Hilario Nene gave Anthony good support throughout the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds but it was his three free-throws in the final 35 seconds of the game that sealed the Bucks' fate.

Bogut could only manage eight points from his 31 minutes on the court but pulled down 12 boards for the game while former Nugget Earl Boykins was the Bucks' best, hitting 26 points.

The Nuggets led 80-74 at the last break but the Bucks rallied, keeping Denver scoreless for the first four minutes of the last term to get back to within three points early. But the Nuggets, led by Anthony, took advantage of some scrappy play from the Bucks to stretch the lead to 91-83 midway through the period.

With just over two minutes remaining on the clock, Anthony converted a three-point play to give the Nuggets a 102-97 lead. But as they had done all night, the Bucks came again with Boykins sinking a three then making a lay up to level the scores at 102 with just 1:21 left.

Eduardo Najera (15) put the Nuggets back in front with a jumper for two and then showed great defensive pressure to force a bad shot from Ruben Patterson. Nene grabbed the board and hit one free-throw to give the Nuggets a 105-102 buffer and after an inbound pass failed to find its mark, Nene came up with the loose ball and went to the line again. He sank both shots this time to put the Nuggets ahead 107-102 with just 26 seconds remaining.

In other games, the Detroit Pistons got past the Toronto Raptors 98-92, the New Jersey Nets smashed the Orlando Magic 93-78, the Memphis Grizzlies comfortably beat NO/Oklahoma City Hornets 114-99, the Houston Rockets dismantled the Charlotte Bobcats 104-83, Utah Jazz edged out the New York Nicks 104-102 and the Sacramento Kings downed the Seattle Supersonics 114-93.

NBA results Saturday (US)
Detroit Pistons b. Toronto Raptors 98-92
New Jersey Nets b. Orlando Magic 93-78
Memphis Grizzlies b. NO/Oklahoma City Hornets 114-99
Denver Nuggets b. Milwuakee Bucks 109-102
Houston Rockets b. Charlotte Bobcats 104-83
Utah Jazz b. New York Nicks 104-102
Sacramento Kings b. Seattle Supersonics 114-93