MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks have been in a position to win several more games than their 9-13 record suggests, but more often than not, their youth and inexperience got in the way.

Monday, the Bucks found themselves in that situation again, falling behind by six points with three minutes to play but this time, they found a way to recover and after a furious comeback, Milwaukee was celebrating a 90-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Bradley Center.

"That's something we might not have done earlier in the season," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "There's 48 minutes so anything can happen.

"The group out there was fighting and figuring out a way to get back into the game both offensively and defensively. They did that by staying together. It wasn't just one person. Everybody pitched in tonight and that's what we're going to need to happen if we're going to continue to win," Kidd said.

Shooting guard O.J. Mayo sparked the comeback, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it an 82-80 game with 1:52 to play.

The Blazers would use free throws to stretch the lead back to four, but Mayo struck again, this time from 27 feet on a feed from guard Khris Middleton, cutting the deficit to 88-87 with 22 seconds remaining.

Portland coach Terry Stotts used a 20-second time out to set up a play, but guard C.J. McCollum lost the ball and the officials whistled for a jump ball.

Milwaukee won the jump with point guard Michael Carter-Williams tipping it to Greg Monroe, who would put the Bucks in front for good with a lay-up.

The Blazers had one last chance, inbounding from the side with 5.1 seconds left. McCollum found forward Meyers Leonard cutting down the lane but Leonard's attempt at a game-winner was swatted away by John Henson and Carter-Williams hit one of two free throws with 0.6 seconds left to clinch Milwaukee's second consecutive victory.

"I was cutting the lane," Henson said. "My mindset was protect anyone that gets backdoor if the play's broken down. I was just happy to be in the right spot at the right time and make a play."

It was the fourth block of the game for Henson, who finished with eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

Forward Giannis Antetokoumpo led Milwaukee with 17 and nine rebounds while Monroe notched his 11th double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 boards.

"We're so young that we're going to make some mistakes," Kidd said. "Tonight was a sign of us staying together."

Portland point guard Damien Lillard scored 15 of his team-leading 23 points in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter as the Trail Blazers erased a nine-point halftime deficit with a 10-3 run.

"We started out slow for sure," Lillard said.

Five straight points by guard Khris Middleton -- including Milwaukee's second 3-pointer of the game -- put the Bucks up by six with 5:51 to play but again, the Blazers had a response, ripping off a 13-2 run to go back up by five with two minutes to play.

"It was a good comeback and a good effort on the road," Stotts said. "Milwaukee made a big shot, made two good defensive plays and came out with a win."

Portland had won two straight coming into the game.

NOTES: The Blazers bench scored 30 points Monday. Entering play Monday, Portland's bench was averaging 53.0 points in four games since F/C Meyers Leonard moved out of the starting lineup. Leonard averaged 13.3 points per game on 47 percent shooting during that stretch. ... Milwaukee was still without G Greivis Vasquez and G Jerryd Bayless due to ankle injuries, so O.J. Mayo made his second consecutive start at point guard, while Michael Carter-Williams remained in a bench role. Mayo had a season-best five assists in 35 minutes Saturday, when he handled the bulk of Milwaukee's ball-handling duties. ... The Bucks began the night 1-10 this season when their opponent scored 100 or more points. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts led the Bucks from 2005-07 and served as an assistant to George Karl in Milwaukee from 1998-2002.