Brooklyn's forgotten man Patty Mills has rolled back the years with a team-high 23 points in the Nets' 118-113 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Mills, who was last week described as "invaluable" by coach Jacque Vaughn has had limited minutes for Brooklyn in recent months, but came off the bench to make the most of some extended court time in Milwaukee.

The Nets once again showed fight, led by their bench, who scored 98 points, the most in NBA history since the league began tracking the stat in 1971.

An Olympic bronze medallist with the Boomers in 2021, Mills also contributed seven rebounds and four assists as the shorthanded Nets fell to the NBA-leading Bucks (48-18).

Brooklyn - missing Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cameron Johnson and Royce O'Neale - had been on a three-game winning streak, while the Bucks have now won 19 of their last 20.

"It's a great chance for us to look at a few guys who were in the rotation at one point and worked themselves out of the rotation just because of numbers," Vaughn said.

"So we get a chance to look at a few guys we'll see what some rotations look like. We'll always stay curious and see how we can be versatile to try and get a win."

While Mills ended on the losing side, his Boomers teammate Joe Ingles racked up six points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who were missing two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for a second straight game.

In Memphis, Tyus Jones had 22 points and 11 assists and Jaren Jackson Jr added 21 points and nine rebounds as the Grizzlies beat Golden State 131-110.

The Grizzlies played their third game without Ja Morant, the star guard who is away from the team after posting a video last weekend in which he appeared to be displaying a gun at a Denver-area strip club.

Stephen Curry had 29 points and seven rebounds for the defending-champion Warriors.

There was an overtime thriller in Indianapolis, where Tyrese Haliburton nabbed 28 points and a career-high 19 assists as the Pacers beat Houston 134-125.

Elsewhere, Lauri Markkanen scored a game-high 31 points as Utah beat Orlando 131-124 to snap a four-game losing streak, while Charlotte extended Detroit's losing run to 10 games courtesy of a 113-103 victory.

And Domantas Sabonis had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season, helping Sacramento hold off the New York Knicks 122-117.

- with AP