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The best-of-seven set will be decided Saturday
night in Brooklyn, where the Nets have won all three previous
meetings in the series.
In a duel of different preferred paces, the Bucks got their
open-court game going late en route to a 26-4 advantage in
fastbreak points against a Nets team still missing star point
guard Kyrie Irving (ankle).
Milwaukee never trailed, but Kevin Durant's 32 points and
another gutty performance by James Harden had the visitors
within 82-77 after a Joe Harris 3-pointer with 8:41 to go.
However, Middleton turned a foul on a 3-point shot into three
free throws on the next possession. Milwaukee's Jrue Holiday got
into the open court for a layup before Antetokounmpo converted a
P.J. Tucker steal into two free throws and turned a Tucker block
into a three-point play as part of a 14-0 flurry that broke the
game open.
Middleton's 38 points, which came on 11-for-16 shooting, 5-for-8
from 3-point range and 11-for-12 at the foul line, were two more
than his previous playoff high, set last year in Game 4 of the
Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat.
On Thursday, Middleton also had 10 rebounds, five assists and
five steals, giving him his third double-double of the series.
Antetokounmpo got to the line 10 times, making six, as the Bucks
outscored the Nets 23-8 on free throws.
Holiday added 21 points for the Bucks, who outrebounded the Nets
51-39.
In an encore performance to his 49-point, 17-rebound, 10-assist
triple-double in the Nets' Game 5 win, Durant grabbed a
team-high 11 rebounds but just managed three assists.
Harden, who prompted Brooklyn's slow pace because of a hamstring
injury, followed up a 1-for-10 shooting performance in his
return in Game 5 with 16 points, shooting 5-for-9 overall and
3-for-6 on 3-point attempts. He also led the Nets with seven
assists and four steals.
Blake Griffin added 12 points for Brooklyn, which outscored the
hosts 27-21 on 3-pointers, outshooting Milwaukee 30 percent to
21.2 percent from beyond the arc.
--Field Level Media
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