First, Marc Stein of ESPN tweeted that the Bucks had turned down the Nets’ offer of Brooks and Kris Humphries for Ersan Ilyasova.

Nets have made play this week for Milwaukee’s Ersan Ilyasova, I’m told, but their trusty Kris Humphries/MarShon Brooks bundle was rejected

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 21, 2013

Then Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times noted that the Nets have been shopping Brooks, and that Milwaukee was one of multiple suitors for the underutilized guard.

A decent chance MarShon Brooks will be dealt. He has been mentioned in trade talks with Hawks, Celtics and Bucks.

— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) February 21, 2013

Feb 19, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard MarShon Brooks (9) dunks against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first quarter of an NBA game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It’s not hard to see why the Bucks turned down the initial offer.  Ilyasova has converted over 50% of his three-point field goal attempts since Dec. 1.

The Nets seemingly want to make a trade, but a combination of big contracts and thin talent has reduced most of their offers to Brooks and Humphries — an offer that they have pitched to multiple teams, sometimes packaged with a first-round pick.

While Brooks is a young talent who has been relegated to a marginal role sign the Nets acquired Joe Johnson, Humphries’ primary value lies in the fact that his sizable $12 million per season deal expires at the end of next season.

The Bucks could be a team that could use Brooks, since their current guard rotation only goes three players deep: Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings, and Beno Udrih.

In an odd twist, the Bucks got a close view of Brooks in the past two days during a home-and-home series with Brooklyn.  In the two games, Brooks scored nine points (on six shots) in 11 minutes of action, though he did quickly pickup four fouls in the Nets’ win over Milwaukee Wednesday.

For the season, Brooks is averaging 5.1 points and 1.1 rebounds in roughly 11 minutes per game, while converting 46.5% of his shots from the field.

Feb 20, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings (3) celebrates a basket during the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

For the second time in as many nights, the Brooklyn Nets (33-22) squeaked by the Milwaukee Bucks (26-27) in style. This time, however, Joe Johnson’s late-game heroics weren’t necessary.

Brooklyn opened up the fourth quarter on a 26-11 run and held a comfy 11-point lead, 94-83, with 1:50 left in regulation. While the BMO Harris Bradley Center began to empty, Milwaukee stormed off an improbable 11-2 run to cut Brooklyn’s lead to two, 96-94, with :06.9 remaining. The Bucks intentionally fouled Deron Williams — an 85.7 percent free throw shooter this season — who kept the door ajar by missing short on his second attempt. Monta Ellis corralled the rebound and called a timeout with :03.4 left.

The Bucks inbounded from side court, where Ellis freed himself up enough to catch the ball and miraculously draw a foul on a desperation three-point attempt with :02.4 remaining. He headed to the charity stripe with a chance to to tie the game.

Alas, he missed his first attempt. And his second attempt. And, intentionally, his third attempt. The ball trickled away harmlessly, time expired, and the Bucks fell to the Nets in heart-breaking fashion for a second consecutive night.

Ellis finished his forgettable night with 14 points on 5-15 shooting, five assists, four rebounds and six turnovers. His backcourt mate, Brandon Jennings, was left to pick up the scoring slack for much of the night. Jennings had a perfect first half from the field, where he scored 18 points on 7-7 shooting and dished out seven assists. He connected on his first two shots following intermission, as well, before crashing back to earth and missing six of his final nine attempts. Still, Jennings ended with an impressive stat line: 31 points, 11 assists, two rebounds and four turnovers.

Larry Sanders looked encouragingly spry for it being the latter half of a back-to-back set — his first since returning from injury. He visibly frustrated all-star center Brook Lopez from the opening tip. In the first quarter alone, Lopez had his shot blocked three times (twice by Sanders), shot 1-7 from the field — including a mid-range air ball — and turned the ball over on a travel. His night didn’t get much better, either, as he finished with just nine points (3-13 fg) and one rebound. In 29 minutes of action, Sanders scored 12 points (5-10 fg), grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.

Milwaukee’s bench had a quiet night for the second consecutive game. Mike Dunleavy (10 points, six rebounds, two turnovers) was their only reserve player to score double-digits, while Andray Blatche and C.J. Watson (combined 29 points on 12-20 shooting) paced Brooklyn’s bench, which outscored Milwaukee’s 47-24.

The Bucks will have a couple days off before they reconvene Saturday to host the Atlanta Hawks — an intriguing opponent on several levels. With Thursday’s trade deadline (2 p.m. CST) looming, the two teams have been closely linked together in trade rumors, which have mostly centered around Josh Smith and Monta Ellis. It just so happens, too, that Saturday is scheduled to be Monta Ellis bobblehead night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Stay tuned.