Antetokounmpo shreds Suns to get Bucks back in the game
Sweet home Milwaukee.
It was a different team and a different Finals in Game 3 for the Bucks, who bulldozed the Suns 120-100 behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance and kept alive their title hopes.
The Bucks now trail 2-1 to Phoenix, a much more comfortable position than their insurmountable alternative heading into Sunday.
They also have a healthy Antetokounmpo, who imposed his will and performed up to his MVP status while collecting 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Bucks led throughout and broke it open in the third quarter with a 22-point advantage.
We have ourselves a series. “I was just trying to be aggressive,” Antetokounmpo said.
The Suns were playing catchup all night and were running with iron boots. They were miserable from beyond the arc, especially Devin Booker, who missed six of his seven treys and shot 3-of-14 overall. He sat the entire fourth quarter, and Chris Paul (19 points, nine assists) couldn’t carry the visitors by himself.
Milwaukee’s greatest improvement from its Game 2 dud was Antetokounmpo’s free throws.
The Greek Freak was cozier at Fiserv Forum while hitting 13 of his 17 foul shots, avoiding his usual misadventures at the line. The friendly crowd kept quiet during his lengthy free throw routine, a stark contrast to the distracting chants in Phoenix.
“Just try to focus on myself, focus on my technique, focus on my body,” Antetokounmpo said. “Once you see a few go in, you get more confidence.”
Overall, Antetokounmpo shot 14 for 23 from the field. He joined Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James as the only players to score 40 points with 10 rebounds in consecutive Finals games.
Sunday represented Milwaukee’s first Finals win in nearly 50 years, or the first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson were Bucks teammates.