The top 10 Milwaukee Bucks games of 2021
On the court, 2021 was one of the greatest in the history of the Milwaukee Bucks organization. With the calendar about to turn, we count down the 10 most memorable games of the year.
10. Giannis vs. LaMelo
Individual duels are what makes NBA games great, and Fiserv Forum fans were witness to one Dec. 1 when LaMelo Ball and Giannis Antetokounmpo went headto-head in a thrilling 127-125 Bucks victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Ball hit 8 three-pointers and scored 36 points while Antetokounmpo had 40 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, and the pair had a memorable back-and-forth in the final moments.
Ball hit a 28-footer to tie the game with 5.9 seconds left before Antetokounmpo bulled his way into the paint for an improbable right-handed layup off the bottom of the left edge of the glass, and the ball somehow trickled over the rim with 2 seconds remaining. Miles Bridges then nearly stole the victory but his 50-foot heave at the buzzer barely missed.
9. Giannis takes a seat and a championship roster is born
The game against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 17 at Wells Fargo Arena wasn't just a memorable one for what happened on the court, but for what happened off it.
It began when general manager Jon Horst shook up the Bucks roster, pulling D.J. Wilson, Torrey Craig and D.J. Augustin off the court after warmups as they were being sent to Houston for veteran defender P.J. Tucker. That left the Bucks with nine players. Trailing by 19 points to the East's best team, the Bucks mounted a stirring comeback behind Giannis Antetokounmpo as he scored 32 points – including seven straight in overtime – in a 109-105 victory.
After a nifty behind-the-back dribble into a fadeaway jumper, Antetokounmpo then took a seat at halfcourt. And of course, the trade for Tucker would help set the course for what was to come.
8. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals
Clinching the organization's first NBA Finals berth in Atlanta on July 3 would be no formality for the Bucks, as the Hawks' Trae Young was returning from an ankle injury and the Bucks were still without an injured Giannis Antetokounmpo. But Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday were superb, as Middleton scored 32 points and Holiday had a near triple-double – and former Hawks all-star Jeff Teague buried clutch threes in the second half to set up a celebration at State Farm Arena as the Bucks beat the Hawks, 118-107.
7. Game 3 of the NBA Finals
Down 0-2, the Bucks returned home to 65,000 fans outside Fiserv Forum and got themselves back in the series with a 120100 victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points and 13 rebounds as the Bucks took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back. The game not only set the team on the path to four straight victories, but it also put the city and the Deer District on display for the world – a sight that people in and out of basketball would talk about the rest of the year.
6. Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals
It looked over, didn't it? The Bucks had lost the first two games to the Brooklyn Nets by eight and 39 points and national reports began circulating that Mike Budenholzer's job was on the line if the team lost the series. And Game 3 at Fiserv Forum was a throwback, an ugly 86-83 victory in which Khris Middleton scored 35 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 to barely offset Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The Bucks held the Nets scoreless over the final 83 seconds, as a Jrue Holiday layup gave the Bucks a 84-83 lead and Bruce Brown missed his own layup chance with six seconds to go. Middleton hit two free throws and Durant missed a 28-footer to tie it at the buzzer. It was a must-win for the Bucks, in so many ways.
5. Game 5 of the NBA Finals
The Bucks were going to have to win one game in Phoenix to claim an NBA title – and no doubt they wanted to do it in Game 5 on July 17 than a potential Game 7. But, the day began with a cloud of uneasiness as Thanasis Antetokounmpo tested positive for COVID-19. But, no other Bucks players entered the health and safety protocol, and the team set Milwaukee on a joyous emotional edge as the Bucks took the NBA Finals lead 3-2 with a 123-119 win. The victory was clinched by Jrue Holiday's steal off Devin Booker with 16 seconds left and ensuing alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo to make it 122-119 with 13 ticks remaining. The Bucks had an 11-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter before the Suns mounted a comeback, with Chris Paul making it 120-119 with 56 seconds left to set up Holiday's heroics.
4. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals
The Bucks were headed home on July 1, which normally would be a good thing. But the Atlanta Hawks already had won at Fiserv Forum in Game 1, and in Game 4 Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a gruesome injury to his left knee in a blowout loss. Game 5 could be the turning point of the series. And it was, as Brook Lopez scored 33 points and Khris Middleton scored 26 and pulled down 13 rebounds, while Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 13 assists in a 123-112 victory over the Hawks. While Antetokounmpo's injury would hang over the Bucks for another week, they proved they had enough to get to the NBA Finals without him.
3. Game 7 in Brooklyn
Nets star Kevin Durant was sublime June 19 in Brooklyn, scoring 48 points and doing everything for the undermanned hosts, and he sent the game to overtime with an incredible 23-foot shot with 1 second left. But, it was just 23 feet and a twopointer, as his toe was on the three-point line. The Bucks would score the final six points of overtime and Durant ran out of gas as Antetokounmpo scored 40 in sending the Bucks to the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-111 victory.
2. Ring night
The first game of the 2021-22 regular season featured a national television audience and the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 19, but the table was set with the unveiling of a championship banner and presentation of championship rings. For the players, it not only capped the title season but made it feel “real.” They then put it on the Nets, with a 127-104 victory that saw six players score in double figures, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 32 and highlighted by Jordan Nwora's block of Kevin Durant at the rim.
1. Game 6 of the NBA Finals
July 20, 2021 will be etched not just in the memory banks of Bucks fans but NBA history as Antetokounmpo scored 50 points and had 14 rebounds in a 105-98 championship-winning performance. The Bucks trailed 47-42 at halftime and then Antetokounmpo took over, scoring 20 points in the third quarter. He also made 17 of 19 free throws, including four in the heart of the fourth quarter that put the Bucks up 90-84 en route to securing the NBA Finals most valuable player award. Khris Middleton added six points down the stretch and Milwaukee won its first championship since 1971.