By inches the Bucks stave off late Durant heroics
This finale to an epic seven game series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets delivered a riveting 4 quarters of basketball. An injury depleted Nets without Kyrie Irving and with a one-legged James Harden made it as far as game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals but lost in overtime.
This series could have been a Shakespearean drama, with good friends PJ Tucker and Kevin Durant squaring off in an epic clash of defense vs offense. Durant, who is mostly without his big 3 counterparts, was called upon to play nearly every minute of this 7 game series, and was needed to score 40 – 50pts per game to make up for the lost offense of Irving and Harden. And Durant delivered.
We would be talking about Durant single handedly bringing the Nets to the Eastern Conference Finals if Durant wore his true shoe size, as it’s been reported his epic 2 pointer to bring game 7 to OT was 1 inch off a 3 pointer to win the game.
Image credit – theathletic.com
Giannis and Durant delivered an epic 7 game series for the fans
“We were down 2-0, we were able to come back. We lost a game being up 15 [points in Game 5]. And against all odds in Game 7, we were able to come here, guard KD and get the win.”
A lot can be discussed about how difficult this series was for the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving injured his ankle falling on Giannis after a drive to the hoop, and James Harden re-aggravated a pulled hamstring that has hampered him throughout most of the season. The depleted nets, who were without 2/3rds of their big 3, were forced to play Kevin Durant for nearly every minute of this series.
“There were a lot of ups and downs within the series. There were a lot of ups and downs in this game. Everybody fought extremely hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “I almost got emotional out there. We really wanted this.”
This was a concerning decision considering Durant’s Achilles tear from 2 years ago, but a necessary one to compete in this series. In game 7 Durant scored a record 48 points, a historic record for a player on the losing team. Giannis also did his part with 40 points that helped secure Milwaukee the victory and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
