5 Reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks won against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 6 of 2021 NBA Playoffs Round 2
It was an all-or-nothing game for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Brooklyn Nets for a chance to force a Game 7 in the 2021 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Bucks responded to the pressure with an excellent performance. They took advantage of their bright start and never gave up the lead, winning the game 104-89 at the Fiserv Forum.
James Harden was unable to take off in transition as he adopted a self-preservation technique to avoid aggravating his hamstring injury. Regardless, he remained an elite distributor and contributed three 3-pointers to record 16 points for the night.
Steve Nash hung his boots with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant and James Harden were withdrawn for the night after his team went behind by 18 points.
Fatigue caught up with Durant, who played every minute of Game 5 for the Brooklyn Nets. Although he registered 32 points with a field goal percentage of .500, he was not as explosive in the 40 minutes he spent on court.
The Milwaukee Bucks will take one last road trip this series to guarantee their Eastern Conference Finals berth. The Brooklyn Nets will look to continue their perfect home performance in the Semifinals so far to overcome the Bucks.
Here's our look at five reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks edged out the Brooklyn Nets to tie the series 3-3.
#5 Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated the paint
Giannis Antetokounmpo took the Nets' bait in Game 5 and attempted a lot of 3's, despite not being a renowned great 3-point shooter. The Brooklyn Nets were comfortable with him taking those shots, which resulted in a 1-of-5 stat line from beyond the arc.
The Greek Freak learned from his mistakes and did not attempt even one 3-point shot in Game 6. His aggressive drive to the rim was a key factor in the Milwaukee Bucks' emphatic win. Despite not being the leading scorer in this match, he registered 30 points, 17 rebounds and three assists.
#4 The Milwaukee Bucks grabbed more boards than the Brooklyn Nets
Rebounding can be a deciding factor, especially in the NBA playoffs where every possession counts. The Milwaukee Bucks outrebounded the Nets on both ends of the court. The latter looked uninterested for the better part of the game and did not put up much of a fight at grabbing the board.
The Brooklyn Nets had 39 total rebounds while the Milwaukee Bucks ended the game with 51. It was more of the same on the offensive end as the Bucks had 15 offensive rebounds, with the Nets ending the game with nine.