MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks knew they lost a great talent when Alex English went the free agent route a few years back, but English says his play now is 'about 70 percent better than it was in Milwaukee.'
English, who showed flashes of brilliance during his two-year stint with the Bucks, shone all night Sunday for the Denver Nuggets and the result was a 128-122 victory that snapped Milwaukee's five-game winning streak.
'We tried quite a few guys on Alex tonight,' said Don Nelson, the Milwaukee coach who once had English in his stable, 'but no one could stop him.'
'I guess I had one of those nights when you can just about score against anybody,' English said after doing just that.
The 6-8 veteran out of South Carolina poured in a season-high 38 points, including 10 of 10 free throws, to help the Nuggets break a two-game losing streak and pull closer to the .500 mark with a 15-16 record.
'I have to say I'm about 70 percent better than when I played in Milwaukee,' said English, who left the Bucks prior to the 1979 season. 'I think I've improved in every phase of my game.
'Of course, I should,' he added, jokingly. 'I'm getting to be an old man in this league.'
There is no denying that English, who will turn 28 on Tuesday, was the lead character in this particular drama, but the most important player in the supporting cast was an older man from the other side.
Bob Lanier, the Bucks' 34-year-old center with seemingly 84-year-old legs, missed the game with a sore right knee.
Milwaukee Coach Don Nelson, accustomed to playing without the oft-hurting Lanier refused to use Lanier's absence as an excuse. The reaction from Nelson's counterpart, Denver coach Doug Moe, was a bit more unexpected.
'It seems strange,' Moe admitted, 'but when I heard Lanier wasn't going to play, I about cried. Nothing against Lanier, but it seemed every time we played against him when I was (coach) in San Antonio or he was in Detroit, we beat him.
'You'll get no remorse from me because Lanier was out, not with the bunch of midgets I got.'
Moe's midgets broke open a third-quarter tie and roared to a 106-92 lead by the end of the period. Guard T.R. Dunn led the charge with 11 points and got plenty of help from English and center Dan Issel, who each chipped in with 10.
But then Milwaukee, playing with a three-guard lineup, fought back to a 116-114 deficit before Denver's Ken Higgs canned a basket and English followed with a basket and two free throws to ice the victory.
'Yeah, we did have a great shot at winning it,' Nelson said in response to a reporter's question, 'and with a small lineup I might add, before you nail me to the cross.'
Kiki Vandeweghe scored 12 of his 25 points in the first quarter to help stake Denver to a 32-24 lead after one period. Milwaukee came back to take a 67-65 halftime advantage, primarily on the shooting of Brian Winters, who connected on seven of eight floor shots in the second quarter.
Winters, who hit a pair of three-pointers in the spree, finished with 18 points as did Sidney Moncrief. Marques Johnson led Milwaukee with 21 points before fouling out late in the game.
