The Brooklyn Nets are out! In Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets lost 111-115 after overtime after a dramatic final phase. Even a record by Kevin Durant was not enough, also because Giannis Antetokounmpo also made a great game.
It was a worthy Game 7 with loads of drama, which Kevin Durant sent a crazy throw into overtime. There both teams scored a total of only 8 points, a jump shot by Khris Middleton a good 40 seconds before the end was the winning litter for the series. Durant then fabricated an airball when he wanted to send the game into the second overtime.
Durant (48, 17/36 FG) scored the most points, the former Warriors forward played the full 53 minutes. The same was true for James Harden (22, 5/17 FG, 9 assists), who looked a bit livelier than in previous games, but was no longer a factor in the end. Blake Griffin (17, 11 rebounds) and Bruce Brown (14) did their job well too.
The top scorer of the Bucks was once again Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 40 points (15/24 FG), 13 rebounds and 5 assists in 50 minutes. The Greek hit 8 of 14 free throws, the fans at the Barclays Center counted to 10 on each attempt, but they ignored the Mississippi Rule. Giannis got support in the attack from Brook Lopez (19, 4 blocks), while Jrue Holiday (13, 5/23 FG, 8 assists) and Khris Middleton (23, 9/26 FG, 10 rebounds) difficulties only woke up in the fourth quarter.
Antetokounmpo with strong imagination
At Milwaukee there were no changes in the starting five, while Nets coach Steve Nash brought in Bruce Brown for Jeff Green. The guests netted their first two distance throws, Brooklyn responded with 11 points in a row. The Nets moved the ball well, Harden finally moved back to the basket and also fouls.
Milwaukee had big problems in the half field, but was lucky that Antetokounmpo also hit jump throws at the beginning. PJ Tucker did well against Durant, but Holiday was too small. Like Giannis, KD was at 10 points after a quarter, the Nets were 28:25 ahead.
For the Nets, however, Brown also had the same yield a short time later (including a slam about Giannis), so that the hosts were consistently ahead. Everything slowed down a bit, the two coaches hardly changed, so that some of the stars looked tired. Thanks to some offensive rebounds, the Bucks stayed on, then Durant took over before the break and was unstoppable from the middle distance despite a good Bucks defense. The break started at 53:47 for the hosts.
Kevin Durant sends the game into extra time
Milwaukee started better afterwards, the guests took the lead again after a 16-2 run. But this did not last long, instead it went back and forth. Griffin had a personal 5-0 run, Antetokounmpo hit a three with Brett. The Nets were pretty quick in the bonus, and Tucker picked up a rather unnecessary fourth foul four minutes before the end of the quarter. It was a critical period for Milwaukee with a brief hiatus for Giannis. The Greek (16 PTS in the section) paused only briefly and the Bucks initiated an 8-0 run with a three from Pat Connaughton at the end of the quarter, which gave them an 82:81 lead after 36 minutes.
Durant then stuffed over Connaughton with a foul, Holiday finally scored from a distance. The same was true for Harden, who hit a wild bank shot with the clock running out. Brooklyn got the calls and had the 50/50 balls on its side. The lead was +5, but Milwaukee made the next 8 points after a holiday triple with two minutes left.
Holiday was awake now, it was a shootout with Durant who was just as hot again. Tucker forced KD to lose the ball again, Middleton hit both free throws. With 65 seconds to go, the Bucks were back in front with 4. KD shortened, but Milwaukee was able to downplay large parts of the clock thanks to an offensive rebound.
Brooklyn stayed 6.1 seconds after the Bucks couldn’t get rid of a throw. That should take revenge because Durant sank an incredible fadeaway five seconds later, however, had minimally his foot on the three-line, which is why it went into overtime, in which the Bucks retained the upper hand despite the foul by Tucker. Now the Bucks are waiting for their upcoming opponent, who will be played on Monday night between Philadelphia and Atlanta. The conference finals will then start on Thursday night.
The most important statistics
Brooklyn Nets (2) – Milwaukee Bucks (3) 111:115 OT (BOXSCORE), Serie: 3-4
- The fact that Milwaukee was only 6 points behind at break bordered on a miracle. Holiday and Middleton had only hit 4 of their 22 litters together, on the other hand Brooklyn was almost 50 percent out of the field. What saved the Bucks, however, were offensive rebounds. There were a total of 10 at the break, which led to 14 counters.
- If you ignore Antetokounmpo, the Nets had clear advantages on the free throw line. The Greek took eight of the nine Bucks free throws in half time one (4/8 FT), including a nasty airball. On the other hand, Harden went to the line seven times in the first quarter. In the end it was more even (25:21 nets), even if the majority of the whistle went in Brooklyn’s favor.
- The minutes were a big issue in this game. The Nets played Durant, Harden and Griffin (!) For the first 16 minutes of the game, KD and Harden even went the full distance. Ultimately, Nash bet on a rotation of seven players, coming from the bench only Landry Shamet and Green saw minutes. Both remained without points, so that the starters scored all points. This has never happened in a game since data collection began in 1971 7.
- The overtime was then a duel of staggering boxers. It took almost four minutes for Milwaukee to even score points, while Brooklyn remained without a score for the last 4:38 minutes and missed ten attempts in a row.
- Durant put on more than 33 points in Elimination Games, this time KD went one step further. With his turnaround jumper to compensate, the 32-year-old set a new scoring record. Previously, Sam Jones and Dominique Wilkins had held the record for most points in a Game 7
- It was only the seventh game 7 that went into overtime. The last time this happened was in 2006 when the Dallas Mavericks prevailed in overtime in the Western Conference semifinals at the San Antonio Spurs.
Nets vs. Bucks: The voices for the game
Kevin Durant (Nets): “My damn huge foot was on the line. I just saw how close that was. I almost finished her season, now it’s over for us.”
James Harden (Nets): “I was playing with a torn hamstring second degree. I feel really shitty now”
Mike Budenholzer (Head Coach Bucks) on his Big Three: “These guys really wanted to win. They found a way to win Game 7 away. They made important plays at the end and we needed them all.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks): “Our work is not done yet, we are not there yet.”
The Star Games: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Much was at stake for the two-time MVP – and the Greek delivered. Yes, the free throws remain difficult and some throws remain questionable, but otherwise that was the dominance that Milwaukee needed to win this game – also because Middleton and Holiday did not hit a flower pot until the fourth quarter. That took a lot of strength and you could tell from the forward, but that was exactly what everyone wanted to see from the forward. The secret star was PJ Tucker, who made another insane game against Durant – despite the 48 points.
The flop of the game: Joe Harris
It was very unfortunate how the best shooter in the Nets acted. 3/7 looks good from a distance, but not much more came from him. After all, his defense against Holiday was solid, but otherwise the weakest link in the Nets team.
The scene of the game
How close are victory and defeat? With shoe size 43, Durant would have decided the series with his throw 1 second before the end of regular time, instead his toe touched the three-way line and his throw was classified as a long runner-up, which is why it “only” went into overtime. It was definitely a completely crazy litter.
Nets vs. Bucks: the series at a glance
| game | date | Time | Home | Away | Result |
| 1 | 6. June | 1:30 | Nets | Bucks | 115:107 |
| 2 | 8. June | 1:30 | Nets | Bucks | 125:86 |
| 3 | 11. June | 1:30 | Bucks | Nets | 86:83 |
| 4 | 13. June | 21 clock | Bucks | Nets | 107:96 |
| 5 | 16. June | 2.30 a.m. | Nets | Bucks | 114:108 |
| 6 | 18. June | 2.30 a.m. | Bucks | Nets | 104:89 |
| 7 | 20. June | 2.30 a.m. | Nets | Bucks | 111: 115 OT |
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