In front of more than 17,000 inside the arena and 65,000+ fans outside, the Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA Championship in 50 years 105-98 over the Phoenix Suns. It took six games for the Bucks to take out the Suns. Phoenix won the first two games of the series, and the Bucks turned around and won four straight games to clinch the title. Milwaukee won this game on the back of an epic performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo was as dominant in game six as he was throughout the whole series. The two-time MVP scored 50 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and blocked five shots. He was the first player since the 1973-74 Finals to have a 50 point game. Antetokounmpo shot 16-25 from the field and surprisingly was outstanding from the free-throw line, shooting 17-19 from the charity stripe. He had been struggling from the line, but not in-game six.
With last night’s performance, Antetokounmpo bumped his average to 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game in the Finals. He had three games with 40 points and ten rebounds. With those numbers, “The Greek Freak” was named the 2021 NBA Finals MVP. He became the third player to win NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP, joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon. It was terrific to watch Antetokounmpo and see how hard he played on both ends of the floor.
Along with Antetokounmpo, the Bucks supporting cast stepped up as well. Khris Middleton scored 17 points and hit some clutch baskets down the stretch. Middleton played tough defense and became the go-to guy down the stretch for the Bucks, coming through on multiple contested shots.
Jrue Holiday struggled from the field but scored 12 points, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed nine rebounds. His defense was a key factor for the turnaround for Milwaukee. Bobby Portis had some memorable moments off the bench as well; scoring 16 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and 2-5 from three-point land.
The title marks Milwaukee’s second championship in franchise history and first since 1971. The Bucks have announced that the team’s championship parade will be hosted on Thursday July 22nd.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83