The Nets lost a hard-fought Game 3 to the Milwaukee Bucks 86-83, as the series is now 2-1 in favor of Brooklyn.
Here are the takeaways
– Milwaukee started the game off strong, taking a 9-0 lead early on and forcing Nets head coach Steve Nash to call timeout. Brooklyn missed their first seven shots before Bruce Brown connected on a floater. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Khris Middleton had 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-3 from deep, as the Bucks led 30-11 after one. The Nets shot just 20.8 percent (5-of-25) from the field in the first quarter.
– The Nets started the second quarter on a 9-0 lead to cut into the Bucks lead. Brown scored eight straight points as the Nets trailed just 32-26 with 7:43 remaining. Kevin Durant found a rolling Joe Harris for three with 50.7 seconds left in the half to make it a one-possession game. Middleton then made a foul shot to put the Bucks up 45-42 at the half, as Brooklyn outscored Milwaukee 31-15 in the second quarter.
Brown led the team with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and Kyrie Irving was the only other Net in double-digits at the break with 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
– Durant hit his first three of the night as the Nets trailed 55-54, forcing the Bucks to call timeout with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter. Durant was fouled by P.J. Tucker, as the two started arguing and were both issued technical fouls after being separated by officials.
Brown made another floater with 1:05 left that gave the Nets their first lead of the night, 65-64. Milwaukee regained the lead and went up 67-65 at the end of the third quarter.
– After starting 0-of-6 from beyond the arc, Antetokounmpo made his first three-pointer of the game to grow the Bucks’ lead to 74-70. Blake Griffin stole the ball from Middleton and found Brown down court for the easy dunk to tie the game at 74-74 with 7:21 remaining.
– Middleton broke a scoreless streak to put Milwaukee up 76-74, but Durant scored on the following possession to tie the game. Middleton hit another jump shot on the next time down the court, but Durant matched him once again to tie the game 80-80. Durant then hit a three with 1:23 left in the game to give the Nets an 83-80 lead.
Jrue Holiday made a spinning layup in transition to put the Bucks up 84-83 with 11.4 seconds remaining. Brown missed a driving layup and the Bucks got the rebound with 2.8 left. Middleton then went to the foul line and made both, putting Milwaukee up 86-83. Durant had a deep look, but his shot at the buzzer hit the back of the rim.
– Durant finished the game with 30 points on 11-of-28 shooting and 11 rebounds, Irving scored 22 points with five rebounds, and Brown finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Nets shot just 25 percent from three in the loss, going 8-of-32 from deep. Middleton led the Bucks with 35 points and 15 rebounds, while Antetokounmpo scored 33 points with 14 rebounds.
Highlights
What’s next
Game 4 will be in Milwaukee on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.