Milwaukee Bucks: Revisiting playoff history with the Brooklyn Nets
Nets roll through the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs
17 years after they last met in the first round of the playoffs, the Nets and Bucks reheated their playoff history during the first round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs.
The tables had essentially turned as it was the Nets that were the favorite this time around after finishing with a 49-33 record, good for the second seed in the East. Milwaukee was on the downturn and had made the ill-advised decision to trade away Ray Allen to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Gary Payton earlier that season as part of a power struggle between Allen and Bucks head coach George Karl.
As expected, the Nets struck first with a 109-96 win in Game 1 on their home floor. The tables turned, though, in Game 2 as the Bucks eked out a gritty 88-85 win in Game 2 to even up the series as the series shifted over to Milwaukee.
The Nets responded by snatching a 103-101 victory in Game 3 at the Bradley Center that helped by Rodney Rogers knocking down the decisive shot with 2 seconds remaining in regulation. Milwaukee battled back in Game 4 to pull out a 119-114 victory to even up the series at 2-2 as it shifted back to East Rutherford.
The pivotal Game 5 went to New Jersey as they took a 89-82 win to set up themselves up to clinch the series back in Milwaukee for Game 6. That was indeed what happen as the Nets confidently put away the Bucks in a 113-101 victory that catapulted the Nets into the next round and eventually to a trip to that year’s NBA Finals.
After falling out of the playoffs, the Bucks continued to rid themselves clean of their ‘Big 3’ era during that time. The likes of Karl and Sam Cassell, along with Gary Payton, all left Milwaukee in the ensuing offseason as the fallout continued from an eventful time for the franchise.
Next. 4 takeaways from Bucks' season series with Nets. dark
With this upcoming series set up to be an all-timer, we’ll just have to see whether it can live up to the hype of the Bucks’ past playoff meetings with the Nets.