Suns 3-pointers too much for Bucks

Suns insider Duane Rankin hands out his grades for the Suns following their 118-108 Game 2 win in the 2021 NBA Finals Thursday night over the Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns Arena.

Starters: A

All five starters reached double figure with Devin Booker scoring a team-high 31 points. With every 3 he hit to start the fourth quarter, the sellout crowd of 16,583 at Phoenix Suns Arena got louder and louder.

And even louder.

Bucks cut Suns lead to six, 90-84. Booker step-back 3 with 9:41 left in the fourth.

“AAAAAH!!”

Bucks miss chance to cut Phoenix lead to five as Jrue Holiday missed layup.

Booker 3 gives Suns 96-88 lead with 7:49 left in the fourth. “AAAAAAAAAA!!”

Giannis Antetokounmpo turns ball over as Deandre Ayton gets the steal.

Booker 3 off Chris Paul assist to put Suns ahead, 101-88, with 7:18 remaining. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Those dagger 3s kept Milwaukee from getting close enough to make the Suns feel on edge in the latter part of the fourth. Booker hit seven from deep for the game as part of a 20-for-40 effort for 3 from the Suns, who became the third team in NBA Finals history to make at least 20 3-point shots.

Mikal Bridges said afterward that Booker doesn’t shy away from the moment.

Neither did Bridges Thursday night. Scoring a playoff career-high 27 points, he grabbed seven rebounds and went 8of-8 from the line. The Suns are 11-1 in the postseason when Bridges scores double figures.

Chris Paul went 3-of-5 from deep in his 23-point effort that included a huge 3 to give Phoenix a nine-point lead with 4:10 left in the fourth coming out of a timeout. Paul called it the play of the game as Bridges and Deandre Ayton got consecutive offensive rebounds to keep that possession alive.

Jae Crowder once again did what he’s done all season after a bad shooting night.

Keep letting it fly and eventually connect.

After going 0-for-5 from 3 in Game 1, Crowder made 3-of-5 in Game 2. This “let it fly” mentality the Suns have works for him, but Crowder isn’t drawing fouls after made 3s like he was in the regular season.

In Game 2, Crowder nailed on a corner 3 in front of the Bucks bench, fell, but referee Tony Brothers just looked at him with his hand up as if to say, ‘Get up Jae. Not today.”

Can’t validate that’s what Brothers was thinking, but the Bucks were witnessing the Suns set a franchise record for made 3s in the postseason as the starters made 16 of the 20 treys.

Deandre Ayton added 10 points and 11 rebounds to mark his 13th double-double of the postseason while Crowder grabbed 10 boards himself.

Bench: B

No one reached double figures, but Cam Johnson scored eight. The bench only accounted for five points in the second half with three coming on Torrey Craig’s second 3.

Then Craig wound up on the wrong end of a charging Antetokounmpo.

Suffering a right knee contusion after drawing an offensive foul on the twotime NBA MVP, Craig needed help off the court with the Suns up 10 with 1.9 seconds left in the third.

The Suns are now down two players as Dario Saric suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the Game 1.

This puts even more on Ayton to stay out of foul trouble as Frank Kaminsky III is the lone big Suns coach Monty Williams will play as his backup.

Coaching: A

Monty Williams keeps adjusting as well as sticking to initial game plans.

The Suns started Game 1 with Paul in the corner. Seemed odd considering how much he operates at the top of the key, but Paul ended up knocking it down from the corner in Game 2.

They eventually got around to seeking Brook Lopez on the pick-and-roll and Booker took advantage, but beyond that, Williams pep talk to Ayton during a timeout showed the coach, and man, he is.

With Ayton sitting and his head bowed, Williams scooted his chair up to get closer and started talking about defending.

Williams then said, “Look at me?” Oh wow.

Williams told Ayton he has set a high bar for himself and to dominate by playing with force. Ayton rose off the chair with his head up and returned to the court.

That’s the epitome of Williams ‘calling you up, not out’ style of coaching.

Bottom Line: A

The Suns are two wins away from the winning the franchise’s first NBA title ever. Enough said.