Giannis Antetokounmpo made clear there is still work to do for the Milwaukee Bucks after they survived a Kevin Durant onslaught to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bucks came out on top 115-111 in Game 7 against the Brooklyn Nets, albeit only after a dramatic finish in the fourth quarter that saw them escape by a matter of inches.
Durant hit a stunning turnaround jumper with one second remaining to tie the scores at 109-109, with Milwaukee relieved to see he had a foot on the three-point line as they narrowly avoided falling behind.
"Big, big shot," Antetokounmpo told the media about Durant's play that forced overtime. "That's KD – he makes shots like that."
However, the Nets were held to just two points in the extra period as the Bucks came through on the road, setting up a showdown with either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Atlanta Hawks – who meet in a Game 7 on Sunday – for a place in the NBA Finals.
Defeat was tough on Durant, who finished with 48 points – the most by any player in a Game 7 in NBA history – as he was on court for all 53 minutes. He went 0-for-6 in overtime, though, as the ailing Nets, minus the injured Kyrie Irving and with James Harden not at full fitness due to a hamstring issue, saw their season come to an end.
For the Bucks, however, the focus will have to quickly switch to their next assignment.
"We really wanted this as a team," said Antetokounmpo, who had 40 points and 13 rebounds.
"There were a lot of ups and downs during the series – there were a lot of ups and downs in just this game. We could have finished the game before overtime but weren't able to. We kept our composure."
He added: "At the end of the day, though, the job is not done. The job is not done. That's the message here and in the locker room, we’ve got to keep our heads in the game.
"We can't get too high, we can't get too low. It's a great step for our organisation and a great step for us, so we have got to enjoy this moment and then look at our next opponent.
"We've got to put this in the past and focus on the moment, focus on our next opponent."
Durant's performance drew praise from Stephen Curry, who simply tweeted at his former Golden State Warriors team-mate after the fourth-quarter shot: "That is insane."
Even P.J. Tucker – the player who attempted to cover Durant on the play – was suitably impressed.
"When I cut him off, I thought he would one-foot it, or step back. When he spun, he threw me off. That shot was incredible," Tucker said. "People don't really appreciate the level of difficulty with that shot, it was incredible.
"I laughed, I just laughed when he made it. I appreciated it, as a fan of the game, when someone makes that shot."
Durant was one of just 11 different players to score, the fewest in any regular season or postseason game since the merger.
Zverev aims for 'absolute limit' after progression to French Open semi-final
Alexander Zverev has no interest in recovering fitness as the world number four aims to push to an "absolute limit" at the French Open.
The German overcame Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier, progressing to the Roland-Garros semi-finals for a fourth straight year on Wednesday.
Yet that does not tell the whole story as Zverev battled relentlessly to earn his 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph over the Australian world number 11.
Falling 4-0 and 5-1 down in the second-set tie-break, Zverev seemed to afford De Minaur a route back into the match, only for the fourth seed to come crashing back in a response.
Zverev eventually sealed victory in just under three hours of the quarter-final meeting, and has every intention of pushing himself further for the last-four clash with Casper Ruud.
"Everybody in the press keeps asking me what I do for recovery and the answer is very simple – you don't recover after matches, you recover in the off-season," Zverev said in his on-court interview.
"I have the mindset you have to work harder than everyone else to be the best player. I like to work to my absolute limit. If I do that then playing five sets all of a sudden is not that difficult.
"I've been doing that over many years and I'm happy to be in another semi-final. Hopefully I can win one."
A fourth semi-final appearance in Paris means Zverev will equal Dominic Thiem for the most of any player born since 1990.
Among players with five main draws in the Open Era, Zverev (80.5 per cent) also holds the best winning percentage at Roland-Garros of any player not to have won the singles title at the event.
Ruud will stand in the way of a major final outing for Zverev, who says his battling identity has been embroiled in his mind from a young age.
"I have a coach who's my father who couldn't care less how I feel on the practice court," he added.
"Since I was three years old, it was run here, run there, run for four hours straight. He sometimes forgets I'm two metres tall and can hit a serve 230 kilometres an hour.
"I wish I would be more aggressive sometimes, but if I'm winning, I'm happy."
Zverev battles past De Minaur to set up Ruud clash in French Open last four
Alexander Zverev secured his place in the French Open semi-finals for a fourth straight year after overcoming Alex de Minaur on Wednesday.
The world number four will meet Casper Ruud, who progressed with a bye after Novak Djokovic's injury withdrawal, in the last four after a battling 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
De Minaur overcame Daniil Medvedev in the previous round to earn his first Roland-Garros quarter-final appearance, though it was one to forget as his serving – and Zverev's grit – proved the 11th seed's undoing.
Both players traded a break apiece during an entertaining opening in the French capital, only for De Minaur's double fault to hand Zverev the 4-3 advantage to hold his serve and take the first set.
The Australian snatched a crucial break midway through the second set, yet Zverev – who was warned with a time violation by the umpire for taking too long over his serve – saved a set point to keep his hopes alive.
That was a sign of things to come, too, as Zverev once again fought from 4-0 and 5-1 down in the tie-breaker, somehow clinching a 2-0 lead in the match from a seeming point of no return.
Having failed to level in that cruel tie-break defeat, De Minaur managed to break Zverev late in the third set but the former responded immediately to secure a hard-fought win in just under three hours.
Data Debrief: Zverev continues on song
Zverev extended to 11 straight wins after this victory, with that run including his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome two weeks prior to the start of this major.
The German is just the 11th man of the Open Era to reach four consecutive semi-finals at the French Open, where a rested Ruud awaits next.
De Minaur, meanwhile, misses out on the chance to become the first Australian man since Pat Rafter in 1997 to make the last four on Parisian clay.
Spain 5-0 Andorra: Oyarzabal stakes Euro 2024 claim with hat-trick in friendly dominance
Mikel Oyarzabal staked his claim for a place in Spain's final Euro 2024 squad after his hat-trick in Wednesday's 5-0 friendly victory over Andorra.
Real Betis forward Ayose Perez marked his international debut with a 24th-minute opener in Badajoz, capitalising on Pau Cubarsi's headed assist to edge the hosts ahead.
Perez added further credit to his European Championship hopes with a smart assist after the break, teeing up a tap-in for Oyarzabal, who then added his second of the game after 66 minutes.
Oyarzabal completed his treble just seven minutes later before Ferran Torres netted a fifth as Spain, who face Northern Ireland in their final warm-up on Saturday, eased to victory just 10 days before their Euros opener against Croatia.
Data Debrief: Treble heroics from Oyarzabal
Oyarzabal is the second player to score a hat-trick for Spain under Luis de la Fuente, after Alvaro Morata against Georgia in September 2023.
The Real Sociedad man accounted for 2.61 of La Roja's 3.89 expected goals (xG), while Andorra mustered just 0.08 xG in response as David Raya went largely untested.
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