MILWAUKEE — It's never a good sign when you need help putting on your own shoes.

Or when you have to decide whether one crutch or two would make it easier to walk down the hallway on the way to the team bus.

Such was the case for Nuggets center Nene as he limped out of the locker room of the Bradley Center on Sunday.

Nene, enjoying the most productive season of his career, injured his right knee when he banged into Richard Jefferson in the final minute of the Nuggets' 120-117 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The initial diagnosis is a contusion, and Nene will be evaluated today by team doctor Steve Traina.

"It is hurt a lot," Nene said. "It's a hard bump. It's nothing crazy. No big thing."

Nene left the game with 45.1 seconds remaining after banging knees with Jefferson as the Bucks forward drove to the basket.

Nuggets athletic trainer Jim Gillen said he did not believe there was any structural damage, but more should be known today.

Nene, a cancer survivor, missed the final 81 games of the 2005-06 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the season opener.

"Nene's a tremendous athlete. He's got a great body. He's got a great work ethic," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "A lot of reasons you lift weights is to prevent injuries. Right now we're hoping for a good report."

Based on the way Nene looked as he left the building, it is doubtful he will be available for tonight's game against the Boston Celtics.

The matchup against the defending NBA champions will mark Denver's first home game since Feb. 3.

"The league doesn't help us by coming off the longest road trip (eight games) in the history of the Nuggets and playing Boston the first time back," Karl said. "But I'm sure by 7 o'clock, we'll be ready."

Despite playing without starting power forward Kenyon Martin (back spasms) and losing Nene late, the Nuggets still had a chance to finish the trip with a victory.

They led 113-112 with 2:14 remaining, but Jefferson put Milwaukee ahead for good with a driving layup with 1:39 left.

After Chauncey Billups missed a three-pointer, Charlie Villanueva scored from close in with 33.3 seconds to go. J.R. Smith missed badly on another three- point attempt, forcing the Nuggets to foul.

Luke Ridnour hit one of two free throws, and Carmelo Anthony pulled the Nuggets to 117-115 on a driving layup with 15.3 seconds remaining.

Ramon Sessions gave Denver one more chance to tie the score by splitting two free throws, but Billups missed a long two-point attempt with less than 10 seconds left.

"I made a bad read," Billups said. "I thought they were going to foul. I should have pulled up a step or two behind (the three- point line) before I even got to the contact. Bad read."

The late-game unraveling brought Denver's extended trip to a disappointing end.

The Nuggets went 5-3, thanks to back-to-back losses to sub-.500 teams Chicago and Milwaukee.

"That's a good road trip. I think we could have been better, though," Billups said. "Good is not always good enough, especially when you feel like you're a better team. . . . In my mind, this is a tough pill to swallow. This is a bad loss."

Billups finished with 21 points, but had only four in the second half.

Playing through the pain of a bruised left knee, Anthony led the Nuggets with 33 points and nine rebounds. Other than saying his knee felt a little better, Anthony declined comment after the game.

"It was tough," said Nuggets forward Linas Kleiza. "I know a lot of guys are frustrated, but we've just got to keep playing."

The Bucks, playing without missing starters Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut, seemed to adopt that attitude.

Villanueva made 7-of-11 three- pointers and finished with 36 points,while Sessions got to the free-throw line 15 times en route to 27 points.

"We showed film of Sessions and Villanueva and what they were doing," Karl said.

"I think they were surprised by it."

Surprise turned to apprehension when Nene went down in the fourth quarter and then dejection when the final horn sounded.

The Nuggets could at least take solace in one thing: they are finally heading home.

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