Nuggets at Bucks
The Denver Nuggets are playing like a team destined for a lottery pick of late, but perhaps a trip to face the league's worst team will help them turn things around. The Nuggets, who have lost their last five games by an average of 23 points, look to snap their skid when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. The Bucks snapped their own four-game slide with a 104-100 win over visiting Orlando on Tuesday.
The Nuggets squandered a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter against Phoenix and lost 112-107 in overtime on Tuesday but are still three games shy of their longest slide of the season — an eight-game skid from Dec. 17-Jan. 1. Denver is quickly slipping from playoff contention, sitting well behind Golden State and Dallas, who occupy the final two playoff spots in the West. The Bucks haven't won back-to-back games all season and have to go back to March 17-19 of last season for their last consecutive victories.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (24-28): Denver misses point guard Ty Lawson at the offensive end, as the catalyst has missed the past three games with a fractured rib and is not expected to play against Milwaukee. The Nuggets missed 19 of their last 21 shots from 3-point range against the Suns and finished 5-for-28 behind the arc, losing despite a career-high 25 points from Evan Fournier. The Nuggets' biggest concerns are at the defensive end, though, as they've allowed 100 or more points in 10 straight games and 15 of the last 16.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (10-43): Milwaukee got hot from the outside against Orlando, as Caron Butler hit seven of the team's 12 3-pointers — one off the Bucks' season high. Guard O.J. Mayo has missed nine straight games as he works to regain his conditioning following a bout with the flu, but that has given coach Larry Drew a chance to give some of his younger players a little more run. Rookie guard Nate Wolters has started the past eight games, collecting 38 assists compared to six turnovers over that stretch.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets have won seven of the last 10 meetings in Milwaukee and 16 of the past 21 overall — including seven straight.
2. Bucks F John Henson has recorded at least one block in 19 consecutive games, one short of tying Roy Hibbert for the third-longest streak in the NBA this season.
3. Denver F Wilson Chandler has scored in double figures in 29 of his past 31 games.