Porter, Rollins lead the Bucks past the short-handed Cavaliers, 118-116 — and more

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Kevin Porter Jr. had 20 points, Ryan Rollins added 18 and the Milwaukee Bucks held off the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 118-116 on Wednesday night for their fifth victory in six games.

The Cavaliers appeared to tie it on Jarrett Allen’s basket underneath at the buzzer, but it was ruled that time had expired. Allen had 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Cleveland was without James Harden after he broke his right thumb Tuesday night in a home victory over New York. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley also sat out, with Mitchell nursing a strained right groin. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his 13th consecutive game for the Bucks because of a strained right calf.

Jaylon Tyson pulled the Cavaliers to 116-114 with two free throws. After Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma missed a 3-pointer, Dennis Schroder scored from the right side of the lane to tie it 116 with 35.6 seconds left. Porter hit a free-throw line jumper to put the Bucks up 118-116 with 20.2 seconds remaining.

Schroder, acquired from Sacramento on Feb. 1, had 26 points, his most in nine games with the Cavaliers.

Cleveland lost for the second time in 10 games to drop into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind New York.

Up next

Cavaliers: At Detroit on Friday night.

Bucks: Host New York on Friday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Why Aaron Gordon isn't playing tonight for Nuggets with injury news originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Denver Nuggets are in a big spotlight game on Wednesday night.

They're taking on the Boston Celtics for a national TV audience on ESPN.

One problem: They don't have Aaron Gordon.

Really, they haven't had Gordon on the floor for a while.

Why isn't Aaron Gordon playing tonight?

Gordon is out on Wednesday against the Celtics because he's injured.

He last played on Jan. 23, when he left midway through a win over the Bucks.

Gordon is dealing with a hamstring injury.

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When is Aaron Gordon coming back?

Gordon still has a little while before he returns.

On Jan. 29, the Nuggets announced Gordon would be re-evaluated in 4-to-6 weeks.

Now with this matchup against the Celtics on Feb. 25, it's getting just about the time for the Nuggets to figure out what they're doing next with Gordon.

Nuggets coach David Adelman recently implied that he's hoping Gordon can return sometime next week

"Aaron's been great," Adelman told reporters on Tuesday. "He's understood the process. And I think you all understand how frustrating this has been for him. He sees us losing games that he could be a part of."

The sooner Gordon gets back, the better.

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