Bucks edge Nets in OT in Game 7, withstand Durant’s 48

NEW YORK • The Milwaukee Bucks withstood Kevin Durant’s NBA-record 48 points in a Game 7, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals by beating the Brooklyn Nets 115-111 in overtime Saturday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 40 points and 13 rebounds, and Khris Middleton made the tiebreaking shot with 40 seconds left in the first overtime Game 7 in 15 years. The Bucks held on from there when Durant missed two jumpers, the last an airball with 0.3 seconds remaining.

Middleton added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who reached the East finals for the second time in three years. They will play either Philadelphia or Atlanta in a series that starts Wednesday night.

“I can say for sure I’ve never been in a game like this, a Game 7 on the road with one of the best players in the world,” Middleton said.

Durant played all 53 minutes and forced OT with a turnaround jumper that was just inches from being a 3-pointer that would have won it with a second left. He added nine rebounds and six assists, but didn’t have enough help with injured Kyrie Irving watching from the baseline and James Harden unable to locate his shot after missing most of the first four games with right hamstring tightness. Harden had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

In a series where the teams often didn’t produce the quality of play that was anticipated between the league’s two highest-scoring teams, Game 7 was a thriller, the first do-or-die game to need extra time since Dallas beat San Antonio in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals.

The Bucks had a 109-107 lead before Middleton missed a 3, but the Bucks got the rebound. They then turned it over on a shot clock violation to give the Nets a final chance with 6 seconds left. They threw it in across the court to Durant, who hit a spinning, turnaround jumper from just inside the 3-point line to tie it at 109.

Bruce Brown scored on a follow shot to open overtime but neither team scored again until Antetokounmpo’s basket with 1:12 to play. Brook Lopez blocked Durant’s shot on the other end before Middleton broke the final tie of the series. Durant tried to prolong it again, dribbling up the floor and running the clock down before launching a long look that came up well short.

“Those guys, they’re great competitors. I love the way they just kept coming, keep playing, find a way to win an overtime game on the road, Game 7,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said.