MILWAUKEE (AP) — Julian Strawther scored a season-high 20 points and the short-handed Denver Nuggets built a 23-point lead before hanging on to beat the slumping Milwaukee Bucks 102-100 on Friday night.

Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his right calf and Denver's Aaron Gordon strained his right hamstring during the game. Antetokounmpo missed eight games and Gordon was out 19 games with similar injuries earlier this season.

After trailing 86-63 with 10½ minutes left, Milwaukee cut Denver’s lead to 99-97 on Ryan Rollins’ 3-pointer with 29.3 seconds remaining. Denver made it 101-97 when Tim Hardaway Jr. sank two free throws with 10.6 seconds left.

Rollins hit another 3 to make it 101-100 with 5.4 seconds left. Jalen Pickett got fouled with 4.5 seconds remaining and hit his first free throw, but missed the second.

Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma got the rebound, dribbled just beyond midcourt and fired a desperation shot that bounced off the front rim.

Rollins scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Bucks, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee before leaving with 34 seconds left.

Antetokounmpo had his lower right leg wrapped in the first half and never appeared to be comfortable the rest of the way.

The Nuggets remained without three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who last played Dec. 29 as he deals with a bone bruise in his left knee. Gordon scored 13 points in the first half and didn't play the rest of the game.

Other players missing for Denver included Jamal Murray (inflammation of right hamstring and left hip), Peyton Watson (left ankle sprain and right ankle strain) and Jonas Valanciunas (right calf strain). Watson had scored 35 points in a 107-97 victory at Washington one night earlier.

Hardaway had 17 points and Bruce Brown 15 for Denver.

Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. missed a second straight game with an oblique strain. The Bucks also didn’t have AJ Green or Gary Trent Jr. due to illnesses.

Up next

Nuggets: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Bucks: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Tippett has 2nd career hat trick, Flyers beat NHL-leading Avs 7-3

DENVER (AP) — Owen Tippett had his second career hat trick and the Philadelphia Flyers handed the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche their fourth loss in five games, 7-3 on Friday night.

Tippett opened the scoring in the first and struck twice in the third. He also had an assist. Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist, Denver Barkey and Bobby Brink also scored and Samuel Ersson made 32 saves.

Philadelphia finished 2-0-1 on a three-game trip and spoiled the 25th reunion of Colorado’s 2001 Stanley Cup championship squad.

The Avalanche had 15 players from the title team on hand, including team president Joe Sakic, Ray Bourque, Peter Forsberg and Rob Blake. They watched Colorado suffer just its second home regulation loss of the season and finish 3-3-1 on its longest homestand of the season.

Tippett gave the Flyers a 4-3 lead 56 seconds into the third period. Just 1:04 later, Michkov deflected Emile Andrae’s shot over Mackenzie Blackwood’s shoulder. Tippett scored on a short-handed breakaway with 9:36 left to push his season goals total to 18.

Cale Makar, Parker Kelly and Victor Olofsson scored for Colorado, and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to retake the NHL scoring lead with 87 points.

Blackwood allowed six goals on 19 shots in his second game since returning from a lower-body injury.

Up next

Flyers: Host the New York Islanders on Monday night.

Avalanche: At Toronto on Sunday.

From 'Steady Stiddy' to starter, Broncos' backup QB takes the spotlight with teammates' trust

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Even without Bo Nix, the Denver Broncos are radiating plenty of swagger heading into the frigid AFC championship game against the New England Patriots behind backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

“No, I don’t think the vibe’s any different,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said after Friday's workout, part of which was outdoors in 20-degree temperatures and icy wind. “Obviously, it was a tough situation. You don't want to see a guy that's your leader and the life of your team go down, especially in such a big moment.

“But Stiddy's done an unbelievable job this week stepping in and commanding the huddle, commanding the team. He's ready for it and the rest of the team is, too.”

Stidham exudes a quiet confidence that long ago secured him the nickname “Steady Stiddy” and belies the fact that he'll throw his first pass in a game in more than two years Sunday.

That tranquility has apparently rebuffed any possible angst over the loss of Nix, who underwent surgery on his broken right ankle this week in Alabama. Nix showed support for his backup, posting on Instagram, “I couldn't be more confident in Jarrett. And I couldn't be more excited for what's next.”

Which, he trusts, is a trip to the Super Bowl.

Coach Sean Payton set the tone for the week shortly after his stunning announcement of Nix's injury after Denver's 33-30 overtime win against Buffalo last weekend. Of Stidham, Payton said, “He's ready. I said this at the beginning of the season: I feel like we have a (backup quarterback) who is capable of starting for a number of teams. I know who feels the same way. Watch out. Just watch.”

Even before this opportunity, Stidham has long been the one setting the tone and the tunes in the Broncos' locker room, and he's never been shy about ribbing Denver's defenders after burning them on the scout team.

“Jarrett's got a little swag to him,” wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey said. “He's a little swaggier than you'd probably expect him to be.”

There's no telling what sort of drop-off, if any, there will be Sunday with Stidham leading the Broncos (15-3) in place of Nix, who engineered winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime of six games this season.

His coaches and teammates haven't shown a hint of doubt that Stidham can lead them past the Patriots (16-3) at Empower Field at Mile High, where it's forecast to be 23 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-5 Celsius) and windy at kickoff.

One teammate he won't have alongside him, however, is running back J.K. Dobbins, who returned to practice this week after having foot surgery in November. He was ruled out Friday along with Nix, who's recovering from surgery but won't go on injured reserve until the weekend.

All-Pro defensive lineman Zach Allen said Stidham has always been first to arrive at team headquarters and prepared as if he were the starter: “So, we’re really excited to see what he does. And obviously he goes against the defense in practice all the time.”

And holds his own, too.

“He's really, really smart,” Allen said. “He’s like a second quarterback coach out there and on top of it he can make every single throw.”

Edge rusher Nik Bonitto said Stidham isn't shy to trash-talk defenders.

“He’s actually funny because he’ll be in there, you know, he’ll be throwing dots, like throwing no-look passes in practice, and then he’ll let us know about it too, man, talking trash to whoever,” Bonitto said.

“So he has ultimate, you know, confidence in himself, and you got to have that playing that position, and that’s why I’m really excited for him to go out. You know, he’s earned this opportunity to go out and show off his talents, and I can’t wait to see him.”

Payton said he's not fretting over Stidham as his starter.

“I say this respectfully and I told the team, 'I’m not worried about Stiddy in this game. I'm worried about everyone else, all right, and how we play,'” Payton said. “And that really is the truth.”

The Broncos were a loose bunch all week as they embraced being the largest home underdog (five points) in conference championship history.

Cornerback Riley Moss was asked if he thought Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and second-year quarterback Drake Maye would target him like many teams do to avoid Pat Surtain II on the other side.

“Yeah, no doubt,” Riley replied. “And you know the entire world knows that, I know that, you guys know that. It's going to be exciting. I'm excited for it. It's going to be a good challenge. It's going to be sweet, and yeah, I look forward to it.”

Over the last two months, Moss has largely avoided the pass-inference calls that dogged him early in the season.

“He responded well, man. He’s battle-tested,” Surtain said. “His confidence level never wavers. People always say he’s getting targeted but I say try him at your own risk because he’s going to eventually come back to bite you. He’s going to make a play.”

NOTES: Rookie WR Pat Bryant, who sustained a concussion against Buffalo, was a full participant in practice Thursday and Friday and is ready to go. “He was asymptomatic the very next day,” Payton said. WR Troy Franklin (hamstring) is questionable.

Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn't with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.

Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.

“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”

The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.

New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.

That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.

“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”

The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.

“Coach (Vrabel) has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’" Maye said. "So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”

The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they'll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.

That's why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.

“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove," said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. "We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”

Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.

Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can't leave Denver on Sunday night.

“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. (It's) something that they’re familiar with here," he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, (but) that I can’t control.”

Collins' 20 lead Utah State past Colorado State 65-61

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — MJ Collins Jr. scored 20 points as Utah State beat Colorado State 65-61 on Friday.

Collins shot 7 for 15 (2 for 6 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Aggies (16-3, 7-2 Mountain West Conference). Garry Clark scored 10 points while going 5 of 6 from the field. Karson Templin went 5 of 7 from the field to finish with 10 points.

Kyle Jorgensen led the way for the Rams (12-8, 3-6) with 24 points and three steals. Josh Pascarelli added 13 points for Colorado State. Rashaan Mbemba finished with 10 points and four assists.

Adlan Elamin scored seven points in the first half and Utah State went into halftime trailing 35-25. Collins' scored 17 points in the second half.