Bucks 89, Nuggets 81: Khris Middleton scored 15 points to help host Milwaukee to its fourth straight win and first since trading away star point guard Brandon Knight.

John Henson collected 14 points and four blocked shots while O.J. Mayo had 13 points off the bench for the Bucks, who won their seventh straight at home and snapped an eight-game slide against Denver. Jerryd Bayless finished with 11 points and eight assists and Jared Dudley had 11 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee.

Wilson Chandler scored 19 points to lead Denver, which has dropped 14 of its last 16. The Nuggets were playing their first game since trading shooting guard Arron Afflalo to Portland and sat leading scorer Ty Lawson after he was late for practice earlier in the week.

The Bucks scored the final seven points of the first quarter and the final five of the second but still entered halftime down 44-42, as Denver's Jusuf Nurkic finished the opening half leading all players with 11 points and six rebounds. Middleton's 3-pointer with under four minutes left in the third put Milwaukee ahead for the first time and the hosts led 70-65 entering the final period.

The Bucks' advantage reached 83-74 with a little over five minutes to go on back-to-back hoops by Mayo, but five straight points by Denver made it a four-point game. A jumper by Bayless helped to restore order before Middleton's 3-pointer with 1:24 left gave Milwaukee an 89-79 lead and enough to win for the ninth time in 10 games overall.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Milwaukee PG Michael Carter-Williams (toe), acquired from Philadelphia as part of Thursday's three-team deal that sent Knight to Phoenix, missed his fourth straight game. ... Nuggets PG Jameer Nelson returned from a four-game layoff due to an Achilles injury to record seven points and seven assists. ... Bucks F Ersan Ilyasova was out with an illness.