Lopez's career-high 8 3-pointers lifts Bucks past Nuggets
DENVER — Brook Lopez had a career-high eight 3-pointers and 28 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks snap an eight-game skid in Denver by beating the Nuggets 121-114 on Sunday night.
All five Bucks starters scored in double figures and four of them had 20 or more points in Milwaukee's first win at the Pepsi Center since 2010.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Khris Middleton had 21 points, and Malcom Brogdon added 20.
Paul Milsap led the Nuggets with 25 points and Nikola Jokic added 20. Denver has lost three straight.
The 7-foot Lopez didn't make a single 3-point shot in his first six NBA seasons, but he's become a reliable threat from deep. He's made at least six 3-pointers in three of his last four games and is shooting 38.8 percent from deep this season. He was 8 of 13 from beyond the arc Sunday.
Up by four at the break, the Bucks stretched their lead to 99-88 going into the final quarter after Antetokounmpo connected on an 11-foot step-back jumper with just over a second remaining in the third quarter.
https://youtu.be/0kfUfBj4-ms
The Nuggets chipped away at the deficit and pulled into a 103-all tie on a 3-pointer by Jamal Murray with little more than eight minutes remaining.
The game remained tight until Brogdon connected on a 3-pointer and Middleton hit a jumper around successive Nuggets' turnovers to give the Bucks a 117-112 lead with 41.6 seconds remaining. Milsap answered by driving in for a dunk, but Middleton offset that with a pair of free throws. The Nuggets did not score again.
https://youtu.be/aKihU4-Z9TY
Milwaukee scored 30 or more points in each of the first two quarters and led 63-59 at the half.
TIP-INS
Bucks: D.J. Wilson continues to mend from a right hamstring strain that has kept him on the sidelines this season, but he is getting very close to a return. ... Eighteen of Lopez's points came in the third quarter, when he connected on six of his 3-pointers.
Nuggets: Will Barton, who underwent surgery Oct. 23 to repair hip and core muscles, has begun rehab work. There is no set timetable for his return. He was injured Oct. 20 against Phoenix.
UP NEXT
Bucks: Return home to host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Nuggets: Continues its three-game homestand by hosting the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.
