Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks top Nets in overtime
Giannis Antetokounmpo hit his three biggest shots. Kevin Durant missed his two. He echoed teammate Kyrie Irving in calling the Bucks“ reckless,” specifically when Wes Matthews challenged a three-pointer in overtime and barreled into a jumping Durant during his shot attempt.
Giannis Antetokounmpo hit his three biggest shots. Kevin Durant missed his two.
A tense and physical battle boiled down to those stars in crunch time, as well as the referees, who provided the visiting defending champion Bucks a favorable whistle in its 120-119 overtime victory Thursday over the Nets.
In the process of eclipsing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for first on Milwaukee’s all-time scoring list, Antetokounmpo, who dropped 44 points, tied it in regulation with a clutch 3-pointer and nailed the game-winning free throws with three seconds left in OT.
Durant, who scored 26 points in 45 minutes, missed two potential buzzer-beating game-winners — one in regulation, one in overtime — and left frustrated.
He echoed teammate Kyrie Irving in calling the Bucks “reckless,” specifically when Wes Matthews challenged a three-pointer in overtime and barreled into a jumping Durant during his shot attempt.
“I mean, we thought that was reckless, right,” said Durant, adding that his ankle was twisted but he won’t miss time. “But I think technically I have to be in the air and come down on his foot then that’s the flagrant. But he can run into my leg though. … It wasn’t a contest. I thought it was supposed to be a flagrant. But technically, I didn’t make the correct play to get a flagrant.”
If these NBA titans again meet in the playoffs, Thursday becomes a small footnote. But Antetokounmpo clearly was the winner of this battle.
The free throw disparity was stark and a point of contention postgame. The Bucks took 34 compared to the Nets’ 16. Durant, who was hounded by double teams and blitzes all game, didn’t go to the charity stripe until the final nine seconds, when he nailed three to give the Nets a one-point edge. Antetokounmpo took 19 foul shots, including the game-winners.
“That was the game,” Durant said. “More free throws than us.”
But the Nets should also blame themselves after blowing a nine-point lead with three minutes left in regulation.
They held the momentum with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, when Bruce Brown raced to a breakaway and was pulled to the court by Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton. Brown fell hard and the impact was loud, drawing gasps from the crowd. Middleton was quickly ejected for a Flagrant 2, and the Nets took advantage by turning a three-point lead to 9 in about a minute.
Afterward, Irving called out the Bucks.
“They were playing pretty physical. I think they were a little reckless at times,” Irving said. “Just on a lot of their fouls. Or a few of their fouls. That’s who they are. But I think it was just reckless at times.”
There are seeds for a rivalry between the Bucks and Nets. Beyond their playoff battle last year and Thursday’s hard foul on Brown, Irving seemed to take exception to a play in the third quarter, when Antetokounmpo stepped in front of the point guard in midcourt.
Irving jumped but couldn’t avoid the hard collision, leading to a blocking foul on Antetokounmpo. Irving got up but didn’t look happy with the play. The added context is that Irving suffered a sprained ankle during the playoffs last year after landing on Antetokounmpo’s foot, implying later that was also a reckless move.
“I’m not going to get into individual plays,” Irving said. “I’ll leave it up to people who are observing the game. But it’s just recklessness. Just being in the way at times when it’s just an easy play to avoid.”
Still, the Nets couldn’t finish the job. Antetokounmpo, an unreliable three-point shooter, knocked down the tying trey off a broken play with 18.7 seconds left in regulation. Durant then dribbled into traffic and missed his potential winner at the buzzer. It was similar in OT, when Durant’s buzzer-beater off an inbounds rimmed out.
“I felt like they both looked good leaving my hand,” Durant said. “That one — Giannis came over late but I still feel like I got a good look at it. Two people on me and a seven-footer at that. But I felt like I got two good shots.”
The East is so congested it’s impossible to plot first-round matchups, but Nets versus Bucks is a possible first rounder. It’s also something both teams want to avoid since both can be considered title contenders.
But it would be fun.
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