Phoenix Suns 100-120 Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are still very much alive and kicking in these NBA Finals. After losing the first two games of the series in Phoenix, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s second consecutive 40-point outburst led the Bucks to a 120-100 blowout of the Suns on their home court in Game 3 to make the series 2-1.
The Greek Freak was unstoppable all game long and Jrue Holiday was also excellent, while Suns star Devin Booker had arguably his worst game of the playoffs to date.
The Bucks now head to Game 4 full of confidence that with Antetokounmpo playing like the two-time MVP that he is, they can tie the series back up.
Highlights of the game
After his valiant 42-point performance in a losing effort in Game 2, Giannis Antetokounmpo got the Bucks off to a good start in Game 3 at home. He assisted in their first two baskets and had a three-point play of his own as the Bucks took an early lead.
Jrue Holiday, who struggled shooting the ball in the first two games, hit the first shot of the game with a corner 3-pointer, which was a promising sign.
But Suns big man Deandre Ayton made a quick start of his own with 12 quick points as Phoenix kept pace and finished with a 28-25 lead at the end of the first quarter. That was despite some poor shooting by star Devin Booker, who started out just 1-of-7 from the field.
The game continued to remain close halfway through the second quarter as Ayton and Chris Paul helped maintain their narrow lead.
But Giannis and the Bucks finally broke loose during the second half of the second quarter as they went on a massive 25-7 run to end the quarter.
Giannis was huge once again with 11 points in the period, while the likes of PJ Tucker and Bobby Portis also popped up with some key baskets to extend the lead to 15.
The Suns came out of the second half strong, but Antetokounmpo remained unstoppable as he almost single handedly kept Phoenix at bay.
However, the Suns kept coming and got the lead down to just four points midway through the third despite Ayton battling foul trouble. Cameron Johnson came on for the Suns big man and fueled a huge offensive explosion. He had a monstrous dunk over Tucker, which has to be one of the big NBA 2021 highlights of these playoffs.
But the Bucks hit back with back-to-back Jrue Holiday 3-pointers to push the lead back to nine. And another late Bucks flurry led by Antetokounmpo – who was suddenly making his free throws – saw Milwaukee go on a devastating 16-0 run to push their lead up to 22 points heading into the fourth.
Jae Crowder – who was red-hot from beyond the arc all game long – and Paul did their best to keep the Suns within striking distance. But with fellow starters Booker and Ayton struggling mightily – they combined for just two baskets in the second half and none in the fourth quarter – the Bucks were simply able to maintain their lead throughout as Giannis continued his dominance in the paint.
Key statistics
Not enough can be said of how amazing Giannis Antetokounmpo was again. The Greek Freak went a perfect 12-of-12 from the restricted area and became just the third player in NBA history after Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James to have over 40 points and 10 rebounds in back-to-back NBA Finals games.
Giannis even went 13-of-17 from the free-throw line, where he has had major problems all postseason long.
And considering he was a major doubt to even play in the Finals after suffering a serious-looking knee injury just a few weeks ago, the fact that he is dominating to this extent is a testament to his freakishness physically.
Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday also deserves major plaudits as he had 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting (5-of-10 on 3-pointers) with nine assists and five rebounds. He has had some massive offensive struggles throughout these playoffs, but he keeps bouncing back to deliver in big spots.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker picked a bad time to play perhaps his worst game of these playoffs with just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
What’s next?
The series will stay in Milwaukee for Game 4 on Wednesday, July 14. Clearly, SBOTOP NBA fans will be eager to know whether the Suns can find an answer for stopping – or even slowing down – Giannis, who has been so dominant over the last two games.
With Dario Saric out due to his torn ACL and Torrey Craig also hobbled by a knee injury, the Phoenix’s options against the Greek Freak are limited. Unless they find a way to contain Giannis, the NBA 2021 betting odds pointing to a Bucks win could prove to be correct.
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