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If this season really was a championship or bankruptcy for the Nets, Bust won.
After a season filled with injuries and absences, the postseason season on the Nets ended the same way Saturday night at the Barclays Center. With Kyrie Irving watching from the bench in streetwear, the Nets suffered a late meltdown in front of the Bucks and lost 115-111 in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
He fired the net 1 for 12 in overtime as their season died with a rumble from the edge. The last foul was Kevin Durant swinging 0.3 seconds left.
The super team assembled to go to the NBA Finals – and even win – knocked out in the second round. The Nets suffered their first and only home defeat in this playoff despite another major class from Durant (48 points, nine rebounds, and six assists), his third 40-point run in the playoffs.
Durant’s 23-foot rise in the final seconds of regulation tied the match and forced overtime. But after Bruce Brown (14 points, six panels) scored seconds of overtime to gain an advantage of 111-109, the Nets didn’t get another point. The Bucks scored six goals – a hook from Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1:12 remaining, a fade from Khris Middleton 40 seconds left and two meaningless free throws by Brook Lopez – to win it.
Kevin Durant scored 48 points, but the Nets still came home after a crushing 115-111 loss in Game 7 against the Bucks. Getty Images
The bluff crowd of 16,287 people – including the likes of Eli Manning, Mark Messier, Robert Saleh, HER and a host of Yankees – left disappointed. The Bucks move into the Eastern Conference Finals, which begins on Wednesday, against the Hawks or the 76ers. The Nets are about to wonder how this went so wrong and how they missed another superhero outing from Durant.
“Well, obviously, it’s great to be with a guy who’s been there before. He has all the ability in the world. But this isn’t Kevin’s game to win: it’s our game as a team,” Nets coach Steve Nash warned beforehand.
“We have to play a great team game on both ends of the floor. If Kevin has a special night, great. But if Kevin has a Kevin night, we have to find a way for our team to put ourselves in a position to win.”
Antetokounmpo finished 40 points, 13 plates and a massive OT bucket.
James Harden scored 22 points, nine boards, and nine assists. Blake Griffin fouled after a double hit of 17 points and 11 boards.
It was held at 86-all in the fourth quarter when Joe Harris jawed him with a triple pointer that bounced up and in.
Giannis Antetokounmpo drives past Kevin Durant during the Nets’ OT loss to the Bucks in Game 7. Getty Images
Clinging to the edge 91-90, he forced the Nets past Jrue Holiday – it was 2 for 17 to that point – before Harden hit Brown in a layup. And when Brown stole the ball from Middleton (23 points), he sent it to Harden who found Durant’s upper bound for one dipping.
The Nets took a 101-96 lead four minutes before the end of the game after Harden’s Draw Pointer 3, but then coughed with an 8-0 score. The 3-day holiday index left the net on hole 104-101.
Two went down with a chance of a tie, Durant turned the ball over and Harden made a foul. Middleton sank two on the line to leave the net 109-105 behind with 1:05 to play.
But Durant fired seven feet to halve the lead with 42 seconds remaining. And when the nets imposed a shot-clock breach, they had one last chance six seconds before the regulation. Durant’s 23-foot turn swayed with 1 second to the left and Tucker rolled it all over and forced into overtime.
Brown’s offensive rebound and the score opened the overtime period. After forcing the Nets Bucks to shoot 0-for-3 with two turnovers in the opening minutes of the OT, Durant gave up his body to block a basket and hook driver Brook Lopez.
Antetokounmpo scored Durant and hooked him up with a hook, and after Harris missed a 3-point attempt, a fading left Middleton turning down 113-111 with 40.1 seconds remaining in overtime.
Durant missed a fadeaway, but when Milwaukee also missed, he grabbed the rebound. The Nets had one last shot of their season, and Durant took it – and missed it with 0.3 seconds left.
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