Bucks 120 - 119 Nets summary: stats and highlights | NBA

Giannis with the step back three ball.

Giannis making Bucks history with a huge shot to tie the game late in the fourth

Get off the tracks when the train is coming through

The Bucks take their first lead since the first quarter

HOw do you stop this man?

Holiday with the pull up

Extra pass gets Middleton wide open

HOliday and Middleton running the break

Giannis over three defenders

The Milwaukee Bucks won an overtime thriller with a playoff atmosphere over the Nets in Brooklyn. Giannis Antetokounmpo shined with 44 points including his step back three deep in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Conference Semis rematch

It was a rematch of last year’s exhilarating Eastern Conference Finals, and had all the makings of a playoff game on Thursday night. The game was tight throughout, and both teams had chances to win at the end of regulation.

The Bucks came into the game hoping to keep pace with the Miami Heat for the one seed in the East, while the Nets needed a win to stay out of the ninth or tenth place in the East as they want to avoid having to play two games to get to the first round.

Both teams opened up the game cold, going two minutes without seeing a single point scored.

KD started game playing distributor

Kevin Durant set the tone early in the first on for the Nets, scoring seven points in the first quarter and dishing out five assists. Brooklyn ended the opening twelve minutes on an 11-2 run to take a seven point lead into the second quarter.

Anetetokounmpo came to life in the second quarter. He blew up after scoring just four points in the first quarter heading into the halftime break with 20 points, but the Nets’ Bruce Brown made sure Brooklyn went into the second half with a four point lead.

Brown and Giannis continued to produce in the third quarter, but it was Kyrie Irving who kept the Nets in the lead for most of the third quarter with 11 points, but Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks their first lead since late in the first quarter on the last bucket before the fourth quarter.

Bucks respond after Middleton ejection

The game was broken open when Brooklyn went on q 16-3 run in the middle of the fourth quarter. In that span Khris Middleton was whistled for a flagrant foul 2 on Bruce Brown which got the Bucks sharp shooter ejected from the game. That seemed to be the end of Milwaukee who went down 108-96, but battled all the way back and used a 7-0 run to tie the game up on Antetokounmpo’s step back three with 18 seconds to go.

The overtime session was largely a game of free throws until Durant was fouled by Wesley Matthews behind the three point line down by two. Durant hit all three free throws to give the Nets the lead, but Giannis went coast-to-coast after the make got fouled and made to free throws of his own to put the Bucks back on top.

Will we see this matchup in Round 1?

Durant had a last grasp effort to win the game from the top of the key with 3 seconds left, but the shot just rimmed out and the Bucks held on to win.

Brooklyn had three scorers in the 20s, but Durant’s 26, Irving’s 25 and Brown’s 23 weren’t enough. Giannis ended the game with 44 and 14 rebounds while Jrue Holiday had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals.

The way things are shaping up in the East this very well could be a matchup we see in the first round of the playoffs.

Durant missed the shot from the top of the key and the Bucks hold on to win in overtime!!!

Giannis with two clutch FTs!!!! He's got 44 points and the Bucks lead by 1.

Giannis got the first one.

Giannis is fouled on his way to the basket! Three seconds left in Brooklyn

He made all three

Second one is good. And we are tied.

Durant is going to the FT line for the first time tonight. He is money with the first one.

There are 8.7 second left in Brooklyn and Milwaukee is challenging the call to see if KD extended his leg to draw the foul.

KD was fouled by Matthews on the three pointer and twisted his ankle as he landed. He will go to the line to shoot three FTs.

Claxton fouled by Allen and he hit one of two.

Giannis fouled on the jump hook by KD, and missed them both.

Holiday to the line hits one of two.

Brown to the line, and hits both FTs.

Giannis got doubled immediatley which left Portis wide open for the floater.

KD drops a three, but Matthews responds with a three ball

What a put back by Holiday, and the offensive rebounds have been what got MIL back in this game and could be what wins it for them.

We are going to overtime!!! KD got double teamed and his shot hit off the back iron.

The Bucks are on a 7-0 run. Timeout BKN who will have a chance to win it on the last possession. I wonder who it's going to...

Giannis on the step back three pointer to TIE THE GAME with 18 seconds.

Offensive foul called after Brown tripped up and pushed Giannis into KD.

Holiday got tripped up, clutched his ankle but is ok and goes to the line hitting both. 1:14 to go

It's Drummond this time with the offensive rebound. got fouled, but he missed them both.

Portis and the Bucks with another offensive rebound to cut the lead to 5.

KD puts the flame the Bucks were starting to build up with a mid range jumper.

Matthews with a sneaky offensive rebound off the missed FT.

This is when Giannis needs to take this game back over. There is still time, but the Greek has to kick it into overdrive. He just went to the line, but missed his first FT in 12 tries. Timeout Brooklyn with Giannis at the line out of the break with 3:01 to go.

KD with the alley oop and this game looks like it's going to the Nets after a 16-3 run in the last few minutes.

KD on the pull up from behind the arc, and that looked strikingly similar to last years game tying shot in Game 7.

Make that an 11-0 run after Kyrie hits the mid range jumper.

Brown hits the two FTs and Brooklyn gets the ball back after the flagrent foul. 9-0 BKN run in the last 3 minutes.

Giannis threw it away and Brown scooped up the loose ball and was taken down by Middleton. The refs rule that was a flagrent foul 2 which means Middleton has been ejected from the game.

Brooklyn out of the timeout with a couple quick buckets to take the lead back as KD goes back to playing distributor to Brown. He's got 11 assists. Timeout Bucks with 5:24 to go in the fourth.

Another block for the Nets, this time it's KD again and that leads to a Curry three pointer for the Nets to break the Bucks 7-0 run.

Irving and Allen exchanging threes, before Giannis brings the house down with a trasition slam. There is no stopping the Greek in those situations.

Giannis back at the free throw like, and he has 34 now, making that 8 straight road games with 30+ points.

Curry with a step back three to give back the lead to the Nets

We are headed into the fourth quarter with Milwaukee in the lead for the first time in over two quraters. Can they hold on to it? It looks like we're heading for a tight finish in the Barclays Center.

Portis up top to Giannis and that's the first time the Bucks have taken the lead since the middle of the first quarter.

Holiday going strong. The Bucks are withing a point but can't seem to take the lead from the Nets.

Durant has finally broken his scoring drought. That mid ranger jumper is his first bucket since the first quarter.

Big last couple minutes of the third quarter. The Nets have a little momentum and if they can stretch the lead out before the fouth quarter they might be able to bury the Bucks.

Kyrie with his third three of the third quarter. He's the Nets leading scorer with 18 points.

There's just no stopping Giannis in the open court. Some may not be a fan of the style of play, but you have to appreciate the blend of grace and brute force.

Giannis continues to go to the line and continutes to inch closer to that 30 point mark.

Brown joining the party in the second half with a three ball, and he's got 15 tonight. He averages just 8 a night.

We said it. Kyrie is starting to heat up from deep. He just it a three ball off of an offensive rebound. He's got 15.

Kyrie starting to warm up from downtown. He's got 12 on the night.

Brown is not just the top scorer for the Nets tonight, but he also has three blocks

We are back in play from the Barclays Center and Giannis getting right back to work with a bucket around the basket. He had 16 in that second quarter and already has a quick two in the third.

And then dunked over three players just minutes later.

Giannis did it over two defenders first.

This was one of KD's five assists in the first quarter.

Brown got started quickly for the Nets. He's got 10 at the half.

Halftime stats

Giannis is the leading scorer through the first half with 20 points. Middleton has 12 and Connaughton has 11.

KD didn't score in the second quarter, he's still got 7 points, but also has 7 assists. Bruce Brown is the top scorer for the Nets 24 minutes in.

Middleton hits a three ball to end the second quarter, and the Bucks end the half on a 17-10 run. Plenty more action from Brooklyn coming up in the second half. Don't go anywhere.

Brown in the corner for three and he is ending the half like it started. He's got 10 on the night.

Giannis with a free beeie to the rack and he's got 18 points on the night. He looks well on his way to reaching 30 for an 8th straight road game.

Drummond with back to back buckets and if he turns on late in the season this Nets team goes from good to great.

Drummond on the fast break streaking down the lane with a double clutch finger roll.

Matthews with a much needed three ball out of the timeout to break the scoring spell from Brooklyn.

Claxton is having a huge game, and nothing has been bigger tonight than that put back slam. Mills drill a three ball to put the Nets up 11 with 6:37 to go in the second quarter. The Bucks need a timeout.

Giannis back at the line, He's got 16 and they have all been in this quarter.

Giannis going to the rack with no regard for human life yet again! First he dunked on two players, he one upped it this time dunking on three players.

Giannis dominating down low. Gets to the basket on one dribble, jams over two defenders and gets fouled. FT is good

Kyrie was 0-4 in the first quarter, but drops the deep two for his first points of the game.

Dragic with the buzzer beater off the feed from KD, and the Nets go into the second up 7 after an 11-2 run to end the quarter

Allen skips around the defender slashes down the lane and slams it home.

KD with a pull up in transition. He's played more of a distruibutor role today. He's got 5 points and 5 assists.

Middleton drops a three ball from downtown and Milwaukee's sharp shooter forces the Nets to take a timeout.

KD hitting Claxton on the extra pass on back to back possessions.

Connaughton with back to back buckets around the rim, and he's got 7 in the first quarter.

Connaughton keeping presistent after his three gets blocked. He follows it up with a finger roll around the bucket. Milwaukee is on a 12-3 run

This has been a sloppy start. Lots of turnovers and easy giveaways by both sides in a game where neither team is shooting a high percentage. Timeout Bucks after a three ball from Steph Curry

There's Giannis introducing himself to this game with a bang!

Bruce Brown gets the opening five points of the game, and who would have thought with all of this fire power on both sides, it'd be Brown starting hot.

Both teams starting a bit cold. We are two minutes in and without a basket

We are underway from the Barclays Center!! Huge game in the Eastern Conference!! Here we go

The Bucks starting 5 in Brooklyn

Kyrie is in the Nets starting 5 in Brooklyn for the second time this year.

How the Play-In Tournament works

The advantage of finishing seventh or eighth heading into the Play-In Tournament is you only have to win one game to move on to the first round of the playoffs. Seven vs. Eight square off, and the winner of that game is in, while the loser has to play the winner of the nine vs. ten game.

If this KD was a couple inches back, this would have been one of the most clutch shots in NBA Playoff history.

Eastern Conference Playoff picture

Coming into tonight, the Bucks are 47-28, just a game back of the Miami Heat who hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Their win over the Sixers gave them a game advantage over Philly and the Boston Celtics. The Nets are in eighth place, 8.5 games back of the Heat, and while their postseason hopes are essentially guaranteed, they still have plenty to play for. Sixth place looks a bit out of reach at the moment with the Raptors four games ahead and playing some of their best basketball of the season. But the Nets will be trying to avoid the 9th or 10th seed in the Play-In Game.

Antetokoumpo going for 3rd MVP?

Giannis is in the thick of the MVP discussion, despite receiving rest in two of the last five games. In his last two games he’s put up 70 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists. He is right behind LeBron James in the race for the scoring title at 29.9. He currently sits third behind James’ 30.1 ppg and tied with Philly big man Joel Embiid.

KD was that close to moving the Nets on to the Conference Finals last year.

Look back at last year’s Confernce Semis

These two teams needed more than 7 games to decided a winner of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Brooklyn took a 2-0 lead at home, but the Bucks held serve in the next two games in Milwaukee. Kyrie Irving was injured in the early part of Game 4, and missed Game 5. Although he returned he never looked like the Irving we are used to seeing, and that ended up costing the Nets.

Each of the teams won their home games until Game 7 when the Bucks edged the Nets to go on to the Conference Finals. KD hit a game tying late fourth court shot, that if he was an inch farther back would have been enough to push the Nets to the next round of the playoffs. In the end the Bucks moved on to the Conference Finals and ended up winning the NBA Title.

Giannis is looking for his 8th straight 30+ point game on the road.

Kyrie back in Brooklyn

Kyrie Irving finally made his Barclays Center debut against the Charlotte Hornets after the New York State lifted the mandate that prohibited the unvaccinated from entering stadiums and large public events. Kyrie struggled shooting the ball, scoring just 16 points, but did dish out 11 assists in the loss. He looked better in his 24 point performance in the Nets win over the Pistons.

Nets and Bucks recent form

The Bucks have won three of their last four over the last week, with their only loss coming to the Memphis Grizzlies who were without Ja Morant. The Nets however are struggling to string together wins despite Kyrie and KD having had enough time to build up the chemistry we saw them show for much of last season.

Giannis' big block to seasl the game against the Sixers

The Greek Freak went wild in Philly

Milwaukee is coming off of an important win over the Philadelphia 76ers to get a leg up on Philly as we come to the close of the season. Giannis had 40 points and 14 rebounds, but the biggest play of the night came deep in the fourth quarter when he had the game winning block on Joel Embiid to seal the game for the Bucks.

The Nets arriving to Barclays Arena showing some swag.

KD went for 41 vs. Detroit

Brooklyn is coming off of home win against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night after dropping the opening game of a three game home stretch to the Charlotte Hornets. Kevin Durant went for 41 and 11 in the 130-123 win over the Pistons, while Kyrie chipped in another 24.

We are live from Barclays Center

Hello everyone and welcome to Brooklyn where both of these teams are headed to the playoffs, but are in very different positions coming into tonight. The Nets are on the bottom half of the playoff picture while the Bucks have their sights set on the top spot in the East.

Bucks vs. Nets

It’s a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals as the Brooklyn Nets host the Milwaukee Bucks. AS English will have you covered with live scores, stats, analysis and highlights from tonight’s primetime match up from the Barclays Center.