Denver will kick off a five-game road trip tonight by visiting the Jekyll and Hyde Milwaukee Bucks at Bradley Center.
The Nuggets arrive in Brew City on a down note after a 106-96 home loss to Utah on Sunday. Danilo Gallinari and Nene both finished with 18 points to pace Denver, which was coming off Friday's win over the Heat.
"We thought we were cool after kicking Miami's butt and we got embarrassed," coach George Karl said. "The NBA game does that quite frequently. If you think you're better than you are or you think you're cooler than you are and you don't think you've got to put in the hard work to win games, you get embarrassed."
Nuggets swingman Rudy Fernandez left the game vs. the Jazz with a strained right Achilles and will miss tonight's contest.
The Nuggets, who are 2-3 on the road, will also square off with Philadelphia, Washington, New York and Sacramento on their trek.
The Bucks, meanwhile, are 4-0 in Milwaukee but a dismal 0-8 on the road with the most recent setback coming in Philly on Monday.
Andrew Bogut returned to the lineup to score 20 points and grab 11 rebounds in that one but the Bucks fell 94-82. The 0-8 start away from Bradley center is the team's worst since dropping its first 16 away from home back in 1976-77.
"I thought Andrew (Bogut) was good," Bucks head coach Scott Skiles said. "We are not having any issues finding a guy to play well. The problem is getting multiple guys to play well in the same game."
Bogut returned to the lineup after suffering a concussion during last Thursday's win over the Pistons. Bogut had already missed four games earlier in the year -- all Milwaukee losses -- while dealing with a personal matter.
Milwaukee is 4-3 this season when Bogut plays and is winless (0-5) when he does not.
"With Bogut in there he makes them a totally different team," Sixers coach Collins said.
The team's contrast at home vs. the road, however, is even more striking. The Bucks are averaging 102.0 points while compiling the 4-0 mark at Bradley Center compared to 86.4 points on the road and the 0-8 record as the visitor.
Denver has won three straight over the Bucks, including a 91-86 triumph in the Rockies back on Jan. 2.
