Giannis Leads Balanced Bucks Attack, Impresses Fans in Win vs. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

The Milwaukee Bucks were all about the balance on Thursday night.

Six Bucks finished with double-digit points, including all five starters, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 28 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists in a 121-112 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Brook Lopez added 22 points for Milwaukee, while Damian Lillard had a relatively quiet night by his lofty standards (19 points). Nikola Jokić led Denver with a 32-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist triple-double.

But it wasn't enough to get past Giannis and the Bucks, who impressed fans and pundits with their balanced offense and solid defensive effort in the win:

The win moved the Bucks to 33-25 on the season and just a half-game back of the Indiana Pacers (33-24) for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Nuggets dropped to 38-21 on the year and are now a half-game back of the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed in the West.

While the defending champion Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers have felt like the top contenders for much of the season, the Bucks and Nuggets appear to be in that next tier of teams that could go on a run come the postseason. That made the matchup on Thursday an intriguing showdown, alongside the battle of multi-MVP winners in Giannis and Jokić.

Chalk this one up for the Greek Freak, with a little help from his friends.