OKLAHOMA CITY _ The Milwaukee Bucks were tasked with overcoming a 20-point deficit on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. On Friday night in Oklahoma City, the Bucks faced the opposite challenge _ building a 22-point lead in the first quarter and needing to find a way to hold on.
The path may have been different, but the result was the same. Milwaukee answered the call for the second night in a row, earning a 97-95 victory over the Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
But it wasn't easy and it took a little bit of luck.
After a furious comeback led by reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, who scored 40 points and hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left, the Bucks needed a bucket to avoid overtime. They went to their star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who drove baseline and deposited a tough layup over Westbrook with 1.3 seconds left.
Antetokounmpo clearly stepped out of bounds on his path to the basket, but the play wasn't reviewed and Westbrook's desperation heave ahead of the buzzer was nowhere close to going in.
After the buzzer, the sellout crowd let the referees hear it while Thunder coach Billy Donovan and multiple players protested to no avail. Antetokounmpo's game-winner gave him at 23 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the victory.
Khris Middleton chipped in 20 points and John Henson added 18. Tony Snell made four 3-pointers on the way to a 15-point performance.
The Bucks raced out to a 22-point first-quarter lead over the Thunder, which was playing without forward Paul George. Milwaukee shot by 60.9 percent and grabbed four steals in the period.
The first quarter saw numerous players make contributions for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo played the role of facilitator, dishing out slick passes for five assists, including four on Milwaukee's first five field goals. Middleton carried the scoring load with 11 points in the opening period and Snell wasn't far behind, making three successive 3-pointers as the Bucks overwhelmed the Thunder at both ends from the jump.
The Thunder never led and didn't tie the game until Westbrook's three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left. The win was Milwaukee's first in Oklahoma City since 2013.
