Short-handed Nuggets edge Bucks, who lose Giannis Antetokounmpo

Julian Strawther scored 20 points to lead the Denver Nuggets, down many key players, to a 102-100 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

The Bucks lost Giannis Antetokounmpo in the final minute of the game due to a right calf injury that he believes will keep him out for at least a month.

Denver survived a valiant fourth-quarter rally from Milwaukee that cut the deficit from 23 points to one. The Nuggets swept their road back-to-back that began with a victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday.

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17 points for Denver, and Bruce Brown had 15. Zeke Nnaji added 11 with 12 rebounds.

The Nuggets were down Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cameron Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. They also lost Aaron Gordon (hamstring strain) after the first half.

Milwaukee has lost two straight (both at home) and six of its past eight. Antetokounmpo led the team with 22 points, on just eight shot attempts, as well as 13 rebounds and seven assists. However, he came up limping in transition in the late going and exited with 34.2 seconds left and the Bucks down 99-94.

It was a tough offensive start for both teams. The Bucks went scoreless for nearly five minutes after they had a five-point edge in the second quarter as Denver took a 48-42 edge going into the halftime break.

In the third, Antetokounmpo checked out with six minutes to go and the Bucks then shot 3-for-10 from the field afterward. Denver outscored Milwaukee 30-21 in the quarter and held a 78-63 lead going into the fourth.

Milwaukee then found something late in the fourth as it went on a 23-9 run to bring the deficit down to just eight. Denver's offensive struggles in the quarter allowed Milwaukee to hang around and eventually strike.

Portis knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the deficit to five with 1:30 to go. Despite losing Antetokounmpo shortly after, Ryan Rollins (21 points) hit a 3-pointer to bring the deficit down to two.

After another Rollins 3-pointer, it was just a one-point deficit, but Milwaukee did not have a timeout, so Kyle Kuzma was forced to heave a half-court shot after a missed free throw that came up just short.

Denver completed a season sweep of Milwaukee for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

--Field Level Media