Denver Nuggets hand shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks third straight loss
Ibaka fires for 27 points as Raptors beat Jazz for fourth straight win; Hawks outlast Hornets in double overtime
Tuesday 10 March 2020 07:11, UK
Jamal Murray scored 21 points as the Denver Nuggets handed the shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks a third straight loss.
Milwaukee Bucks 95-109 Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray scored 21 points, including Denver's first nine to start the fourth quarter and Paul Millsap had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the host Nuggets beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 109-95 on Monday night.
Jerami Grant added 19 points for Denver, and Gary Harris had 15. Will Barton scored 13 points and Nikola Jokic had 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Nuggets, who swept the season series from the NBA leaders.
Milwaukee played without reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and nearly the entire starting lineup to end an 0-3 road trip. Kyle Korver led the Bucks with a season-high 23 points, Sterling Brown had 16 points, Robin Lopez scored 11 and DJ Wilson contributed 10 points and nine boards.
Milwaukee have lost three in a row for the first time this season.
In addition to Antetokounmpo missing his second straight game due to a left knee sprain, the Bucks played without Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo and George Hill, leaving them without their top six scorers. Bledsoe was out due to fluid on his right knee that coach Mike Budenholzer said has bothered him for a while. Hill sat due to a right adductor contusion sustained March 2 at Miami. Middleton, DiVincenzo and Lopez were active but didn't get off the bench.
Despite not having four starters, Milwaukee were able to survive a big first quarter by Denver to get within six late in the second period. The Nuggets hit 10 shots from long range to take a 62-54 lead into intermission.
Both teams were cold in the third quarter, but Denver stretched their lead to 72-61 on a three-pointer by Millsap late in the period. The Bucks went on a 10-2 run to get within three and trailed just 76-71 heading into the fourth.
A three-pointer by Robin Lopez made it 82-79, but Murray answered with a crossover, step-back three-pointer and fed Mason Plumlee for a dunk. Monte Morris subsequently hit a lay-up to put the Nuggets up 89-81 with 7:07 to go.
Jokic hit a rainbow jumper to give Denver a 12-point lead with 5:44 left. Milwaukee got within five, but the Nuggets were able to hold on.
Toronto Raptors 101-92 Utah Jazz
Serge Ibaka scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the visiting Toronto Raptors defeated the Utah Jazz 101-92 to extend their winning streak to four games.
Pascal Siakam added 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Kyle Lowry had 21 points for the Raptors, who finished a 4-1 road trip.
Joe Ingles had 20 points off the bench - 10 in the fourth quarter - for the Jazz, who had their winning streak ended at five. Royce O'Neale added 15 points, Mike Conley had 13 and Donovan Mitchell scored 11 for Utah.
Toronto lost guard Norman Powell 95 seconds into the first quarter with a sprained left ankle after he collided with team-mate OG Anunoby on a defensive play under the basket.
The Raptors entered the fourth quarter ahead by six points. After Anunoby's tip shot bumped the lead to 10 early in the fourth, the Jazz got three-pointers from Georges Niang and Ingles to cut the margin to four with 9:10 to play.
Ingles made a lay-up and a floating jumper to tie the game and Rudy Gobert's dunk gave Utah an 87-85 lead with 5:48 left. The Raptors took a five-point lead with a 7-0 run.
Conley and Lowry exchanged three-pointers and Gobert made two free throws to trim the lead to three with 1:30 to play. Anunoby blocked Gobert's lay-up with 1:03 left. Siakam made two free throws with 56.4 seconds to play for a five-point lead.
Anunoby and Gobert were ejected for an altercation with 40.6 seconds remaining.
Charlotte Hornets 138-143 Atlanta Hawks (2OT)
De'Andre Hunter gave Atlanta the lead by making three free throws with 13.3 seconds left in the second overtime as the Hawks outlasted the visiting Charlotte Hornets 143-138.
Charlotte's Terry Rozier hit a three-pointer with 25.3 seconds remaining to tie the game 138-138. Hunter was then fouled by Caleb Martin on a three-point shot and made all three attempts to put the Hawks ahead.
Rozier missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go, and Atlanta's John Collins cleared the rebound to Kevin Huerter, who was fouled and added two free throws to ice it with 3.3 seconds left.
Atlanta were led by Trae Young with 31 points and 16 assists. Collins had 28 points on 12-for-13 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Cam Reddish, who returned after exiting the previous game due to leg cramps, had 22 points. Atlanta set a season-high with 21 three-pointers (on 43 attempts).
Charlotte got a career-high 40 points from Rozier, 27 points and 10 rebounds from Devonte' Graham and a career-high 23 points from Caleb Martin, who entered the game averaging 4.3 points during his rookie season.
Both teams feasted at the three-point arc in the first half, which ended with Atlanta leading 66-63. The Hawks were 11-for-19 (57.9 per cent) from long range, with Young nailing three treys. The Hornets were 10-for-19 (52.6 per cent), with Graham, Rozier and Caleb Martin each connecting on three.
The Hawks led by nine in the fourth quarter when a basket by Huerter gave them a 115-106 lead with 4:25 to go. But the Hornets came back behind a flurry of three-pointers and enjoyed a one-point lead when Graham made a pair of free throws with 5.5 seconds left.
Young was fouled with 1.1 seconds remaining. He made the first free throw but missed the second, sending the game into overtime at 122-122.
The teams matched baskets in the first overtime with Collins tying the game at 131-131 on a put-back with 52.3 seconds left. After a 24-second violation by the Hornets, Young drove to the basket and missed a floater with 5.5 seconds left.
Charlotte got the rebound and called timeout with 3.8 seconds to go, but Rozier was called for an offensive foul with one second left.
