DENVER — Nikola Jokic welcomed Doc Rivers back to the coaching ranks by playing the spoiler’s role.
Jokic dropped a workmanlike triple-double worth 35 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists to push the Nuggets past River’s Milwaukee Bucks, 113-107, at The Ball Arena in Denver.
“They’re great,” Rivers said of his new squad. “They’re a very coachable team.”
But the Nuggets were just a tad better as Jamal Murray also backed up Jokic with 35 points while Michael Porter Jr and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined for 25.
Even with a loss to open his return to the sidelines, the Bucks were pleased with their new leader.
“He did a great job commanding the team, leading the team,” forward Khris Middleton said. “It’s going to take time for us to get used to him and him to see what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been successful so far this season and in the past.”
Rivers, a TV analyst who led the Boston Celtics to the title in 2008, was tapped by the Bucks to replace first-year Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, who was fired despite a winning 30-13 record.
It was a tight game that saw 12 ties and 9 lead changes. The Bucks were up 13 once and fell by nine late. They rallied but eventually fell short when Aaron Gordon swatted Damian Lillard’s layup in the final 24.7 seconds of action.
“That’s why I play – to play these kinds of games, to play under the pressure, to play tight games,” Jokic said. “I like to play under those circumstances.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes despite dealing with an illness. Had he not play, it would’ve been the second straight game in which an NBA MVP didn’t play at Ball Arena as Joel Embiid of the Sixers also sat out Saturday’s game.
“I try to thrive in those moments as much as I can,” Antetokounmpo said of going against players such as Jokic. “And learn as much as I can.”
Center Brook Lopez had 19 points on the strength of five triples. Damian Lillard had a relatively quiet night with 18 points.
Despite their opening day stumble together as a unit, Rivers remained optimistic.
“They already know what the goal is,” he said. “And they all know that the only way you reach that goal is it has to be ‘We’ – as a group.”
