**Please note this article includes a breakdown of the series thusfar**
Once we saw that the eastern conference matchup between the number 2 seeded Brooklyn Nets and the number 3 seeded Milwaukee Bucks, we were all strapped in for what we would all think to be a very competitive series between two of the best teams in the league led by a handful of the leagues best players. And game 1 was just that.
Game 1
Coming into the series Brooklyn was already without their star guard James Harden due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the first-round series against the Boston Celtics. Still, with Kyrie and Kevin Durant, they would still have the recipe to take the first game of the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Kevin Durant would end the game shooting 49% percent from the field with a double-double of 29 points, & 10 rebounds while adding in 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. Kyrie Irving shot a field goal percentage of 48% and would end with 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 8 assists including 1 steal and 1 block.
Although the game ended with the Nets winning with only an 8 point difference, the main takeaway was to see how the Bucks best players struggled to get things going especially their star forward and best shooter on the team, Khris Middleton. Middleton ended the game with a double-double of 13 points, and 13 rebounds including 4 assists but he shot at a HORRIBLE 26% from the field making only 6 of his 23 shot attempts, and took just about the full first half of the game to score his first points.
Game 2
The following game 2 was completely different from the first. In this game we witnessed a massacre where the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Bucks with a blowout win of 39 points!
Kevin Durant ended with 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists including 1 steal and 1 block. Kyrie Irving ended with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. On the Milwaukee Bucks side, Giannis only scored 18 points but was able to end with a double-double getting 11 rebounds as well. But it was once again Khris Middleton who struggled the most shooting at only a 35% rate from the field ending with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and just 1 assist.
Game 3
After the demolition that took place last game, we all thought the series was pretty much over but with the Bucks having the resilient team they have, they changed the whole outlook of the matchup. Starting right in the first quarter the Milwaukee Bucks caught the Nets completely off guard and outscored them 30 to 11! Although the Nets rallied back with a huge second quarter where they outscored the Bucks 31 to 15 to make it a game again. Going into the second half the score was 42 to 45 with the Bucks ahead. In the last 2 quarters of the game, it was very even where the Nets scored just one point more than the Bucks in quarter 3 and the Bucks outscored the Nets by just one point in the 4th quarter. The Bucks ended up winning the very intense match by just three points with the end score being 86 to 83 thanks to a quick decision of not taking a time out with few seconds left in the game and having Jrue Holiday drive for a layup to put them up by 1 and then Khris Middleton ice the game with 2 free throws.
When talking about Khris Middleton, this was finally the game where he showed up unlike the first two. In this game he scored at a 48% rate from the field ending with a double-double of 35 points, 15 rebounds, and included 1 assist. Giannis ended with his usual double-double outing of 33 points, 14 rebounds, and also had 2 assists. As for the stars of Brooklyn, Kevin Durant also ended with a double-double of 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Also had a sensational career and playoff high of 4 steals. Kyrie Irving ended with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Game 4
This is where everything becomes VERY interesting. In the first quarter of this game, it was very back and forth where the two teams went basket for basket ended up with the Nets outscore the Bucks 26 to 23. In the second quarter, both teams went on big runs starting with the Nets having an 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the quarter just to see the Milwaukee Bucks storm back with an 11-0 point run to ultimately take the lead which they did not give up for the rest of the game. With the game being neck & neck, it was just before the 6-minute mark of the quarter where we saw Kyrie Irving score right under the basket but then go down with an ankle injury when landing on Giannis's foot. The game was at a 4 point difference at that time with Milwaukee in the lead and Kyrie was helped off the floor and taken to the back. It wasn't until after halftime that it was announced Kyrie would not return and was out for the remainder of the game.
**Video Below**
That was the moment this whole series changed.
From the moment Kyrie left the game the Bucks never looked back and took control of the game and outscored the Nets 28 to 21 in the third quarter and got outscored by only 1 point in the 4th quarter to take the win by 11 points at an end score of 107 to 96. Kevin Durant ended with another double-double of 28 points, 13 rebounds, including 5 assists. The only other Nets player to score over double digits was Kyrie before going out and ended with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Giannis also ended with a double-double of 34 points, and 12 rebounds, including 3 assists and 1 block. Khris Middleton also had a decent outing with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists while also adding 2 steals and 2 blocks.
The series is now tied 2-2 with the next game taking place back in Brooklyn. After game 3 Kyrie was seen on crutches and in a walking boot but the tests that they underwent on the ankle luckily came back negative. Although that is great news for the Nets there is no time table for his return or any guarantee he can play in game 5. Talking to my buddies discussing the playoffs a few weeks ago I stated that if any of the big three on the Nets suffer an injury that it will be a big problem. Fast forward to now and they are down 2 of the 3.
Kevin Durant is Brooklyns main scorer and he will always score, but now he needs to try and get every single one of his role players involved going forward and that is something Kevin Durant has not been known for.
To end this article I say, The Brooklyn Nets are officially in trouble!
Hope you guys enjoyed the read
-Sani