Bucks oust Nets in OT in Game 7

NEW YORK — The Bucks withstood Kevin Durant’s NBA-record 48 points in a Game 7 and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals by outlasting the Nets 115-111 in overtime Saturday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Bucks, and Khris Middleton made the tiebreaking shot with 40 seconds left in the first overtime Game 7 in 15 years.

The Bucks held on from there when Durant missed two jumpers, including an airball with 0.3 seconds left.

Middleton added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who reached the conference finals for the second time in the last three seasons. They will play the 76ers or Hawks, who will play their own Game 7 on Sunday, in a series that starts Wednesday.

Durant played all 53 minutes and forced overtime with a turnaround jumper that was just inches from being a three-pointer that would have won the game for the Nets with a second left.

He added nine rebounds and six assists, but he didn’t have enough help with Kyrie Irving (sprained ankle) watching from the sideline and James Harden unable to locate his shot after missing most of the first four games with tightness in his right hamstring. Harden had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, but he shot 5-for-17 from the field.

In a series in which the teams often didn’t produce the quality of play that was anticipated between the two highest-scoring teams in the league, Game 7 was a thriller. It was the first do-or-die game to need extra time since the Mavericks beat the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals in 2006.

Antetokounmpo had his fifth consecutive game with 30 or more points and 10 or more rebounds, tying the franchise playoff record set by Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1974.