MILWAUKEE, Jan. 25 (Ticker) -- It may not have been a triple-double, but Sam Cassell knew when to pick his spots.

NBA TV highlights from Nuggets-Bucks: 56k | 300k

Cassell scored 26 points and keyed pivotal runs in the second and third quarters as the Milwaukee Bucks posted an 88-75 triumph over the Denver Nuggets.

Cassell recorded his second career triple-double in Wednesday's win over Boston. In this one, he sparked two spurts that enabled the Bucks to post their fourth straight victory over the Nuggets.

Denver led 27-19 after 12 minutes, but Milwaukee dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Nuggets, 21-12. Cassell had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the period.

Denver rallied within 57-56 with 2:14 left in the third quarter, but Cassell stepped up again, draining a pair of jumpers in an 8-2 burst. The Nuggets never recovered and have lost seven straight on the road and four in a row overall.

Ray Allen added 21 points and Michael Redd chipped in 18 for the Bucks, who evened their record at 21-21. Milwaukee, which is just 11-9 at home, improved to 4-7 against the Western Conference this season.

"We haven't been playing well at home, so we're going to have to work hard if we want to move ahead of the pack," Redd said. "Now that we're back to even, hopefully we can move forward from here."

"It's great to be at .500 but we still have a lot of work to do and opportunity ahead of us," Milwaukee coach George Karl added. "The schedule is not good, but it's friendly. I would like to see us play a little better but it was a strong, solid win for us tonight."

Donnell Harvey and Juwan Howard scored 15 points apiece for Denver, which made just 1-of-8 3-point attempts and got to the free-throw line only six times.

Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik chose his words carefully about the officiating.

"(Shooting only six free throws) is significant," he said. "What do I say? I chose no comment on that."

Denver raced to a 16-9 lead midway through the opening quarter and were ahead 33-27 following a dunk by Chris Andersen with 6:39 left in the half. But a three-point play by Cassell ignited a 13-6 burst to close the half.

Cassell had six points and Allen five during the spurt.

Cassell made 6-of-9 shots over the opening 24 minutes and he and Redd had 14 points apiece at the break.

"Sam had a great night offensively, giving us a lift when we really needed it in the first half," Karl added.

A tight third quarter saw Milwaukee clinging to a 57-56 lead with 2:14 left. But again Cassell came through, sinking a pair of jumpers before Toni Kukoc hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left for a 65-58 lead.

Denver was within 68-65 with 8:32 left in the game but Redd and Allen had jumpers 43 seconds apart for a seven-point lead. The Nuggets got no closer than five thereafter and trailed by 15 with 3:28 to go.

The Nuggets are 3-19 on the road this season, including 0-10 away from home against Eastern Conference opponents.

"It seems to be our pattern," Bzdelik said. "We play very well to a certain point and then we melt. We have to get through that, when the game is in the balance in the second half. We need to step up our execution and make shots."

"We have to learn to win the game in the second half, too," Howard said. "We can't not finish in the second half."