Two of the best players in the world will face off on Thursday night in Milwaukee. Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets will face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Denver finds itself in a tight battle for home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason, with the Memphis Grizzlies, L.A. Lakers, and Houston Rockets vying with it for three spots in the top four.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, is engaged in its own battle. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics secured as the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference, it must keep up with the Indiana Pacers to maintain a home-court advantage in the first round.
With two superstars clashing this Thursday in Milwaukee, check out our Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks predictions, including our NBA expert picks, with tip set for February 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Matchup Denver Nuggets vs Milwaukee Bucks Overview
Teams: Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Fiserv Forum
Win Probabilities
The prediction tip for the winner in the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Milwaukee Bucks is the Milwaukee Bucks.
Projected Final Score
Our predicted final score for this NBA matchup is Milwaukee Bucks 103-105 Denver Nuggets.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
The Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks have similar near— and long-term outlooks, making their Thursday matchup highly interesting.
Both teams got off to rocky starts in the 2024-25 season after early exits from the previous year’s postseason. Both have since stabilized, despite continued questions around their respective superstars’ running mate in Damian Lillard and Jamal Murray.
But, above all else, the similarity and intrigue are due to the respective driving forces behind their successes. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic are, at worst, two of the three best players in the world, and they give their teams a chance in any matchup.
With the sport’s two most undeniable forces colliding on Thursday night in Milwaukee, how does either team find an edge? It sets up a fascinating cross-conference matchup.
Why the Denver Nuggets Can Cover
The Denver Nuggets are finally starting to click and look like the NBA title contenders they were expected to be, and it’s not a second too soon in the wildly competitive Western Conference. Over their last 10 games, Denver is 9-1, with its lone loss coming at the hands of the new look Los Angeles Lakers.
Nikola Jokic, who is in a tight race with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for his fourth MVP award, has once again elevated his offense to an elite level. Their offense has ascended in the same 10-game stretch that has seen the Nuggets go 9-1.
During that span, the Nuggets were first in offensive rating, assist ratio, effective field goal percentage, and true shooting percentage, all while having the eight-fewest offensive possessions in the NBA.
Throughout their time as title contenders, offense has been the lifeblood of this Nuggets team. On the defensive end, the high wall and Jokic’s involvement away from the basket has been with the intention of getting the defense to a place of being good enough to contend.
It hasn’t yet reached that place, with Denver ranked 19th in defensive rating on the season and 13th over its last 10 games. Yet, there is a genuine question as to whether that will impact the team’s performance here. Of the Milwaukee Bucks’ many faults, one of the most concerning is their unimpressive offense.
The Bucks are 12th in offensive rating on the season and a lowly 21st over their last 10 games. If Milwaukee can’t slow down Jokic and the Nuggets’ offense and can’t punish Denver’s middling defense, the Nuggets should see a clear path to cover here.
Why the Milwaukee Bucks Can Cover
For the Milwaukee Bucks, it all comes down to whether they can at least slow down Nikola Jokic and the magnificent offense he creates. And though the Bucks are just 10th in defensive rating on the season and 11th in their last 10 games, there is reason for optimism in this specific matchup.
The few instances in which Jokic has been slowed down and appeared discombobulated in big games in recent years have been against a specific defensive look. It’s one the Minnesota Timberwolves made famous in the 2022-23 playoffs, where Karl-Anthony Towns defended Jokic individually but had another big man – Rudy Gobert – lingering off Denver’s weakest offensive player and ready to help against Jokic.
Though that first matchup ended with the Nuggets winning in five games, it was rolled back last playoffs to a much different result. With Towns on Jokic and Gobert lingering, the Wolves moved past the Nuggets in seven games, as Jokic was without answers.
It wasn’t a huge surprise, then, to see Towns and his new team, the New York Knicks, go 2-0 against Jokic and the Nuggets this season. In those games, Jokic was again muted, with just 22 points and seven assists in the first meeting and 17 points and six assists in the second.
The Bucks are capable of throwing a similar, and even more talented, defensive look at Jokic and Denver. With Brook Lopez guarding Jokic individually, the Bucks can stash Giannis on Denver’s weakest offensive threat and allow the former Defensive Player of the Year to help on Lopez and quiet Jokic’s offensive output.
The Nuggets’ 58.2 paint points per game lead the league by a wide margin, with the Memphis Grizzlies second at 55.7 points per game. So much offense is created by their offensive hub, that is Jokic. The Bucks, meanwhile, allow the sixth-fewest paint points per game at 46.4 and have the personnel to disrupt offenses that operate inside.
To slow the Nuggets is to slow Jokic. The Bucks have just the formula to do so and, as a result, have a clear route toward covering against one of the league’s best teams.
How to Make Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks Picks
Ready to make picks on the Denver Nuggets vs. Milwaukee Bucks matchup on Thursday, February 27? Make sure to head over to Sportzino, where you can find every NBA game on the slate this weekend and so much more!
