Nets vs. Bucks live score, updates, highlights from Game 7 of NBA playoff series

Kevin Durant tried to will the Nets to a victory, but the Bucks are going to the Eastern Conference finals after winning a back-and-forth Game 7.

Durant, who scored 48 points, nearly played the hero role to perfection. He hit a game-tying shot with one second left in regulation to send the game to overtime. It marked the first overtime in an NBA Game 7 since Spurs-Mavericks in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals.

But Durant and the Nets fizzled out in overtime. The team scored just two points and Durant showed the effects of the 53 minutes he played. He air-balled a potential game-winning 3-point shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock and the Nets trailing by two.

It took the Bucks a while to get going in overtime, but Khris Middleton eventually hit the deciding shot for Milwaukee. He finished with 23 points in 52 minutes. Giannis Antekounmpo led the Bucks with 40 points in 50 minutes.

Now, for the second time in three seasons, Mike Budenholzer’s squad will head to the Eastern Conference finals, where they will await the winner of Sunday night’s Hawks-76ers Game 7.

Sporting News provided live scoring updates and highlights from Nets vs. Bucks on Saturday. Check out all the Game 7 highlights right here.

Nets vs. Bucks score Game 7 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT Final Nets 28 25 28 27 2 111 Bucks 25 22 35 28 6 115 Nets vs. Bucks live updates, highlights from Game 7

(All times Eastern)

Final: Bucks 115, Nets 111 (OT)

11:30 p.m. — OK, now the Bucks are going to the Eastern Conference finals.

11:29 p.m. — Actually, they’ll make Brook Lopez shoot a couple of free throws first after a foul call. Then the Bucks will go to the Eastern Conference finals.

11:26 p.m. —  The Bucks are going to the Eastern Conference finals.

11:25 p.m. —  After trading missed shots, Kevin Durant had a chance to take a game-winning 3-point shot. Jrue Holiday was guarding him. He air-balled it and it went out of bounds with 0.3 seconds left.

11:23 p.m. — Here come the Bucks! Khris Middleton makes a turnaround shot in the paint to take a 113-111 lead on the Nets. There are 40.1 seconds left in overtime.

11:22 p.m. —  Giannis bounces in a hook shot to tie the game at 111.

11:19 p.m. —  Blake Griffin has fouled out. He finishes with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes of action. Bucks ball with 1:25 on the clock. Still 111-109, Nets.

11:17 p.m. — P.J. Tucker has fouled out on a call away from the ball. He finishes with 11 points and five rebounds in 38 minutes of action.

11:16 p.m. —  Still only the Bruce Brown bucket on the board with two minutes left in OT. Nets are leading 111-109. Both sides are looking tired.

11:14 p.m. —  The Nets are on the board first in OT. Bruce Brown gets the bucket.

11:13 p.m. —  How rare is overtime in Game 7? It hasn’t happened in the NBA since a Spurs-Mavericks series in 2006, per Marv Albert.

End of regulation: Nets 109, Bucks 109

11:10 p.m. — Giannis misses. Overtime it is!

11:07 p.m. — Oh. My. Goodness. Kevin Durant drills a long two to tie the game at 109. He was inches away from 3-point range. There’s one second left for the Bucks to score. If not, we’re heading to overtime.

11:05 p.m. —  The Bucks inbound it to Brook Lopez, he tries to pass it. The shot clock expires. The Nets have the ball with six seconds on the clock, down 109-107.

11:03 p.m. —  The Nets cut the Bucks lead to two. It’s 109-107. Khris Middleton takes a 3-point shot that misses, but Milwaukee gets the rebound. There are 8.1 seconds left in the game, 2.1 seconds on the shot clock.

10:59 p.m. —  Khris Middleton makes two free throws. Milwaukee is up 109-105 with 47.4 seconds left. Brooklyn has the ball.

10:56 p.m. —  No lead has been by more than five points in the fourth quarter, according to Marv Albert. With 1:05 left in the quarter, it’s 107-105, Bucks. Milwaukee has the ball. 

10:53 p.m. —  The Bucks are back up and front thanks to a Jrue Holiday 3-point make. Kevin Durant answers and it’s 104-103 Bucks.

10:50 p.m. —  Khris Middleton drains a 3-point shot with the shot clock winding down. The Nets lead is trimmed to two, 101-99.

10:47 p.m. —  The stars are shining tonight. Giannis Antetokounmpo makes a driving bucket through contact. Then, James Harden banks home a 3-point shot in response. With 3:46 on the clock, the Nets lead 101-96.

10:45 p.m. —  At one end of the floor, Jrue Holiday nails a 3-point shot, his first in six attempts on the night. At the other end, he gets called for a questionable foul on a driving Durant. That’s his fifth foul.

10:43 p.m. — Kevin Durant gets a bit lucky on this one, but the finish through contact was all skill. He puts the Nets up 95-91 with 5:39 left.

10:39 p.m. — Giannis Antetokounmpo air-balled another free-throw to the delight of the Nets fans on hand. He bounced back to make the next one.

10:36 p.m. — With 7:11 left in the fourth quarter, P.J. Tucker now has five fouls.

10:35 p.m. —  Joe Harris has to be a fan of the friendly rims at the Barclays Center.

10:32 p.m. —  With 8:05 left in the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo are matching each other blow for blow on the court and in the box score. Durant has 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Antetokounmpo has 33 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

10:28 p.m. —  Jrue Holiday picks up his fourth foul and heads to the bench. He’s one of Milwaukee’s key defenders. How long will he sit, and will Brooklyn take advantage?

10:27 p.m. —  Kevin Durant drives to the hoop for a nice lay-in early in the fourth quarter.

End of third quarter: Bucks 82, Nets 81

10:21 p.m.  We’ve got a game. The Bucks erased their six-point halftime deficit with their 7-0 run to open the quarter and the rest of the third was a back-and-forth affair. It should be an exciting finish.

10:20 p.m. —  James   Harden checks out of the game for the first time. Bruce Brown replaces him for the final 0.9 seconds of the third quarter.

10:19 p.m. — Jrue Holiday finds Giannis for a dunk. He finishes strong and draws an and-one.

10:17 p.m. —  James   Harden has only made one 3-point shot tonight. It was a beauty.

10:13 p.m. — Foul watch: P.J. Tucker picks up his fourth foul of the game. He chats with Kevin Durant’s mother Wanda after accidentally crashing into her son (KD was okay on the play).

10:10 p.m. —  Blake Griffin is having a strong game for the Nets. He has 12 points and nine rebounds at the 4:05 mark in the third quarter. It’s hard to believe that he’s the same guy we saw playing for Detroit earlier this season.

10:06 p.m. —  Both teams are heating up from distance, and the bigger fellas are getting in on the action. That included a bank shot 3-point make from Giannis.

10:04 p.m. — After practicing his free throws at halftime, Antetokounmpo looks more comfortable at the line in the second half. He has now made six of his 10 attempts from the line. 

10:02 p.m. —  P.J. Tucker drains his second corner 3 of the half. That’s his third 3-point make of the game.

9:59 p.m. —  We’re at the 8:34 mark in the third quarter and Durant and Harden have played every minute of this one. That’s impressive for Harden, in particular, who has dealt with a hamstring injury during this series.

9:53 p.m. —  The Bucks come out of the locker room with a 7-0 run. Antetokounmpo made a jump shot, a bucket near the rim and assisted on a Tucker 3-point shot. That forces Steve Nash to call a quick timeout.

9:50 p.m. —   The second half is about to start. A few players have multiple fouls. Blake Griffin has three while Bruce Brown, Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker all have two. As expected, fouls aren’t get a big issue in Game 7.

End of second quarter: Nets 53, Bucks 47

9:36 p.m. —  The Nets won the first two quarters by three points each. At the half, Durant leads all scorers with 20 while Giannis leads the Bucks with 17. Between the two teams, bench players have only played a total of 23 minutes. It looks like each coach is going to ride his starters in Game 7.

9:34 p.m. —  Giannis couldn’t quite get a shot off before the buzzer. A tenth of a second more, and his last-second lay-in would’ve counted.

9:33 p.m. —  There’s a reason they call him the Greek Freak!

9:32 p.m. —  The Nets have a lot of support from other New York sports teams at Game 7. Many members of the Yankees are there. So is Giants legend Eli Manning.

9:27 p.m. —  Here’s something you won’t see every day: 6-5 James Harden won a jump ball over 6-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo.

9:23 p.m. —  Oh boy, Giannis just air-balled a free throw while the crowd loudly counted down from 10. Even though the Nets can no longer time Antetokounmpo’s free throws on the Jumbotron , there’s nothing to stop the crowd from doing it on their own accord.

9:21 p.m. —  Pat Connaughton has six points off the bench on two 3-point makes. All other bench scorers in the game? Zero points with four minutes left in the second quarter.

9:16 p.m. — Before that timeout, Bruce Brown threw down a slam dunk that thrilled the Brooklyn crowd. Also, he’s wearing a mask now. He wore it earlier in the season while dealing with a broken nose.

9:14 p.m. —  The Bucks called timeout to get Antetokounmpo off the court for a quick break. He sat for about a minute after the timeout before checking back in.

9:06 p.m. — Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer is going to use Giannis a lot tonight. “We’ll play him as much as we need him,” the coach told the TNT broadcast between two quarters.

End of first quarter: Nets 28, Bucks 25

9:03 p.m. —  The Nets are shooting 52.9 percent from the floor, but the Bucks are hanging in there. Durant and Antetokounmpo lead all scorers with 10 points each. Durant also had one of the best assists of the first quarter, as you can see below.

9:02 p.m. —  In case you’re wondering what it looks like when you let Kevin Durant (6-10) post up Jrue Holiday (6-3), this is what happens. And Holiday is a well-respected defender who made the NBA All-Defensive first team for the 2020-21 season.

8:58 p.m. —  Antetokounmpo is off to a great start. He has made four of his first five shots (10 points) and is doing it both near the rim and from distance.

8:51 p.m. —  Bruce Brown just got whistled for a technical foul after he fouled Giannis going to the rack. The Brooklyn crowd wasn’t a fan of the call.

8:44 p.m. —  At the first commercial break with 6:42 left in the first, Kevin Durant was leading all scorers with five points. He’s averaging 33.3 points per game this series.

8:41 p.m. — Giannis just took and made his first shot, a deep 3-point shot. That might be good news for the Bucks.

8:39 p.m. — Joe Harris had been 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) from 3-point range in his last four outings. He just made a wide-open one in transition to cap an 11-0 Brooklyn run. That might be bad news for the Bucks.

8:37 p.m.  —   Note: Charles Barkley actually did guarantee a win for the Bucks before the game. Take that for what it’s worth. 

8:34 p.m. —  The Bucks get on the board first. Fittingly, Brook Lopez nails a corner 3-point shot against his former team to start the scoring.

8:33 p.m. — Bucks win the tip but Holiday comes up short on a midrange jump shot. Here we go.

8:22 p.m. —  Charles Barkley seems confident that Milwaukee can win if they play sound basketball and get good games out of their role players. It wasn’t a Barkley guarantee, though.

8:15 p.m. —  No surprises in either starting lineup. The Nets will start James Harden, Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, Bruce Brown and Blake Griffin. The Bucks will trot out Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, P.J. Tucker and Brook Lopez.

Nets vs. Bucks start time

Game 7 between the Nets and Bucks is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 19. It will be televised nationally on TNT.

NBA playoff schedule 2021

(All times Eastern)

June 20 Game Time National TV Clippers vs. Suns 3:30 p.m. ABC Hawks vs. 76ers 8 p.m. TNT June 22 Game Time National TV Clippers vs. Suns 9 p.m. ESPN June 24 Game Time National TV Suns vs. Clippers 9 p.m. ESPN June 26 Game Time National TV Suns vs. Clippers 9 p.m. ESPN