his inability to play to the level he’s capable of playing at. But I did see a guy that looked rested, looked explosive and looked as efficient and dominating as ever.”