Devin Booker, with 31 points, and Mikal Bridges, with 27, commanded the victory at the Phoenix Suns Arena
Bending the heroic resistance of Giannis Antetokounmpo (42 points), the Phoenix Suns they beat this Thursday 118-108 Milwaukee Bucks and they went ahead 2-0 in the NBA Finals.
Devin Booker, with 31 points, and Mikal Bridges, 27, commanded victory at the Phoenix Suns Arena against a Antetokounmpo, without the support of his teammates, finished with 42 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The Greek star, competing for the ring for the first time, shot proudly in a third quarter in which anot 20 puntos, the most for a Finals stint since Michael Jordan in 1993.
After 28 years of absence from the Finals, the Suns they are only two victories away from celebrating the first championship ring in their history.
“Our mentality is that we are 0-0 and be like a seventh for us. Every game is a seventh game for us at this point,” he stressed. Booker, who scored 7 triples in decisive moments of the clash.
“We understand that they are a great team. We know it will be difficult in Milwaukee but we are ready,” he said.
The Bucks they will receive on Sunday Phoenix en Milwaukee where they are forced to win to avoid a 3-0 deficit that no team has come back in a playoff series.
“We have to keep making things difficult for them,” said the coach of the Bucks, Mike Budenholzer.
Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP (Most Valuable Player) winner, was too lonely in the Bucks attack in a disastrous point guard game Jrue Holiday (17 points on 7/21 on field goals) and guard Khris Middleton (11 on 5/16).
The Greek, who recovered against time from the knee hyperextension suffered in the series against Atlanta, added his 10th postseason game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, a mark that only Shaquille O’Neal had achieved. Hakeem Olajuwon, Elgin Baylor Y Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Booker sentence from triple
After another 48 hours of intense treatments, Antetokounmpo He started the shock with force running the counterattack and imposing his law under the hoop of the Suns.
The antagonistic styles of Bucks Y Suns they faced off in a first half in which Milwaukee used his larger span in the paint and Phoenix used his swift ball movement to find comfortable positions from the outside.
The Suns they punished their rival’s lower defensive agility with eight triples in the first quarter, the second most in a single period in Finals history.
The Arizona team had a staggering total accuracy of 50% on 3s (20/40) to 29.0% of Milwaukee (9/31).
Booker Y Chris Paul (23 points) took advantage of the double markings they received to feed the forwards Mikal Bridges Y Jae Crowder, who were bombing Milwaukee in triples from the corners.
As Booker and Paul got in the mood, the Bucks lost their initial momentum to the break down 56-45.
Antetokounmpo He broke off on the bench demanding intensity from his teammates.
The Greek, who had several falls in which he put his hand to his left knee, the team was charged behind with 20 points in the third quarter but their efforts had no impact on the scoreboard due to the drought of their best partners.
Holiday, a key player for these Bucks, is shipwrecked in a Finals where he accumulates a dreadful 31% (11/35) on field goals.
AntetokounmpoIn addition, he fought again against himself every time the Suns they were sending him to the free-throw line.
Despite his ordeal on the line (11/18 in the game), Antetokounmpo he had 32 points with a quarter left to play, the same number as the rest of the Bucks starters combined.
Milwaukee he got within eight points (93-85) early in the fourth quarter but the Suns fell back with relative ease to double digits with two 3s from Booker and an 8-0 run.
With the fans chanting “Suns in four (matches)”, Budenholzer retire a Antetokounmpo 28.1 seconds from the end after 40 minutes of fruitless battle.
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