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 They weren't prepared to hear their coach was fired, but after
they got over the shock, they ended nearly two months of
frustration.
Forward Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 26 points, guard Ty
Lawson had 16 points and 10 assists, and the Nuggets beat Milwaukee
106-95 hours after Denver coach Brian Shaw was fired.
"I didn't think they were going to do it in the middle of the season
like that," Lawson said of Shaw's firing. "It was a shock to me, and
I feel bad. I don't think he knew coming in he was going to be fired
today."
Forward Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Denver,
which ended a six-game losing streak.
Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and
guard Khris Middleton had 20 points for the Bucks, who lost for the
fifth time in six games.
Milwaukee (32-28) is still comfortably in sixth place in the Eastern
Conference but has struggled after winning nine of 10.
 "That's part of the NBA season," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "For a
young team, this is a good learning experience. We're very confident
we're going in the right direction."
The Nuggets (21-39) responded to Shaw's firing with their first home
win since beating the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 14. Denver had lost
10 straight home games and 19 of 21 overall before Shaw was
dismissed. The Nuggets were not competitive in their last six
losses, four of which came at home.
The Denver front office planned to evaluate things after the season,
but with the team losing recently by nearly 20 points a game, the
timetable was moved up.
"It was a culmination of a ton of things," general manager Tim
Connelly said 30 minutes before Tuesday's tipoff. "We thought given
our recent lack of success, we thought it was time to be proactive."
Assistant Melvin Hunt was appointed the interim head coach, and he
struck a positive chord before his first game as the lead man.
"We are going to start that fire and find ways to stir it up a
little," he said. "I'm excited about the challenge."
The change worked at the start of the game. Denver came out strong,
scoring the first eight points and leading 20-9 midway through the
first quarter.
Milwaukee rallied to take a seven-point lead in the second, but the
Nuggets ended the half on a 15-4 run to take a 55-51 lead at the
break.
Denver increased the margin to six points after three quarters, and
guard Jameer Nelson scored the first five points of the fourth to
make it 81-70.
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"We broke down on defense," Middleton said. "They got in the paint
way too many times tonight. It's something we have to correct going
forward."
Forward J.J. Hickson's layup gave Denver an 87-72 lead, its biggest
of the game at that point.
After six straight Milwaukee points, Denver rookie guard Erick Green
converted a four-point play to push the advantage back to 13 midway
through the fourth. The Nuggets closed it out from there.
Lawson, who was in a slump, had his best game since scoring 32
against the Lakers in the last game before the All-Star break. On
Sunday, Lawson took just six shots and scored five points against
the New Orleans Pelicans. He had seven points in the fourth quarter
Tuesday to keep the Nuggets ahead.
"We were up 11 and then we were going back from six to nine," he
said. "I hit a couple of shots, and they went in."
The victory ended a frustrating stretch for a team that hadn't won
at home in a long time.
"Six weeks," Lawson said. "That's over with."
NOTES: Brian Shaw addressed the Denver players as a group after his
firing, and F Wilson Chandler said he was positive with his message.
"Pretty much the same he's been the last two years," Chandler said.
"Wishes us all the best and get better." ... Bucks F Khris Middleton
finished the month of February as the team's leading scorer. He
averaged 16.5 points. ... Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic continues to miss
time with a severely sprained right ankle. There is no timetable for
his return. ... Milwaukee swept the season series from Denver only
twice since 1997-98. The Bucks earned a home win against Denver,
89-81, on Feb. 20.
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