DENVER, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Ervin Johnson's free throw with one second left -- his only point of the game -- capped a wild sequence Thursday night and gave the Milwaukee Bucks a 102-101 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Denver wasted a 44-point effort from Nick Van Exel.
With the score tied at 101-101, Sam Cassell turned the ball over with 12 seconds left. George McCloud went in for a layup that was blocked by Glenn Robinson with six seconds to go.
Cassell saved the ball from going out of bounds by throwing it upcourt to Anthony Mason, who led a three-on-one fast break. Mason dished to Johnson, who was hammered by former Buck Scott Williams.
Johnson, a former Nugget, made the first free throw, but missed the rim on the second, giving Denver a final chance. After a timeout, Van Exel took the inbounds pass, dribbled twice and failed to get a long shot off as time expired.
Ray Allen made eight of nine three-pointers and scored 31 points to lead Milwaukee. Robinson contributed 19 points and Tim Thomas finished with 13 off the bench.
The Bucks posted their second straight comeback victory to open the season. They rallied from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit in an overtime victory at Utah.
