Giannis Antetokounmpo is continuing to believe, despite the Milwaukee Bucks falling into a 2-0 hole following a demoralising defeat to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were no match for the star-studded and James Harden-less Nets, who showed no mercy in a devastating 125-86 victory in the NBA playoffs on Monday.

The third-seeded Bucks trailed by as much as 49 points in a forgettable game in Brooklyn, where two-time reigning MVP Antetokounmpo finished with 18 points on eight-for-15 shooting and 11 rebounds.

Antetokounmpo and the bruised Bucks will return to Milwaukee for Game 3 on Thursday, but their superstar remains upbeat in pursuit of the franchise's first championship since 1971.

"It's easy," Antetokounmpo replied when asked how he could prevent his team-mates from losing confidence. "That's what I do.

"I don't get too high, I don't get too low. After the Miami series, we were up 4-0, and coming to this series, I wasn't high.

"Now that we're down 2-0, I'm not low. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing, keep trusting my work, keep trusting my team-mates, keep believing in the team, keep believing in the habits we've built all year, and hopefully in Game 3 we get a win."

The Bucks were easily beaten by the Miami Heat in the second round of last season's playoffs, while Milwaukee are yet to progress beyond the Eastern Conference semi-finals (2019, 2001, 1986, 1984, 1983) since 1973-74.

"It's an opportunity," Antetokounmpo said. "At the end of the day, we have to take care of business, and take it a game at a time. I do not want to hear we got to win two at home.

"We got to win one at home. We've got to win the first game. We've got to get Game 3 and try to give everything we can to get that one, and then Game 4 try to do the same thing. But we have to focus on Game 3 right now."

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks had no answers as Kevin Durant guided the Brooklyn Nets to a brutal 125-186 victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Harden sat out due to hamstring tightness, but the star-studded Nets still made light work of the Bucks in Monday's blow-out win for a commanding 2-0 lead in the NBA playoffs.

Durant put on a show against two-time reigning MVP Antetokounmpo and the visiting Bucks, posting 32 points in three quarters while Kyrie Irving added 22 points.

The second-seeded Nets – who defeated Milwaukee in three consecutive home games for the first time since 2006-09 – led by as much as 49 points in their most lopsided postseason victory in franchise history.

Brooklyn, eyeing a maiden championship, became the first team since the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers to score at least 115 points in each of their last six playoff games.

The Nets – who set a franchise postseason record with 21 three-pointers – became the first team in playoff history to have an MVP winner (Harden) miss the game and yet still win by 35-plus points, according to Stats Perform.

Antetokounmpo had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, but the Bucks superstar was far from efficient.

Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo was eight-for-15 shooting, while he missed all three of his attempts from beyond the arc and had three turnovers.

Khris Middleton finished with 17 points, however, he was seven-for-20 shooting from the field, having made only three of his eight three-pointers.

In the west, the Phoenix Suns opened their semi-final matchup with a 122-105 win at home to the Denver Nuggets.

Chris Paul (21 points and 11 assists) and Deandre Ayton (20 points and 10 rebounds) fuelled the second-seeded Suns, who saw all of their starters finish with double-digit points – Devin Booker (21), Mikal Bridges (23) and Jae Crowder (14).

The Suns took control in the second half, outscoring the third-ranked Nuggets 65-47 in Game 1.

MVP favourite and Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was limited to just 22 points on 10-for-23 shooting, nine rebounds and three assists on the road.

 

Clippers at Jazz

The Los Angeles Clippers and top-ranked Utah Jazz will open their Western Conference second-round series on Tuesday. In the east, the Philadelphia 76ers will be looking to bounce back in Game 2 at home to the Atlanta Hawks.

The NBA fined Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers $75,000 each for a tweet regarding Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.

Philadelphia president of basketball operations Morey violated the league's anti-tampering rules following a tweet last week, while the 76ers were also fined for his conduct.

Morey tweeted "join 'em" with a picture of an Instagram post by Curry regarding his brother and 76ers guard Seth Curry.

Stephen Curry posted via social media after his brother scored a playoff career-high 30 points in Game 5 of Eastern Conference first-round series against Washington Wizards.

Golden State's Curry is not scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent until after next season having signed a then-record $201million, five-year contract in July 2017.

Curry would be 38 at the end of such a deal, but the two-time MVP has shown no signs of slowing down after averaging a career-high 32.0 points during the regular season to become the oldest NBA scoring champion since a 35-year-old Michael Jordan accomplished the feat in 1997-98.

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers issued a warning about Joel Embiid's health despite his injury return, insisting "we're still not out of the woods" as the Eastern Conference top seeds look to bounce back against the Atlanta Hawks.

Embiid returned from a meniscus tear in Philadelphia's shock 128-124 loss at home to the fifth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-final opener on Sunday.

MVP finalist Embiid sat out the series-clinching win over the Washington Wizards due to the right knee injury, which he sustained in Game 4 of the opening-round matchup.

The 76ers outscored the Wizards by 31.6 points per 100 possessions with Embiid on the court but were outscored by 7.5 points per 100 possessions when he went to the bench (excluding Game 5), according to Stats Perform.

Embiid led all scorers with 39 points on 12-for-21 shooting, while he also had nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal against the visiting Hawks in Philadelphia.

Gearing up for Tuesday's Game 2 at Wells Fargo Center, Rivers provided an update on All-Star Embiid following Monday's practice, telling reporters: "He looked pretty good.

"Obviously, we didn't do much today, but just my observation, without being a real medical doctor, is that he looked pretty good. We were happy with everything."

Embiid has been averaging 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in this season's playoffs, while he boasts career highs in field-goal percentage (61.6), three-point percentage (43.8) and free-throw percentage (90.5).

In 2020-21, Embiid has averaged a career-high 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

"I think we always have to worry," Rivers added. "I don't think we're out of the woods, I'll put it that way. I think after each game he's gonna be evaluated for a while.

"I don't know how long that lasts, there may be three or four or five games, but we're still not out of the woods, I guess, would be the best way to describe it."

The 76ers were blown away by Trae Young and the Hawks, who led 75-54 at half-time. According to Stats Perform, that is the highest first-half point total by a road team in a postseason series opener in history.

Young had 25 of his 35 points in the first half as the Hawks outscored the 76ers 42-27 in the first period.

Philadelphia's Ben Simmons (17 points and 10 assists) had a double-double but it was a disappointing outing for the 76ers, who are eyeing their first championship since 1983.

However, All-Star Simmons remains upbeat, adding: "The confidence has always been there. I think it's just more so we got to lock in and be ready for whoever comes in the building because it's not going to be easy.

"It's the playoffs and this is a good team we're facing right now. They play the right way. They share the ball, and they play together. We got to come together and play the right way."

New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has been named the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, it was announced on Monday.

Thibodeau was recognised for leading the Knicks to their first playoff berth since 2013 in his first season in charge – the franchise lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round.

The 63-year-old received 43 first-place votes and 351 total points to beat Phoenix Suns counterpart Monty Williams to his second Coach of the Year award, while Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder finished third.

Thibodeau also won the Coach of the Year award in his first season as a head coach with the Chicago Bulls in 2010-11.

The veteran is now the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as a head coach with two different franchises.

Thibodeau is also the 10th head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award more than once and the eighth to do it with multiple franchises, while he is the third head coach to be selected as NBA Coach of the Year with the Knicks, joining Red Holzman (1969-70) and Pat Riley (1992-93).

Led by Thibodeau, the Knicks ended the regular season tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) as Julius Randle earned All-Star selection for the first time in his career and the Most Improved Player award.

The Knicks starred defensively throughout the season – leading the NBA in points allowed (104.7), opponents' field-goal percentage (44.0) and three-point percentage (33.7), while New York ranked fourth in defensive rating (107.8).

Luka Doncic appeared to confirm he would be signing a supermax contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks following their NBA playoff exit.

The Mavs were eliminated from the postseason with Sunday's Game 7 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, despite another outstanding series from Doncic.

The Slovenian has played in only two playoff series – both defeats against the Clippers – but has quickly established himself as one of the league's elite offensive players.

Doncic scored 35.7 points per game across the seven games, improving his career postseason average to 33.5.

That is the best mark of any player to appear in 13 or more playoff games, passing Michael Jordan's 33.4.

Jordan is one of only three men since 1963 to outscore Doncic across the first 13 games of his playoff career, with the Mavs superstar matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 436 points.

Dallas will pursue an extension to keep Doncic on the team long term, and he replied to questions about an imminent supermax deal: "I think you know the answer."

Doncic is still playing on the four-year rookie contract he signed after the Mavs traded with the Atlanta Hawks on draft night in 2018.

The 22-year-old is set to earn $10.2million in the coming season, but Dallas are expected to make him an offer that would then exceed $200m across the next five years.

Doncic, who averages 25.7 points in the regular season, was the Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 and made the All-NBA First Team last year. He will likely be included in the same selection for 2020-21.

A new generation of NBA superstars established themselves as the playoffs continued last week.

The first round concluded as a talented, young (with the exception of Chris Paul) Phoenix Suns team defeated LeBron James and defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Atlanta Hawks quickly gained an upper hand against the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, too.

And although Kawhi Leonard led the Los Angeles Clippers through to round two, they also suffered at the hand of an emerging talent, as Stats Perform's NBA Heat Check shows.
 

RUNNING HOT...

Devin Booker

Booker was dominant across the board for the Suns, earning praise from James after getting the better of the reigning NBA Finals MVP.

When comparing last week's performances with regular season returns, Booker ranked third for scoring improvement, second for rebounding improvement and second for three-point makes improvement. This was a staggering show of strength.

Playing in his sixth year, it is easy to forget this was a debut postseason series for Booker, who finished with 47 points at Staples Center and will back himself to deliver again against the Denver Nuggets.

Trae Young

The biggest potential upset of the second round is already under way after the Hawks took Game 1 against the 76ers in Philly despite Joel Embiid's return to fitness.

Young – another playoff debutant – was predictably at the centre of their success, following up 36 points in Game 5 against the New York Knicks with 35 in this opener.

He had 25 in the first half on Sunday on eight-of-13 shooting as Atlanta scored 74, the most ever by a road team in a Game 1. Considering the way the Sixers battled back to make the encounter close, Young might have to be similarly outstanding again in the forthcoming meetings.

Luka Doncic

Young was traded to the Hawks as part of the deal that saw Doncic go the other way to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night in 2018. But the Slovenian will play no further part in the playoffs after Sunday's Game 7 defeat to the Clippers.

Doncic has undoubtedly proven his class in the postseason, though, even if he is yet to win a series. Already one of the league's outstanding offensive stars, his career playoff average of 33.5 points per game is the best of any player to appear in 13 or more games – surpassing Michael Jordan's 33.4.

The Mavs ace reached that mark thanks to an outstanding week that included two 40-point performances despite Dallas' eventual series defeat.

Doncic's performances through 13 career playoff games are a match for the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Only Rick Barry, Bob McAdoo and Jordan have topped his 436 total points at this stage since 1963-64. He was certainly not to blame on Sunday...
 

GOING COLD...

Kristaps Porzingis

Expensive team-mate Porzingis may well have to take some responsibility for the Mavs' failings, although he was not alone. Among the players with the largest declines in scoring over the past week from their regular season outputs, three Dallas players were in the top seven.

Josh Richardson and Jalen Brunson were also in there, but Porzingis' presence should be of the most concern.

Although the big man put up 16 points and 11 rebounds – his second-most in a postseason game – on Sunday, his failure to make a single one of his five three-point attempts left Doncic short of help.

Enes Kanter

Doncic was not the only superstar left high and dry as he exited the first round. Damian Lillard did all he could to try to carry the Portland Trail Blazers past the Nuggets last week, averaging 41.5 points, but could not advance alone.

CJ McCollum underwhelmed, despite contributing 20.7 points across the series, yet it was the absence of effective defense that meant Nikola Jokic was always able to match Lillard.

Jusuf Nurkic had a combined plus/minus of 45 but fouled out of three of the six games, meaning poor Kanter had to guard Jokic on occasion and ended the series with a -34 plus/minus across only 56 minutes.

Reggie Jackson paid tribute to Kawhi Leonard for instigating the Los Angeles Clippers' crucial Game 7 win over the Dallas Mavericks to secure progression to the NBA Western Conference semi-finals.

The Clippers were 126-111 victors on Sunday as they finally got the job done in the last game of the series, going some way to exorcising their 2020 demons.

Last year, the Clippers missed out on a spot in the Western Conference finals as they blew a 3-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets, who eventually saw them off 104-89 in Game 7 in September.

The Nuggets became the first NBA team to overcome a 3-1 deficit twice in the same playoffs and had been used as a stick to beat the Clippers with practically ever since.

While the Mavs put the Clippers under pressure, with Luka Doncic setting a new Game 7 record for 77 points scored or assisted, it was not enough as two-time Finals MVP Leonard played a starring role.

Although he did not match 22-year-old Doncic's stunning 46-point haul – which made him the youngest player in NBA history to average 35 points each game in a playoff series – Leonard only just missed out on a triple-double, recording 28 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Almost half (13) of those points came in an emphatic opening quarter, which Jackson felt was vital in setting the tone.

"I think it all started with Kawhi," Jackson said. "Kawhi came in with a mentality that he was going to take this game today.

"He was going to come in and lead and wasn't going to be shy about his play at all. He really got it going early and once he got it going early, guys had to load up and defenses had to change their coverages."

As for the Clippers moving past the disappointment of 2020, coach Ty Lue seemed relieved to look past it.

"Last year was last year," Lue said. "We talked about it when the season started, that's over and we've got to look going forward.

"We can't keep looking behind and what happened in the bubble. That s***'s over."

On the other side of the coin, much like Leonard in last year's semi-finals, Doncic's brilliance came to nothing in the end.

The Slovenian was the star of the series, with numerous Clippers applauding his performances after Game 7, but he cut a dejected figure and feels he has not proven anything about himself because he is paid to win.

Asked what he felt he had proved, Doncic said: "I mean, nothing yet. We made the playoffs twice since I've been here. We lost both times. At the end, you get paid to win. We didn't do it."

The Clippers will go on to face top seeds the Utah Jazz in the semi-finals after they eased past the Memphis Grizzlies 4-1 in the first round.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid vowed to "keep pushing until I can't" in his pursuit of an NBA championship after returning from a knee injury in Sunday's shock loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

After sitting out the series-clinching win over the Washington Wizards due to a meniscus tear in his right knee, Embiid made his comeback in the 128-124 defeat to the fifth-seeded Hawks in the Eastern Conference semi-final opener.

Embiid, who hurt his knee in Game 4 against the Wizards, led all scorers with 39 points but his presence was not enough to help the top-seeded 76ers overturn a 26-point deficit at home to the Hawks.

"Playing on a torn meniscus is not easy," said Embiid, who was 12-for-21 shooting while also collecting nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal. "All I got to do is keep managing it. Do my best.

"Get as much treatment as I can. Try to manage it to make sure that it doesn't swell up too much. Obviously, the pain is going to be there. That's normal.

"But it's all about managing it, doing whatever it takes to win. Because my goal is to win the championship. I'm going to put my body on the line to make sure that happens. I'm going to give everything I got."

MVP finalist Embiid added: "I can adjust to any style of play. We just played Washington that played fast. This team, they were physical. They play fast. I can adjust to it. It's the playoffs.

"You can't worry about how many minutes someone is supposed to play or is going to play. You got to go with your best guys.

"As long as I'm OK to be out there and I'm going to give my best and I'm going to keep pushing until I can't.

"But as long as I'm out there, I'm going to play hard. I'm going to dive for loose balls. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win."

Embiid played a team-high 38 minutes for the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, where the hosts were upstaged by Trae Young (35 points and 10 assists) and the Hawks.

Tobias Harris (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Ben Simmons (17 points and 10 assists) both had double-doubles for the 76ers, while Seth Curry added 21 points as Philadelphia's bench struggled.

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was not happy with Embiid's game time, telling reporters: "I didn't like him in, even though we had to have him in.

"But when we were trapping and running around in that last three minutes and obviously we made a run, I did not like him on the floor at that point because I didn't want him doing those things, if you want to be honest. That's why we told him to just stand back. Because those are the ones that you get injured on."

Jason Kidd will not vie to fill the Portland Trail Blazers' head-coaching vacancy, withdrawing from consideration despite Damian Lillard's endorsement.

Portland are looking for a new coach after the Trail Blazers and Terry Stotts mutually agreed to part ways on Friday following the team's elimination in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

All-Star Lillard backed Los Angeles Lakers assistant and Hall of Famer Kidd for the role, telling Yahoo Sports: "Jason Kidd is the guy I want".

But former Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks head coach Kidd will not be pursuing the job in Portland.

"Portland's a first-class organisation and will have great candidates for its head coaching job, but I've decided not to be one of them," the 48-year-old told ESPN.

"Whoever they choose will have big shoes to fill from Terry [Stotts]."

Los Angeles Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups, ex-New York Knicks and Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni and Michigan's Juwan Howard are reportedly among the candidates.

Kidd led the Nets in 2013-14 – overseeing a 44-38 record as the franchise lost in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The 10-time All-Star and 2010 NBA champion coached the Bucks between 2014 and 2018, reaching the playoffs twice but losing in the opening round on both occasions.

James Harden will sit out Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks due to hamstring tightness.

Nets superstar Harden hurt his hamstring during Saturday's 115-107 win over the Bucks in the NBA playoffs.

Harden lasted just 43 seconds after re-injuring the same hamstring which sidelined the former MVP for 21 of the final 23 regular-season games.

The second-seeded Nets will be without Harden for Monday's second showdown at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

"James Harden has been diagnosed with right hamstring tightness," the Nets said via Twitter on Sunday.

"He is listed as out for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals vs. Milwaukee. Further updates will be issued as appropriate."

As the star-studded Nets gear up for Game 2 in pursuit of a maiden championship, head coach Steve Nash told reporters: "He [Harden] has high hopes and he wants to be back ASAP. Now, I think we want to protect James, too. We want to make sure he's right.

"This is playoff time. This is time to take some risks, but it has to be right to take those risks -- we're not going to take any old risk. So, we hope he's back.

"He believes he can be back. But, we've got to see what happens and only can time can tell how he responds."

In this season's playoffs, Harden has been averaging 23.2 points, a career-high 8.8 assists and 6.2 rebounds through six games.

He has also been boasting postseason career highs in field-goal percentage (55.6) and three-point percentage (47.5).

Kawhi Leonard was the hero again for the Los Angeles Clippers, who completed their comeback against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 to progress to the Western Conference semi-finals.

A deciding game was needed in the opening-round series after Leonard erupted for 45 points to help the Clippers avoid elimination in the NBA playoffs on Friday.

In the winner-takes-all showdown at Staples Center, Clippers superstar Leonard stepped up to the plate with a double-double as the Clippers prevailed 126-111 to clinch the series 4-3 on Sunday.

Leonard posted 28 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals to lead the Clippers to a date with the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the second round, starting on Tuesday.

Luka Doncic carried the load for the visiting Mavericks in Los Angeles, but the All-Star's 46 points and 14 assists were not enough.

The fourth-seeded Clippers were 3-5 in Game 7 in franchise history – losers in each of their last three appearances (2015 Western Conference semi-finals, 2017 first round and 2020 Western Conference semi-finals) and looking to avoid becoming the fifth team in NBA history to lose four consecutive Game 7s.

While the Clippers led by eight points at half-time, the fifth-seeded Mavericks outscored the home team 19-6 to open the third period for an 81-76 advantage.

That sparked the Clippers, who responded with a 24-4 run for a 100-85 lead entering the fourth quarter and while the Mavericks chipped away at the deficit, there was no denying Leonard and the championship hopefuls – who became the first home team to win in this series.

In the earlier game, MVP finalist Joel Embiid made his return but top seeds the Philadelphia 76ers were upstaged 128-124 by the Atlanta Hawks in their Eastern Conference semi-final opener.

Embiid made his way back to the court following a meniscus tear and while he put up 39 points, the Hawks silenced a hostile crowd to draw first blood at Wells Fargo Center.

Trae Young had 25 of his 35 points in the first half as the fifth-seeded Hawks made a blistering start to the contest in Philadelphia.

Atlanta led Philadelphia 75-54 at half-time. According to Stats Perform, that is the highest first-half point total by a road team in a postseason series opener in history.

Young joined Lew Alcindor as the only players in NBA history to score 30-plus points in each of the first four road games of their playoff careers, while he became the first Hawks player in history to have 35-plus points and 10-plus assists in a postseason game.

 

Nuggets at Suns

The Phoenix Suns will host the Denver Nuggets in their Western Conference semi-final opener on Monday. In the east, the Brooklyn Nets can take a 2-0 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid was cleared to start Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

Embiid has been managing a knee injury and missed the final game of the first-round series against the Washington Wizards, having bowed out after just 11 minutes in the previous encounter.

The center's return against a tricky Hawks team represents a big boost for the 76ers, though.

While Embiid has been limited to 24.0 points per game so far in the 2020-21 playoffs due to his knee complaint, he tallied 28.5 points along with 10.6 rebounds in the regular season.

The 27-year-old will be expected to improve on his 19.7 points per game across three meetings with Atlanta this year, although he was limited to 25 minutes or fewer in each clash.

Embiid was selected to start alongside Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and Danny Green, the Sixers' most-used starting five this season. They were 27-5 across 32 games.

James Harden's hamstring injury left Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash "heartbroken" for the star shooting guard, whose NBA playoffs participation is in doubt.

Harden missed 21 games of the regular season due to a right hamstring problem and seemed to suffer a reoccurrence of the injury just 43 seconds into Saturday's 115-107 Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nets must now wait on the result of scans to determine the extent of the issue, though Nash was not overly positive.

"You know we got a lot thrown at us this year, so we were, in a sense, well trained for this event," Nash told reporters after the game.

"But you never want to see that for someone like James, who is such an important player and such an incredible player and cares so much.

"I'm heartbroken for him. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if he's playing the next game, if he's out. I have no idea. But I'm heartbroken for him that he had to miss tonight."

The Nets face the Bucks again on Monday, and Kyrie Irving knows how much harder their task will be without Harden.

"I mean, it's never easy to lose anybody, especially this time of the year where we just wanna have fun playing basketball and playing the right way and competing at a high level," said Irving, who scored 25 points and tallied a further eight assists.

"We're obviously out there for bigger reasons, so when you see the game snatched away so early from one of our brothers, we feel for him, and we just had to make a quick adjustment and just adjust from there.

"That's the best thing we can do. We just came in the huddle, made sure that everybody on the bench knew kind of the situation we were in, and like I said, we just played out from there. It went our way tonight, but obviously, we're gonna feel his loss no matter what."

Harden, 31, has averaged 24.6 points, 10.9 assists and 8.5 rebounds in his first season with the Nets since arriving from the Houston Rockets.

Kevin Durant says James Harden's fresh hamstring injury "sucks" as the Brooklyn Nets brace to lose their star guard for an extended period of time during the NBA playoffs.

Harden was forced out of Saturday's 115-107 Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks after 43 seconds after re-injuring the same hamstring which kept him out of 21 games late in the regular season.

The 31-year-old former MVP was sent for scans on his right hamstring with the extent of the injury unclear at this stage, but Durant spoke like someone not expecting good news.

"It sucks. It sucks. I want him to be out there," Durant told the post-game news conference. "I know how much he cares. I know how much we wants to be in this moment. It sucks.

"I wish him a speedy recovery. We're going to keep him involved as much as possible. It's just a bad break."

The Nets rallied hard to bounce back from the early loss of Harden to overcome the Bucks, who had Giannis Antetokounmpo score 34 points.

Brooklyn's defense was a feature, applying pressure to force the Bucks to shoot at 20 per cent from beyond the arc, while Blake Griffin had 14 rebounds in a throwback game.

Offensively Durant and Irving starred with 29 and 25 points respectively, but the former admitted they had to overcome the emotional blow of Harden's injury.

"We try not to be too emotional out there but losing one of your leaders like that, the first play of the game, we had to re-group for a couple of minutes and figure out what was next," he said.

"The coaching staff did a great job of moving forward. Guys came in and tried to play extremely hard.

"We're going to be thinking about James. I'll definitely call him when I leave him. I hate that it had to happen right now."

Durant refused to look too far ahead about the prospect of a tough Conference semi-final series against the Bucks without Harden.

"I'm not even thinking like that," he said. "I'm taking it a day at a time, a second at a time. Get ready for practise tomorrow.

"We're not really thinking that far. We'll try take it a game at a time and see what happens."

Game 2 between the Nets and Bucks is on Monday.

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