By Adrian Stewart Co
Kevin Durant drained a go-ahead triple as Brooklyn Nets pulled off a 125-123 escape over Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Trailing 122-123, Durant converted a triple from top of the key from a pass by James Harden to give the Nets a 125-123 edge with 36 seconds left. The Bucks had a chance to win it but were thwarted by the defense.
Durant finished the match with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Harden chipped in 34 points, 12 assists and six rebounds as the Nets moved up to 9-5.
The Bucks were holding to a 107-100 lead early in the fourth behind Harden’s basket but Milwaukee countered with a huge run to take a 117-114 advantage.
After the match was tied at 119-all, both teams traded leads with the Bucks tasting the lead for the last time at 123-122 on a triple by Khris Middleton but Durant countered with his three-pointer for the Nets.
Giannis Antetokounmpo ended up with 34 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, while Middleton and Jrue Holiday contributed 25 and 22, respectively, as the Bucks dropped to 9-5.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Hawks (6-7) survived a late game surge by the Minnesota Timberwolves (3-9) to pull off a 108-97 victory to snap its two-game losing skid.
Already ahead by 15 with less than six minutes left on back-to-back triples by Kevin Huerter and De’Andre Hunter, the Hawks saw its lead trimmed to 100-94 with under two minutes left.
Clint Capela, however, pushed Atlanta’s lead to 102-94 with a left-handed hook shot before Trae Young sealed the victory for the Hawks with two free throws with 33 seconds left.
Hunter finished the match with 25 points, Capela added double-double 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Young fell short of a triple-double with 20 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds for the Hawks.
In other results, New York Knicks (7-8) cruised to its second straight win with a victory over Orlando Magic (6-8), 91-84; while San Antonio Spurs (8-6) walloped Portland Trail Blazers (8-6), 125-104.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 125 – Harden 34, Durant 30, Harris 20, Green 14, Jordan 12, Brown 8, Shamet 5, Perry 2, Luwawu-Cabarrot 0.
MILWAUKEE 123 – Antetokounmpo 34, Middleton 25, Holiday 22, Lopez 15, Connaughton 9, DiVincenzo 8, Portis 4, Forbes 4, Augustin 2.
Quarterscores: 28-34, 57-56, 94-89, 125-123./ASC, WDJ