The Nuggets, who lost to the Lakers 4-2 in last spring's Western Conference finals, play host to Los Angeles on Friday at the Pepsi Center.

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony thought about the Lakers much of the offseason. It wasn't hard since he spent a good bit of the summer working out in Los Angeles.

"Just keeping that in the back of my mind," Anthony said of the Nuggets losing to the eventual champs. "I kept harping that we lost and we were two games away from getting where we wanted to be. I know I used that as motivation this summer to get better, to work harder."

Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin has said on several occasions since last spring he believes Denver had the better team last summer and still does. The Nuggets lost two games in the final seconds when they threw away inbound passes.

"We thought if we played a little bit better, we could've gotten to the Finals," said Nuggets coach George Karl. "If we had gotten to the Finals, we think we could've been fortunate in catching a team like Orlando that we felt we could've competed against."

The Lakers didn't much trouble with the Magic, winning the Finals 4-1.

Now, the Nuggets get the Lakers again. They're looking forward to it.

"I think about the loss and losing to a team that was a great team, but a team like I felt we had a great chance to beat," said Denver point guard Chauncey Billups.

BUCKS 108, NUGGETS 102: At 33, Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups isn't quite as good as he once was on the second night of back-to-back situations.

Billups shot just 6-of-16 from the field while scoring 19 points and handing out five assists. Meanwhile, his counterpart at point guard, Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings, scored 32 points and handed out nine assists in his team's victory Wednesday.

"Give (Jennings) credit," Billups said. "He stepped up and made some big, big shots. He was great all night. That, to me, is sometimes more than the result. That you have the ultimate confidence than you can hit those shots. That was impressive."

It was a frustrating night of the Nuggets, who lost for the third time in four games and finished their road trip at 3-3 after winning the first two games. Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points but shot just 9-of-25.

The Nuggets were within 102-100 with 21 seconds left after guard J.R. Smith hit a three-pointer. But Jennings made six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.