Considering the fact that no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 series deficit, this was essentially an elimination game for the Milwaukee Bucks.
In a Game 7 fashion, the Bucks were able to escape Game 3 with an 86-83 win over the Brooklyn Nets to come within 2-1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton had the game of their lives after both had underwhelming performances in Game 2. The two of them combined for all of Milwaukee’s 30 first-quarter points.
Both finished with a double-double as Giannis totaled 33 points and 14 rebounds. Middleton ended his night with 35 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee.
“A win is a win,” said Giannis in his postgame interview. “We knew it was a very tough game and we knew that we needed this win as much as possible and hopefully we can get the next one.”
Middleton and Giannis combined to score 79 percent of the Bucks’ points, the highest percentage of any team’s points by any duo in NBA playoff history, according to ESPN.
It took nearly four minutes for Brooklyn to get their first points of the game as the Nets shot 5-for-25 from the field through the first quarter. It proved to be a tale of two quarters though, after the Bucks outscored the Nets 30-11 in the first quarter, they were outscored by the Nets 31-15 in the second quarter.
Brooklyn began the second quarter on a 7-0 run cutting Milwaukee’s original 21-point lead to just 12 points. Almost immediately after, Bruce Brown went on an 8-0 run by himself to cut it to just six points. He provided a major spark for the Nets with 16 points and 11 rebounds as Kevin Durant couldn’t find his shot in the first half.
The Bucks had just three points through the first nine minutes of the second quarter and saw little to no help from any of their reserves. Only nine of Milwaukee’s first 45 points came from players not named Giannis and Middleton.
The final minutes of this game were truly incredible though, as both teams went scoreless through the first three of the final six minutes. Tied at 76, a Brooklyn timeout broke that streak.
Middleton and Durant immediately began trading baskets before Middleton finally missed just for Durant to hit a highly contested three over PJ Tucker. That shot forced Milwaukee to take a timeout down 83-80 with 1:23 left in the game.
Middleton then came out of the timeout to hit a layup as both teams went scoreless for a brief period. Jrue Holiday made the game-winning layup with 11.4 seconds left to lead 84-83 which was followed by an abysmal possession for Brooklyn that ended in a missed shot by Brown.
Middleton hit the game-sealing free throws as the final shot for Brooklyn by Durant hit the back of the rim. Durant ended with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists in the loss.
The Bucks will look to protect their homecourt once again and tie the series 2-2 on Sunday in Game 4.
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