Bucks survive KD's magic, beat Nets in OT to reach East finals

The Milwaukee Bucks are heading back to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three seasons after beating the Brooklyn Nets 115-111 in overtime on Saturday.

It was the only time a home team lost in the hard-fought, seven-game series.

Nets superstar Kevin Durant hit a deep, game-tying 2-pointer with one second remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime - the first Game 7 to require additional time since 2006. He finished with 48 points while playing all 53 minutes of action, but he air-balled another deep two that would have forced a second overtime.

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and a block, and accounted for two-thirds of the Bucks' 21 total free-throw attempts.

"We worked extremely hard our whole lives for this moment," Antetokounmpo said postgame, according to The Athletic's Eric Nehm. "I wanted everyone to live up to this moment and cherish this moment. We are built for this."

Flanking the "Greek Freak," Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday continued to struggle to score the ball. Middleton shot 9-of-26 for 23 points, though the two-time All-Star also contributed 10 rebounds, six assists, and five steals in 52 minutes. Holiday scored just 13 points on an abysmal 5-of-23 clip, though he helped with eight assists and seven boards.

Alongside Durant, James Harden - still showing signs of the injury that sidelined him for most of the first four games of the series - finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, playing all but one of the game's 53 minutes.

Milwaukee now awaits the winner of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks. Game 7 of that series tips off Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.