BROOKLYN, N.Y.
Ultimately, though, it was the Bucks who moved on to the Eastern Conference finals, where they will face either the Philadelphia 76ers or Atlanta Hawks.
“We worked extremely hard our whole life for this moment,” said Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 40 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
“That’s why we are here.
The game, like most Game 7s, quickly devolved into a tense, physical affair, with both teams struggling to get consistent offense going outside of their stars, and with those stars playing virtually every minute of the game.
Durant and Harden never left the game, with Durant setting an NBA record for points in a Game 7 with 48 and Harden finishing with 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists while playing on what he said afterward was a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
As the night wore on, the weary legs were evident on both sides, with plenty of hands on knees and hips as the game stretched into the fourth quarter.
So for this group to be rewarded with a huge win in a Game 7 in overtime …
Had Durant’s foot been a quarter step farther back, it likely would’ve marked the end of Milwaukee’s season.
But, unlike Bucks teams of the past, they didn’t fold.
“We really wanted this as a team,” Anteotkounmpo said.
Since their ugly exit at this stage of the playoffs to the Miami Heat last summer, the Bucks have been building toward this moment — a Game 7 on the road — to prove that they had learned from their mistakes.
And, after the disappointments last year against the Heat and the year before in the Eastern Conference finals against the Toronto Raptors, the Bucks showed themselves to be a different team in this series, and in Game 7.
Now, the goal is to get Milwaukee to the NBA finals for the first time in half a century.
“So that’s the message here, that’s the message in the locker room.