Denver Nuggets Defeat Milwaukee Bucks 105-94

Carmelo Anthony returned to action and the Denver Nuggets continued their home court dominance, as the Nuggets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 105-94 on Wednesday night.

Anthony may have still been feeling the effects of flulike symptoms as he registered 14 points and 4 rebounds, both below his season averages, before being ejected in the third quarter after receiving his second technical foul. Though the Bucks eclipsed their NBA low 91.2 season scoring average it wasn't nearly enough this evening.

Nene led the Nuggets with 24 points and J.R. Smith had a team high 10 rebounds.  The Nuggets had six players in double figures, as Chauncey Billups, Melo, Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nene and Smith all registered double digit scoring outputs.

The win was the fifth in a row for the Nuggets and improved their home court record to 8-1. For the season the Nuggets are 11-6.

John Salmons put in 21 points and Ersan Ilyasova had 9 rebounds to lead the Bucks. Brandon Jennings added 14 while former Missouri Tiger great Keyon Dooling chipped in eight in a losing effort.

The Bucks (6-12) were playing without Andrew Bogut, their second leading scorer and leading rebounder, who has missed the last few games with an injury to his back.

Denver Post: Denver Nuggets Forward Carmelo Anthony 'Likely To Play'

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post is reporting that Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony is likely to play tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Melo participated fully in the morning shoot around leading Hochman to write

Nuggets coach George Karl is confident that Anthony will play tonight.

Questions had been raised about Anthony's availability after he played just three minutes in Sunday's victory over the Phoenix Suns because of flu like symptoms.

Having not practiced on Monday and practicing Tuesday is a long sleeve hoodie to keep warm, Anthony still considers himself as a game-time decision for tonight's game.

When asked about the possibility of taking an IV before this game, Anthony told Chris Dempsey of the Post

"I took two IV's before the game the other day but I don't think that seemed to work at all," Anthony said. "I don't know. I'm going to keep fighting, try to get through it."

Milwaukee Bucks Vs. Denver Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony A Game-Time Decision, Nuggets Hoping To Extend Current Four Game Win Streak

The Denver Nuggets will be riding a four game win streak when the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Pepsi Center tonight. Conversely, the Bucks will try and snap a 1-6 streak over their past seven games.

The Nuggets (10-6) should be well rested after two full days off from competition. This should bode well for Carmelo Anthony, who sat out all but two minutes of Sunday's game against the Phoenix Suns with flulike symptoms, and skipped practice on Monday to recover.

According to a Tweet by Denver Post beat writer Benjamin Hochman

In Melo's absence last game J.R. Smith lit up the scoreboard for 30 points and eight rebounds while Melo replacement Gary Forbes contributed 15 points to the win.

The Bucks, meanwhile, are led by Brandon Jennings. The second-year pro, who skipped college to play overseas, is averaging 18.4 points per game while also leading Milwaukee in assists with 5.7 per game.

The Bucks may be without former number one overall pick, and Utah Ute, Andrew Bogut who leads the team in rebounds and blocks, while scoring 10.9 per contest. The big man has an ailing back and did not travel to Utah for the Bucks game on Monday, so speculation is that he'll miss tonight's affair as well. Also considered day-to-day for the Bucks are forwards Drew Gooden and Corey Maggette.

For the Nuggets, Chauncey Billups, Nene, Arron Afflalo and Shelden Williams should be ready to go.

If you want to read what Denver Stiffs' Andrew Feinstein's soon-to-be 99-year-old grandmother, and rabid Milwaukee Bucks fan, has to say about the match-up, be sure to check out the Stiffs preview of tonight's game.

The game tips at 7 p.m. MT at the Pepsi Center and can be found on the Altitude Network.