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Nets down Bucks

Mar 2, 2014 - 6:47 AM Milwaukee, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Thornton poured in 25 points off the bench to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 107-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

Andray Blatche scored 19 points with 13 rebounds, while Deron Williams and Shaun Livingston tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively for the Nets, who have won two straight. Paul Pierce contributed 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the win.

"Coming down the stretch we played through Paul (Pierce)," Brooklyn head coach Jason Kidd said. "We trust making the pass or making the play for one another and that's what helped us win the game tonight."

Ramon Sessions and Khris Middleton netted 16 points apiece and Brandon Knight tallied 14 points for the Bucks, who have lost two straight. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ersan Ilyasova and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 12 and 11 points, respectively.

"We had them, it just came down to stops that we didn't get," Middleton admitted.

Milwaukee trailed 89-79 with just over seven minutes to play, but scored six straight to pull within four after a pair of free throws from Antetokounmpo.

Thornton knocked down a 3 a couple of minutes later to push the spread to nine, but Knight answered with a three-point play to make it a six-point game with just over two minutes remaining.

The Bucks then began to send Brooklyn to the line. The Nets knocked down 7- of-8 free throws down the stretch and Milwaukee could only muster two baskets in the final minute.

Brooklyn came out of the break and used a 10-4 run to go ahead 65-57 with 7:55 left in the third. The Bucks trailed by as many as 11 with 4:28 left in the quarter but Milwaukee came back within 77-72 heading into the final 12 minutes.

The Nets held the lead throughout the second quarter despite three ties. They led by as many as six with 5:36 left in the first half, however, Milwaukee cut its deficit to two, 55-53, heading into halftime.

Game Notes

The Nets host Chicago on Monday ... Brooklyn shot 10-for-25 from distance, while the Bucks went 5-for-12 from beyond the arc ... Milwaukee hosts Utah on Monday ... The Nets made 23-of-31 from the foul line and the Bucks made 25- of-31 from the stripe.