In the frantic finale of the Brooklyn Nets-Milwaukee Bucks thriller

Under normal circumstances, some children and their families would have left Barclays Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a story for the ages.

For starters, there was no school for the holidays, as three former MVPs – Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden and Kevin Durant – faced off in a high-profile showdown, with the Brooklyn Nets edging the Milwaukee Bucks 125-123. . .

Even in the fanless environment forced by the pandemic, the final five minutes of a settlement between these two Eastern Conference powers left those watching at home swiftly advancing at the thought of a potential playoff game.

After Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez hit a 3-runner with 5:01 left to tie the game at 110, there were eight header changes and 10 field goals. Those 10 field goals are tied in the final five minutes of a game that has ended by regulation in the past 25 years, including the playoffs, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Antetokounmpo almost made a triple-double with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists to go with two steals.

Here is an overview of how the last section will unfold:

4:07 to play: Pat Connaughton hits 3 points, Bucks leads 113-112

3:37 to play: Harden hits the shot, Nets lead 114-113

Harden and Durant combined to score 64 points on Monday, becoming the first teammates to each score 30 or more points in each of their first two games with a franchise, according to data from Elias’s sports office.

3:17 to play: Jrue Holiday makes a layup, Bucks leads 115-114

1:55 to play: Harden does a floating jumper, nets lead 118-117

In the first half, Harden scored with ease but also made six turnovers which was the most in a half this season. He cleaned that up in the second half, however, with zero turnovers and crucial play towards the end, including that float while driving in the lane over the long arms of Lopez, a second-team All-Defensive cross. Across two games with the Nets, Harden has scored or assisted on 129 points, which is the most of a player’s first two games with a team in NBA history.

1:44 to play: Khris Middleton puts in drive, Bucks leads 119-118

1:17 to play: Antetokounmpo draws 119-119, Bucks leads 121-119

Emotions were shown early on between Durant and Antetokounmpo, Durant bumping into Giannis after a bucket from the Nets in the first quarter and then pushing him to the ground while running on another play. So that was quite normal for the Grec Freak attacked the basket aggressively with a two-handed catch jam on a missed lay-up by Holiday.

1:05 to go: Joe Harris scores 3 points, Nets lead 122-121

55.4 to play: Middleton pulls 14ft, Bucks leads 123-122

36.8 to play: Durant hits 3 points, Nets lead 125-123

One of the Nets’ biggest organization concerns once they acquired Harden was how the three stars were going to mesh during the downturn, although Kyrie Irving missed her seventh straight game on Monday. Durant calmed that noise with a clutch, go for 3 points to get the win. Durant’s catch-and-shoot hoop, one of his trademark shots, came on an assist from Harden, who had rebounded his own dud.

“We’re still trying to find our way, and we still have room to improve, but it’s a good start,” Durant said.

1.1 To play: Middleton misses 23 feet 3 points, Nets win 125-123

Middleton finished the night with 25 points, but saw his backsliding, 3-point attempt in and out after catching an inbound pass from the sideline. While several options were put in place, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer had no issues with the attempt, even with Antetokounmpo being the team’s superstar.

“Khris is very good. He landed a shot. I thought it was like it was going to come in, so if you can just send the ball to Khris,” Budenholzer said. “His footwork, his size, but that’s multiple things that we look at. Khris is one of those great reads, good decision from Jrue, good strike from Khris. We’ll take that.”