Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo drives past Brooklyn’s Joe Harris during Game 7 of their second-round series Saturday in New York. Milwaukee advanced to the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-111 overtime victory. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
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.
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 because of right hamstring tightness.
Harden had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but was 5 for 17 from the field.
NOTES
HAWKS: Atlanta may be without its top 3-point shooter with its season on the line.
Bogdan Bogdanovic’s status is uncertain for Sunday night’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series at Philadelphia because of a knee injury.
Bogdanovic left Friday night’s 104-99 home loss to the 76ers in the fourth quarter because of right knee soreness and did not return.
Coach Nate McMillan said the soreness is not related to the fracture in the same knee which forced Bogdanovic to miss 25 games early in the season.
Asked if he is optimistic Bogdanovic can return for the decisive game of the series, McMillan said “I really don’t know or have an answer to that question. … We’ll see how he feels later today and tomorrow.”
Bogdanovic struggled before leaving Friday night’s game. He made only 3 of 11 shots and scored only seven points. After scoring 22 points in Game 4, he managed only six points in Wednesday night’s Game 5 win.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers are still playing basketball deep into these NBA playoffs partly because they’ve learned to persevere in clutch moments without their biggest stars.
That ability could be put to the test again for both teams in the Western Conference finals.
The Suns and Clippers meet in Game 1 on Sunday in Phoenix with the status of some of their most important pieces in doubt. Suns point guard Chris Paul remains in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol while Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is dealing with a knee injury that kept him out of the final two games of against Utah.
It’s not an ideal situation for either team. It’s also not the time to complain about it.
“You’ve just got to have a mentality of next man up,” Suns forward Jae Crowder said. “We have enough in our locker room, we feel, to get the job done.”
The Suns released a short update Saturday that Paul is still in the league’s health and safety protocol after initially being placed on the list Wednesday. Suns coach Monty Williams said Paul’s situation was “day-to-day” and didn’t elaborate on his Game 1 status.
The 36-year-old point guard has been vaccinated against COVID-19, said a person with knowledge of the situation, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns. That may mean that Paul could be cleared to return more quickly than some who tested positive earlier this season before vaccines were readily available.
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