MILWAUKEE _ After two crushing home losses to the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Nets responded to building playoff pressure in a rematch with the top-seeded Bucks Saturday night at Fiserv Forum. The Nets blew a 15-point third-period lead but rallied down the stretch to pull out a 133-128 victory that lifted them to 40-40 in a virtual sixth-place tie with the Magic, who would lose a tiebreaker to the Nets.
The Nets held a 12-point lead starting the final period, but the Bucks were intent on making a game of it even without injured MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. They opened the fourth with a 17-5 surge, including seven points from Eric Bledsoe, to tie the game at 113 on a jumper by Khris Middleton with 7:50 left to play.
The Bucks finally managed to grab a 121-120 lead on a pair of foul shots by George Hill at the 5:23 mark. The Nets missed four straight 3s in that stretch before Caris LeVert nailed one at 4:07 for a 123-121 edge that was negated moments later by a Hill 3-pointer.
