Down 99–96 with just over five minutes left, Bucks star Khris Middleton tried to chase down Nets guard Bruce Brown on a fast break. Brown slowed down, and Middleton caught his arm in mid-air, causing him to hit the floor hard.
After reviewing the play, referees in Brooklyn elected to eject the Milwaukee forward with a flagrant 2 at a critical juncture of Thursday’s game.
Brown made both free throws for Brooklyn, and Kyrie Irving added bucket on the team’s ensuing possession, quickly stretching the lead to seven points. Milwaukee fought back, tying the game on a ridiculous Giannis Antetokounmpo stepback three. The game is went to overtime tied at 110 before the Bucks were able to secure a 120-119 victory.
For a while, it looked like the Nets may pull away from the Middleton-less Bucks. Instead, Giannis put in an MVP-caliber performance, with 44 points on just 21 shot attempts and 14 rebounds.
Kevin Durant had a fairly quiet night by his standards but heated up in overtime, finishing with 26 points and 11 assists. Irving finished 25 points, while Brown had 23 of his own.
Naturally, Bucks fans and others around the league are none too pleased about Middleton’s ejection on a play where they argue he was hustling and Brown was not.
If Milwaukee hadn’t been able to pull out the win in overtime, NBA fans would be hearing plenty about the Middleton ejection on Thursday night and Friday morning.
