New Jersey Nets (0-11) At Milwaukee Bucks (5-3), 8 P.M.
(Sports Network) - Rookie star Brandon Jennings and his Milwaukee Bucks try and get back on the winning track Wednesday when they play host to the winless New Jersey Nets. The Bucks lost for the first time in five games and fell to 3-1 on a six-game homestand Monday when Dirk Nowitzki beat the overtime buzzer, sinking a jumper from the left of the foul line to give the Mavericks a 115-113 win over Milwaukee. Jennings, coming off a Bucks rookie-record 55-point performance in a win over Golden State Saturday, ended with 25 points, seven boards and eight assists. It was his missed three-pointer that opened the door for the Mavs at the end, however. Jennings was well off the mark on a three-point try with 3.5 seconds left, and the Mavs called timeout to set up the final play. Milwaukee had a foul to give and used that to take 0.4 seconds off the clock. Nowitzki then got the inbounds pass and turned before firing a fall-away shot over Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The ball looked to be on its way in the basket cleanly, but it clanked off the rim before going high off the backboard and finally through. The Mavs swarmed Nowitzki on the court in celebration. "When it left my hand I thought it was going straight in," said Nowitzki. "The bounce obviously was lucky. When it bounced up it seemed like it was up there forever. We got a lucky bounce and we definitely needed it." Ersan Ilyasova ended with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who had their four-game win streak snapped. Luke Ridnour scored 17 in defeat. "That's our second game in a row where we had very little defensive intensity, very little will to stop the other team at all," said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. "We paid for it by getting way behind. We gave ourselves a chance, but offensively we didn't play very smart." Milwaukee will finish its residency against Charlotte on Friday. Meanwhile, the losses keep piling up for the woeful Nets. Danny Granger finished with a team-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds on Tuesday, as the Indiana Pacers handed New Jersey its 11th straight loss to start the season after claiming a 91-83 win at the IZOD Center. Chris Douglas-Roberts had a game-best 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds, while Brook Lopez went for 26 points and 16 boards for the Nets. Rafer Alston chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. "Eighty-two games, 71 left, we just have to keep plugging at it," said a confident Lopez. "We have to come out and hit them first." Injury-plagued New Jersey, which is without star guard Devin Harris (groin), swingman Courtney Lee (groin) and forward Yi Jianlian (knee), extended its worst start in franchise history and remains the only winless team in the NBA. The Nets have won five of their last seven contests in Milwaukee.
Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.











