Giannis Antetokounmpo on Saturday had 40 points and 13 rebounds, as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Brooklyn Nets 115-111 in a thrilling Game 7 overtime to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
The best-of-seven series has featured almost everything, including epic scoring performances, aggressive fouls, rim-rattling dunks, series-ending injuries and of course, Saturday’s winner-take-all Game 7, which turned into a see-saw affair with dozens of lead changes throughout.
The only thing missing was an overtime, which Kevin Durant set the stage for in Game 7, when he drained a turnaround jump shot at the buzzer in regulation to level the score at 109 in front of a crowd of 16,200 at the Barclays Center in New York.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Two-time league MVP Antetokounmpo shot 15-of-24 and had five assists in 50 minutes of playing time in the head-to-head match-up with Durant.
“I want to be great,” Antetokounmpo said. “We had to give everything.”
Durant finished with 48 points, nine rebounds and six assists, but missed two jumpers in the final minute of overtime that could have tied the score and possibly forced a second extra session.
“We got looks, we just didn’t knock them down,” Durant said.
The Bucks advance to the Eastern Conference finals, where they are to play either the Atlanta Hawks or the Philadelphia 76ers, who were to face off in another Game 7 yesterday.
“At the end of the day, I try not to get too high, not to get too low, but I almost got emotional a little bit out there because the team really tried their best,” Antetokounmpo said. “We kept our composure. We were down 2-0. A lot of people didn’t believe we could make it.”
Khris Middleton tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who became the first road team to win a game in the series. Brook Lopez chipped in 19 and Jrue Holiday contributed 13 points to the win.
Antetokounmpo hit the game-tying basket and Middleton delivered the game winner in overtime as the Bucks advanced to the NBA semi-finals for the second time in three seasons.
“Give them credit. They are a great team. They have a great chance to win the championship,” Durant said of the Bucks.
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