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

DENVER (AP) — Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points, Aaron Gordon had 23 and the injury-ravaged Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 108-104 on Sunday night.

Peyton Watson had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets. Over his team’s last seven games, the fourth-year guard has averaged 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.

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Denver was without five of its top eight scorers, including Nikola Jokic (left knee bone bruise) and Jamal Murray (left ankle sprain). The five players out are averaging 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 each. Ryan Rollins was held to two points, ending his 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 start since Jokic, the three-time NBA MVP, went down in a Dec. 29 loss to the Miami Heat.

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

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Entering the night, Milwaukee was 5-2 in its last seven games after starting the season 12-19.

To be continued

Nuggets: At New Orleans Tuesday night.

Bucks: Host Minnesota on Tuesday night.

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AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/nba