This past Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in what was a thrilling matchup and a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup. The two NBA teams will play each other again Tuesday night, but Sunday offered a glimpse into what the future holds for both the Nets and the Bucks. 

James Harden has been out for the Nets since April 5th with a hamstring injury and he did not play in this game in Milwaukee, and at times, it seemed like the Nets needed him out there with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. 

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The Bucks wound up pulling away from the Nets at the end of the game and came out victorious 117-114. Behind Giannis Antetokiunmpo’s 49 points, the Bucks were able to hold off the Nets and Kevin Durant, who scored 42 points for the third time this season and in back-to-back games now. 

After the game, Giannis had this to say to reporters: “Tonight that picture I created, that’s who I want to be moving forward. It doesn’t matter if I score 49 points. I don’t care about that. What I care about is how I slowed down, how I was able to find my teammates. How if I missed one, missed a second one, missed a third one and still be able to come down and shoot another one. This is what I believe I can be.”

Brooklyn is now a half a game behind the 76ers for first-place in the Eastern Conference and Milwaukee is only 2.5 games behind the Nets for the 2-seed in the conference, but what does this Bucks win mean for the Eastern Conference as we head into the playoffs?

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Bucks-Nets showdown the other night.