Milwaukee Bucks at Denver Nuggets

Tim Hardaway Jr. scores 25 points, Aaron Gordon adds 23 and Nuggets beat Bucks 108-104

Peyton Watson had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets. Over his team’s past seven games, the fourth-year guard has been averaging 23.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Zeke Nnaji added 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

Denver was without five of its top eight scorers, including Nikola Jokic (bone bruise in left knee) and Jamal Murray (sprained left ankle). The five sidelined players are averaging a combined 84.6 points per game this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Bucks. Myles Turner scored 16 points while Bobby Portis and AJ Green added 14 apiece. Ryan Rollins was held to two points, snapping a career-best streak of 37 consecutive games with at least 10 points.

Denver had lost five of eight after a 22-8 start, including a 3-4 mark since Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, went down in a Dec. 29 loss at the Miami Heat.

The Bucks trailed by 15 in the first half and by 11 entering the fourth quarter before trimming their deficit to 105-102, but missed two game-tying 3-point attempts from Rollins and Green in the final 20 seconds. Gordon, the lone regular starter available for the Nuggets, made three free throws in the final 9 seconds to seal the victory.

Entering the night, Milwaukee had been 5-2 in its past seven games after starting the season 12-19.

Up next Nuggets: At New Orleans on Tuesday night.

Bucks: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

Regular Season Series

DEN leads series 1-0