You didn’t dream it Milwaukee Bucks fans.
Saturday night saw the Bucks finally get past the Brooklyn Nets after what was an incredibly hard-fought Conference Semifinals series that clearly saved the best game for last. In the end, Milwaukee stood victorious by escaping Brooklyn with a 115-111 overtime victory at the Barclays Center that helped them book their second trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in three years.
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In a series that was hyped from the moment both the Bucks and the Nets got past their first round opponents, it’s safe to safe to all of the anticipation was validated as the Bucks battled back through the series after falling into a 0-2 hole.
Of course, the Bucks know very well what it’s like being on the other end of having a 2-0 lead in a playoff series. This time around, the Bucks flipped the script and battled back through plenty of adversity, an epic meltdown in Game 5 and they held on to the plot just enough to get past a Nets team that was battered and broken by the end of overtime in Game 7.
It helped the Bucks become the 30th team in NBA history to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a playoff series, following in the footsteps of the L.A. Clippers after they got past the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semifinals a night before.
And in a bit of symmetry, the Bucks did exactly what they did to reach the Conference Finals 20 years ago after getting past the Charlotte Hornets, all while winning their first Game 7 on the road in franchise history.
The Milwaukee Bucks enjoy the triumph of a hard-fought Game 7 victory
In light of earning such a massive victory, we’re already seeing long-term implications come into play. Recent reports indicate that Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer has already done enough to ensure that his time in Milwaukee will last at least another season and a contract extension will surely be on the way to avoid a lame duck year if the Bucks reach the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly five decades.
More importantly, though, there is a certain vindication that all Bucks players, coaches and officials have to feel, given the playoff disappointments that preceded this season. Yes, this Bucks team isn’t the same squads and rosters that collapsed against the Toronto Raptors in the Conference Finals two years ago or completely fell on their face against the Miami during last season’s Conference Semifinals.
And that’s precisely the point. The Bucks spent considerable resources (i.e. draft picks) to improve their core with the arrival of Jrue Holiday, invested in different approaches and acquired a midseason reinforcement in P.J. Tucker to make them more malleable when it matters most.
Their breakthrough against the Nets served as the latest example of that and the series itself was a microcosm of this season as a whole. The ups and downs the Bucks had gone through over the regular season required plenty of patience as they put the puzzle pieces together in a season unlike any other.
Milwaukee still has plenty of work to complete the puzzle and they’ll be preparing for the Atlanta Hawks after they escaped their Conference Semifinals series with the Philadelphia 76ers with a Game 7 victory while also on the road.
By putting the stamp on a historic series win and arguably delivering their biggest win in franchise history, Milwaukee is showing they aren’t the same Bucks of old. And their work is far from over at this stage.