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Nets cap road trip in Milwaukee

Mar 1, 2014 - 3:02 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Brooklyn Nets will end a season-long road trip Saturday night when they visit the Bradley Center to take on the lowly Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nets are 3-3 thus far on the excursion and they've inched within two games of .500. They trail the Toronto Raptors by four games in the Atlantic Division and are two behind the Washington Wizards for the fifth seed in the East.

Last time out, the Nets prevailed over the Denver Nuggets, 112-89 on Thursday.

Paul Pierce netted 18 points and the Nets led wire-to-wire in this one after losing by 44 points to Portland on Wednesday. Joe Johnson, Mason Plumlee and Marcus Thornton all scored 10 points, with Shaun Livingston handing out a game-high eight assists.

"Right from the tip, guys came with the energy," Brooklyn head coach Jason Kidd said. "Defensively we got stops and from there we started making shots."

All 13 players that took the court for the Nets notched at least three points, including recent signee Jason Collins, who made his only field goal.

Denver struggled out of the gate and never really recovered. The hosts shot just 3-of-18 from the field in the first quarter while Brooklyn shot better than 50 percent. The Nuggets were held to a season-low for points in a quarter with eight in the opening 12 minutes.

The Nets play two at home before traveling again later in the week.

The Bucks' bid for consecutive wins for the first time all season was thwarted when they gamely lost in Indianapolis, 101-96 on Thursday night.

Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton had 23 and 22 points, respectively, for Milwaukee, which posted just its 11th win of the season on Monday against Philadelphia.

O.J. Mayo finished with 14 points and Ramon Sessions added 13 for the Bucks.

Milwaukee, after trailing by as many as 17 in the first half, actually led 60-54 following a Middleton 3-pointer less than three minutes into the third quarter. The Bucks, however, went the final five minutes of the third quarter without scoring.

"We're just going to focus on finishing this season strong, knowing that we'll not be in the playoffs, and just try to set a foundation for next year," said Mayo.

The Nets have won four straight against the Bucks, including both of this season's meetings. Brooklyn has won two in a row in Brew City, but before the four-game winning streak, had dropped 13 straight to Milwaukee.