Playoff teams are defined by many variables.

How they close out opponents in the fourth. Their ability to get good shots on offense even when the defense takes away their top options. The capability to lock in on defense on key fourth-quarter possessions. The mental toughness to win a road back-to-back.

Denver has checked off most of those boxes over the course of this season, but in their 110-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nuggets accomplished something they hadn’t yet this year. After a win in Chicago Wednesday, Denver won their first road back-to-back of the season.

Except for an elongated Milwaukee second-half rally which saw the Bucks go on a 29-12 run throughout the end of the third and fourth quarters, the Nuggets, behind Nikola Jokic‘s second-straight triple-double, cruised to one of their more impressive wins of the season.

Jokic’s fourth triple-double of his career and this season, was complete with 4:22 to go in the fourth. The 22-year-old finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Danilo Gallinari, continuing his post All-Star break surge scored 22 points on 6-11 shooting.

Wilson Chandler limited Giannis Antetokounmpo to 15 points on 5-13 shooting and chipped in 13 points of his own in 36 minutes. Jamal Murray, in his first start at point guard, scored ten points on just 4-13 shooting but dished out five assists to go with great defense from the lead guard position for most of the night.

For Milwaukee, Khris Middleton led the way with 21 points on 7-12 shooting. Rookie Malcolm Brogdon chipped in 17 points as well.

What a start is was for the Nuggets. Denver blitzed Milwaukee early and never looked back in the first quarter, shooting 59.1 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three. It was perhaps the best five minutes of basketball to open the game that the Nuggets have played all year.

Murray set the pace against a Bucks defense that looked slow and disorganized. The rookie found Jokic early and often at the start of possessions, set the tempo in the half-court and was a willing cutter off-ball.

Jokic and Gallinari were locked in on both ends of the floor, as was Chandler, who limited Antetokounmpo to 1-5 shooting in the quarter. Denver led 32-15 after one and held the Bucks to 23 percent shooting over the game’s opening 12 minutes.

Denver’s bench kept the pedal to the floor in the second. Juancho Hernangomez, who’s now seeing minutes at the four with Kenneth Faried sidelined with back spasms, proved that maybe he should garner playing time even with Faried healthy. Hernangomez scored eight points in the half.

Not to take anything away from the Nuggets’ start, but it just wasn’t Milwaukee’s night. About mid-way through the second quarter, the Bucks were shooting 9-39 (29 percent) from the field, aided in part by Denver’s defense but also by a putrid Bucks offense.

The Nuggets led by as many as 29 in the half. It was their best defensive half of the season. Gallinari continued his post All-Star break flare, scoring 18 points in the half on 5-7 shooting. Jokic was quiet offensively, only scoring four points on 2-5 shooting over the opening two quarters but also had ten rebounds and six assists. Denver led by 26 at the break, 63-37 as Milwaukee shot just 30.6 percent in the half.

Jokic was quiet offensively, only scoring four points on 2-5 shooting over the opening two quarters but also had ten rebounds and six assists. Denver led by 26 at the break, 63-37 as Milwaukee shot just 30.6 percent in the half.

It would have been hard for Milwaukee to have put together a worse half than they did in the first and the Bucks hung with Denver to the tune of 12-11 in the opening half of the third quarter.

The Nuggets’ starters ran the score back up on Milwaukee, but a 9-0 Bucks run on Denver’s bench unit trimmed the Nuggets’ lead to 18 at the 1:44 mark of the third. The third quarter was Milwaukee’s best of the night, they shot 9-14 in the frame and went into the fourth down 20.

The Bucks didn’t go away in the fourth. Milwaukee outscored Denver 12-6 over the first four minutes of the fourth, at one point going on a 31-12 run from the end of the third through the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee trimmed the Nuggets; lead to 15, then 12 as Michael Malone played the waiting game until Denver’s starters were ready to sub back in.

Jokic recorded his second consecutive triple-double with just over four minutes to go in the fourth, as Denver ended up coasting to their second-straight win.

Footnotes

Starting point guard Jameer Nelson was ruled out prior to tip-off. Murray started his first game of the season at point guard.

What’s next

The Nuggets are back home Friday and play for four games at Pepsi Center over the next week against Charlotte, Sacramento, Washington, and Boston.