The Denver Nuggets were denied a meeting with one MVP, but will have a shot against another on Monday night.

Embiid, the reigning league MVP, did not play in Denver’s 111-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who earned back-to-back MVP awards in 2019 and 2020, will be in town with the Milwaukee Bucks for a showdown of two recent NBA champions.

Milwaukee won it all in 2021, and the Nuggets took the title last year. Both clubs depended on their superstar to help them win crowns. This season, Antetokounmpo is averaging 31 points and 11.7 rebounds for the Bucks, who are set to introduce their new coach, Doc Rivers, on Monday night.

Rivers was hired after Adrian Griffin was sacked earlier this month, despite leading Milwaukee to a 30-13 record. Rivers won a trophy as a coach with the Boston Celtics in 2008, and the Bucks are hoping he can help them win their second championship in four years.

Milwaukee attempted to win it all again, including dealing for point guard Damien Lillard in the offseason. Rivers was brought in to provide a feeling of urgency for the Bucks, and he already has the respect of the locker room.

“We know that he’s (coached) in tough games,” Antetokounmpo added. “We know that he has coached in two NBA Finals. Like, he’s been there before. We’ve been there once. We want to go there again. And, occasionally, having someone with experience next to you is beneficial.”

Milwaukee has won seven of its previous nine games and will begin a five-game Western Conference road trip in Denver. The Nuggets had just returned from a lengthy road trip, which appeared to have an affect on their first home game in 13 days. They struggled to beat a 76ers team missing Embiid and two other starters, but they held on in the dying minutes to secure the victory.

Having the home crowd was beneficial.

“It’s just fun to have the energy behind you instead of going against you,” said Jamal Murray, who scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half Saturday. “We were able to rally, so use that to our advantage. When they made a run, we simply weathered the storm and tried to get back on track. We weren’t fantastic on defense for three quarters, but in the final 12 minutes, we were able to accomplish what we needed to.”

One point of concern for Denver is its ability to make foul shots. The Nuggets are 28th in the NBA in terms of free-throw percentage (74.9), and it was clear on Saturday that this might be a major concern moving ahead. They went 24-for-38 from the line, with Nikola Jokic missing six of his 16 efforts and Murray going one-for-four.

“We’re leaving a lot of points on the foul line,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone stated recently. “When games are close, it’s a one- or two-possession game, you don’t want to keep the opposing team in the game because of all these missed free throws.”

Despite these troubles, Denver has won six of its previous eight games, five of which were against winning teams.