Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 115-111 Game 7 win over Brooklyn Nets

It’s official: the Milwaukee Bucks are going to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in three years.

Saturday night brought the thrilling conclusion to the Bucks’ Eastern Conference Semifinals series with the Brooklyn Nets and it took an overtime period and plenty of heart and determination for the Bucks to pull out a 115-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

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Pardon for being so reactive in a world that is focused on hot takes, but the Bucks’ Game 7 win over the Nets certainly has an argument for being the biggest victory in franchise history.

So without further ado, let’s break down what all stood out in the Milwaukee Bucks’ epic Game 7 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Brook Lopez was the Milwaukee Bucks’ unsung hero in Game 7 win

With all of the focus on the Bucks’ stars who helped bring him an incredible victory, there was Brook Lopez literally standing in the middle of it all doing his part.

Lopez’s contributions certainly will get lost in the shuffled and it shouldn’t. Lopez finished with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting (3-for-4 from 3-point range, 2-for-2 from the foul line), eight boards, four blocks, an assist and a steal in nearly 46 minutes of action.

The veteran big man kept the Bucks afloat throughout the first half as their offense struggled to find their footing.

Having started the Bucks’ scoring off for the night, the Bucks’ ball handlers made a note of setting up perfect passes for Lopez as he was stationed in the corner and it helped the Bucks thrive from beyond the arc where they went 15-for-36 from beyond the arc (41.7 percent). The Bucks were 7-for-12 on their corner 3-point attempts.

Even as Lopez’s scoring trailed off in the second half, his impact defensively more than made up for it. Even as the likes of Kevin Durant and Nets shooters sought to exploit Lopez and the Bucks’ drop scheme, Lopez’s rim protection was immense when it mattered most.

There wasn’t a better example of that than with a minute left to play in overtime and Lopez swatted Kevin Durant’s driving layup attempt right at the rim, which led to Khris Middleton hitting the game-winning shot on the other end of the floor.

Given the circumstances surrounding the Bucks as they entered their series with the Nets, they were able to withstand Lopez’s usage and how Brooklyn looked to exploit Milwaukee’s drop scheme. It wasn’t pretty at times, but Lopez fought through all of that and helped bring home a monumental victory in Bucks history.