Mar 26, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) reacts as he goes out of bounds as Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Green (20) looks on in the first quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

NBA Admits Mistake in Denver Nuggets vs Milwaukee Bucks Game

Originally posted on Denver Nuggets on SI
By Farbod Esnaashari | Last updated Mar 27, 2025 4:57 PM ET

The Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks faced off on Wednesday in Nikola Jokic's return game. While many were expecting it to be a heavyweight battle between Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, that wasn't the case as both Giannis and Damian Lillard were out.

Even though the Milwaukee Bucks were shorthanded, it was still a tightly contested and thrilling game. Within all the action came a missed call in the last two minutes of clutch time action between the two teams.

The NBA's last two-minute report revealed in the final moments of the game that Brook Lopez should have been issued an offensive goaltending call to negate a Bucks basket

"Lopez (MIL) makes contact with the ball while it is still in the imaginary cylinder above the rim."

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Even with the mistake by the referees, the Denver Nuggets had practically sealed the game by that point. The Denver Nuggets were up 12 points with around 20 seconds left in the game when the referees made the mistake.

Wednesday night's game was pivotal for the Denver Nuggets to win. It would have been unacceptable for the Nuggets to have Nikola Jokic return and somehow still lose to a Bucks team without Giannis and Lillard. The fact that the game came down to the wire is a bit alarming for the Nuggets as well.

This article first appeared on Denver Nuggets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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