Milwaukee Bucks 123-119 Phoenix Suns
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are one now win away from claiming their second NBA championship in franchise history after beating the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 on the road to take a 3-2 series lead.
The Bucks had a slow start, going down by 16 points at the end of the first quarter. But they quickly stormed back in the second quarter and withstood a late Suns fightback to seal the crucial victory.
The Suns now face a must-win situation in Game 6 as the Bucks can clinch the championship in front of their home fans.
Highlights of the game
After suffering back-to-back defeats in Game 3 – a 20-point blowout – and Game 4, the Suns knew they had to start out quickly and take control of Game 5 at home. And that’s exactly what they did.
The Suns stormed out to a 16-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Booker, who had 42 points in their narrow Game 4 defeat, was brilliant once again. He continued to make an array of shots, going 5-of-9 from the field on his way to 11 early points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had eight points of his own, but the Suns’ role players were hitting their threes while the Bucks’ Khris Middleton was a miserable 1-of-6 shooting to start the game.
However, the tables turned in a hurry in the second quarter. Led by Jrue Holiday, who scored or assisted in eight of the team’s first nine baskets in the quarter, the Bucks went on a 21-5 run in just over four minutes to tie the game up.
Holiday went a sizzling 6-of-7 from the field while Middleton went 3-of-4 as the Bucks scored 43 second-quarter points to take a 64-61 lead into halftime.
As the second half began, Booker had another barrage of terrific shot-making as he matched Middleton’s baskets to keep the Suns close. But while Chris Paul struggled to score, Holiday and Antetokounmpo continued their hot shooting to help the Bucks extend their lead to double digits.
Paul finally started to get going in the fourth quarter as he and Booker led a furious Suns comeback. Booker’s big 3-pointer cut the lead down to three points, and Paul’s driving layup with less than a minute to go halved it to one.
But just like Paul in Game 4, Booker committed a costly turnover with 30 seconds left while trying to give the Suns the lead. Holiday stole the ball away from Booker’s hands and set up an awesome Antetokounmpo alley-oop, which gave the Bucks a three-point lead with 13 seconds left.
Giannis, whose free throw struggles resumed in this game, missed the and-1, but he tipped the offensive rebound to Khris Middleton, who hit the decisive free throw to give the Bucks a two-possession lead and ultimately, the massive win.
Key statistics
After Antetokounmpo exploded for back-to-back 40-point performances in Games 2 and 3, it was Booker’s turn to go for 40 in two straight games. But unfortunately for him, both came in a losing effort.
In doing so, he became just the fifth player in NBA history to score 40 points in back-to-back playoff games and lose both times.
The Bucks, who were down by 16 points in the first, staged the second-largest comeback at the end of the first quarter in Finals history.
Much of the credit for the comeback must go to Holiday, who was brilliant with 27 points, 13 assists, and 3 steals, one of which led to one of the top NBA 2021 highlights, his alley-oop to Giannis. This wonderful showing comes after Holiday’s disastrous 13-point, 4-of-20 performance in Game 4.
What’s next?
After failing to hold serve on their home court, it’s now do-or-die for the Suns in Game 6 in Milwaukee. It is their turn to win a pressure-packed game on the road, or else they will lose the Finals.
The bad news for Phoenix is that the NBA 2021 odds will favour the Bucks, who have been brilliant at home all postseason long, going 9-1 in their 10 games at Fiserv Forum.
Granted, Holiday has been remarkably inconsistent in these playoffs and could have yet another poor shooting game.
But on the Suns’ side, it remains to be seen whether Booker can continue his run of consecutive 40-point games and if he doesn’t, if anyone else can carry the scoring burden. Either way, though, stay tuned to SBOTOP to see who will end up winning the 2020-21 NBA championship!
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