(Milwaukee) Khris Middleton had 38 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-89 on Thursday to tie 3-3 in that second-round series in the East.
The ultimate game is Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. in Brooklyn.
At this point in the series, the home club has always prevailed.
Middleton also had 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo provided 30 points and 17 rebounds.
Jrue Holiday found a way to get 21 points, despite going 1-for-10 for three-pointers.
Kevin Durant led the Nets with 32 points. James Harden and Blake Griffin got 16 and 12, respectively.
Kyrie Irving was sidelined with a sprained right ankle.
Milwaukee got off to a great start, an 18-5 cushion guiding the club to a 26-19 lead after a quarter.
In the second quarter, a 9-0 surge from the visitors approached them within four points. The Bucks kept their cool and following two straight long-distance shots from Middleton, they were able to finish the half with a 59-48 priority.
Middleton shone again at the end of the third period. Brooklyn keeping the scoring tight, he pulled out of his hat a flurry of six straight points: a shot away from the basket, one from a medium distance and finally a shot in stride, following an offensive rebound. That brought the score to 78-67 Bucks after 36 minutes.
In the final quarter, Antetokounmpo completed a 14-0 push with a powerful dunk, after an offensive rebound. Milwaukee then took a 96-77 lead.
