Bucks, Nets clash in the Garden State
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Milwaukee Bucks have fallen on hard times as of late game slide tonight against the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center.
Milwaukee has lost four straight and seven of nine games, including Friday's 94-85 setback at Orlando. Dwight Howard was a force for the Magic, finishing with 26 points and 20 rebounds, while Carlos Delfino scored a team-high 16 points for Milwaukee, which shot just 20 percent in the fourth quarter.
Ersan Ilyasova, Shaun Livingston and Brandon Jennings scored 14 points apiece in a losing cause.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I feel like I let my teammates down tonight," said Jennings. "I had some great looks, they just didn't go in tonight."
The Bucks had won two straight on the road before visiting Orlando and dropped to 5-11 away from the Bradley Center this season. In injury news for Milwaukee, big man Drew Gooden (wrist/knee) is questionable for tonight.
New Jersey is back in the Garden State after Saturday's 97-85 victory in Chicago against a Derrick Rose-less Bulls squad.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Deron Williams had 29 points and eight assists, Kris Humphries continued his impressive season with 24 points and 18 boards and MarShon Brooks added 19 points for the Nets, who opened a back-to-back-to-back set on a positive note and ended a season-worst eight-game losing streak.
"I'm just happy the streak is over. It's not fun losing. This is a great win for us," said Williams. "This is a good team, despite the guys they have out so we'll take it any way we can. I thought this was one of our best games of the season defensively."
Humphries recorded consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career for a Nets team trying to end a five-game home losing streak. New Jersey is 3-11 as the host this season and will visit New York on Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nets center Brook Lopez hasn't played all season because of a stress fracture in his right foot that required surgery. Lopez could see his first action tonight and averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season.
New Jersey lost all three meetings with Milwaukee a season ago and is winless in the previous eight matchups between the teams. The Bucks have won four in a row at the Nets after losing their last six visits to the Garden State.