Kevin Durant had 49 points (20 in the fourth quarter), 17 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets rallied from 17 points down in the second quarter to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Nets trailed 32-15 with 11:45 left in the second quarter and 59-43 at halftime. They outscored the Bucks 99-76 the rest of the way.
The Bucks had the ball down 2 with 25 seconds left, but Durant stole the ball from Giannis Antetokounmpo, lifting the Nets’ chance to win from 82% to 89%. A basket would have tied the game.
Durant’s free throw with 11.5 seconds left made it 112-108 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Nets outscored the Bucks 13-10. Durant scored 6 of the Nets’ 13 on 1 for 3 shooting and 3 for 4 at the line.
Jeff Green scored 27 points (21 on 7 3-pointers) on 8 for 11 shooting off the bench. Durant scored 20 of his 49 points in the fourth quarter.
For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points.
The Nets went 22 for 25 at the line to the Bucks’ 13 for 17. The Bucks got 4 offensive rebounds, about 5 fewer than usual for the shots they missed. They outscored the Nets 52-32 in the paint. Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled out.