Giannis’ 50-point Game 6 helps Bucks beat Suns for first NBA title since 1971

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo had the Larry O’Brien Trophy in one arm, the NBA Finals MVP trophy in the other and there was a cigar on the table in front of him.

All the work it took to lift the Milwaukee Bucks from a team that won 15 games when he was a rookie to one with 16 wins this postseason was finally finished.

“This is time to celebrate,” Antetokounmpo said.

Milwaukee waited 50 years for that.

Antetokounmpo ended one of the greatest NBA Finals ever with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots as the Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns, 105-98, on Tuesday night to win an entertaining series, 4-2, and cap a joyous return to a fan-filled postseason after last year’s NBA bubble.

It was the third game of this series with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds for Antetokounmpo, a dominant debut Finals performance that takes its place among some of the game’s greatest. Antetokounmpo finished with 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 61.8%, the first player in Finals history to reach those numbers.

He shot 16 for 25 from the field and made an unbelievable 17 of 19 free throws – a spectacular showing for any shooter, let alone one who was hitting just 55.6% in the postseason and was ridiculed for it at times.

“People told me I can’t make free throws and I made them tonight. And I’m a freaking champion,” Antetokounmpo said.

He hopped around the court waving his arms with 20 seconds remaining to encourage fans to cheer, but there was no need. Their voices had been booming inside and outside for hours by then, having waited 50 years to celebrate a winner after Lew Alcindor – before becoming Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – and Oscar Robertson led the Bucks to their first championship in 1971.

“For the city, I’m sure it means everything,” said Khris Middleton, the other player left from that 15-67 team in 2013-14. “They’ve seen the work that we put in over the years for them to get to this point.”

In a season played largely without fans, the Bucks had 65,000 of them packed into the Deer District outside, a wild party that figured to last deep into the Midwestern night. The party wasn’t bad inside, either: Confetti rained down inside as fans chanted “Bucks in 6! Bucks in 6!” – a hopeful boast by a former player that turned out to be a prophetic rallying cry.

“I hope they enjoyed it just like we are now,” Middleton added.

The Bucks became the fifth team to win the NBA Finals after trailing 2-0 and the first to do it by winning the next four games since Miami did it against Dallas in 2006.

Chris Paul scored 26 points to end his first NBA Finals appearance in his 16th season. Devin Booker added 19 points but shot just 8 for 22 and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts after scoring 40 points in each of the last two games.

“There’s just a pain that goes with your season being over,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “But I’ve never dealt with this and so I’m grateful, like I said, but I know this is going to hurt for a while.”

The teams that came into the NBA together as expansion clubs in 1968 delivered a fine Finals, with the last three games all in the balance deep into the fourth quarter.

The Bucks won them largely because of Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP in the regular season who raised his game even higher in the Finals and was voted the unanimous NBA Finals MVP.

He was the star of these Finals in every way, from his powerful play on the court to his humble thoughts in interviews to taking time after Tuesday night’s win to find children to high-five amid the celebrations. He teared up afterward talking about the sacrifices his family endured while he grew up in Greece.

He did all this after missing the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals with a hyperextended left knee, an injury he feared could be serious enough to end his season.

Just think what people would have missed.

What started as a gradual rise for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks sped up in the last few years and they thought they might be here the last two seasons. They had the NBA’s best record in 2018-19 but blew a 2-0 lead against Toronto in the Eastern Conference finals.

They came back with the best record again last season but never regained their momentum after the season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic in March. They were eliminated in the second round by Miami in the bubble.

The Bucks traded for Jrue Holiday before this season and even though they weren’t quite as strong in the regular season, they were finally NBA Finals ready.

And Milwaukee was ready for the moment.

Middleton scored 17 points and Bobby Portis came off the bench with 16. Holiday had 12 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to go along with his usual sturdy defense that helped finally cool off Booker.

“I think it’s just a credit to the players,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’ve been pushing. We’ve been trying to get better. The players embrace everything. They’re amazingly coachable. They take it, soak it in and make the best of it.”

Fans began filling the streets and restaurants in the afternoon on what felt like a holiday in Milwaukee. The Brewers moved up the start time of their home game against Kansas City to be played in the afternoon to accommodate Milwaukee fans – and Brewers star Christian Yelich, who was part of the crowd inside Fiserv Forum.

The score was tied at 77 after three quarters but Antetokoumpo had 13 points in the fourth to make sure Milwaukee wouldn’t have to go back to Phoenix for Game 7 on Thursday.

The Suns returned to the postseason for the first time since 2010 but remain without a title and have never won more than two games in their three appearances in the NBA Finals.

“Nobody probably expected us to be where we are except for us,” Paul said. “But it is what it is. Like I said all season long with our team, ain’t no moral victories.”

EXTRAORDINARY RUN FOR GIANNIS

A half-century ago, it was Alcindor earning the MVP honors for the Bucks by averaging 27 points and 18.5 rebounds in a four-game sweep of Baltimore. This time, it was Antetokounmpo, who became the first player to average 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 61.8%.

He followed that by saying how his improbable rise to stardom should serve as an inspiration to others.

“Believe in your dreams,” Antetokounmpo said. “Whatever you feel, when you feel down, when things don’t look like it’s going to happen for you or you might not make it in your career – it might be basketball, it might be anything Just believe in what you’re doing and keep working. Don’t let nobody tell you who you can’t be or what you can’t do.”

Antetokounmpo’s performance left everyone, including his teammates, blown away.

“It’s just completely awe-inspiring, his performance tonight, this whole series, this whole year,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said.

Antetokounmpo initially feared the knee injury against Atlanta was more serious and would keep him out of action for an entire year. He instead was back on the floor a week later for the start of the Finals.

He collected 20 points and 17 rebounds in a Game 1 loss. He followed that with at least 41 points and 12 rebounds in each of the next two games.

Then he played major roles in the two signature plays of this series.

First, he blocked Deandre Ayton’s dunk attempt to prevent Phoenix from tying Game 4 with just over a minute left. And after Holiday made a steal with the Bucks protecting a one-point lead in the final minute of Game 5, the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo raced down the court and was on the receiving end of Holiday’s alley-oop that helped clinch the win.

He saved his finest outing for the championship clincher, scoring nearly half the Bucks’ points.

Antetokounmpo collected 20 points in the third quarter alone to help Milwaukee rally from a 47-42 halftime deficit, though the game was still tied 77-all heading into the final period.

He had 27 of the Bucks’ 48 total points through the game’s middle two quarters, in addition to his staggering turnaround at the free-throw line.

“It’s hard to find more words to describe what Giannis does,” Budenholzer said. “But the way he made his free throws, the way he did everything, stepped up, the poise, the confidence, the leadership. He has been working on it. We say we want Giannis to get to the free-throw line. We believe. We talked about it this past summer. To win a championship, you’ve got to make free throws and you’ve got to make shots.”

Antetokounmpo’s rapid recovery to lead Milwaukee to its first title since 1971 represents the crowning achievement in Antetokounmpko’s remarkable rise to NBA stardom.

The 26-year-old Antetokounmpo noted this week he hadn’t even started playing basketball in 2007, when LeBron James made his first Finals appearance. His rare blend of size and athleticism made him the No. 15 overall pick in the 2013 draft, and he made his first All-Star appearance four years later.

He earned back-to-back MVP honors in 2019 and 2020 while leading the Bucks to the league’s best regular-season record each of those years, but they kept falling short in the playoffs. Antetokounmpo kept his faith in the Bucks by signing a supermax extension in December.

Antetokounmpo also decided to take a different mental approach.

He acknowledged getting too caught up in the emotional swings of each win and loss earlier in his career. He stayed more level-headed this year while also emerging as a more vocal leader.

That strategy allowed the Bucks to erase 2-0 deficits in the second round against Brooklyn and again in these Finals. It helped Antetokounmpo deal with the uncertainty in the immediate aftermath of his injury.

And now it has him on the highest of highs as the MVP of a league championship series.

TIP-INS

Suns: The Suns scored their fewest points in a first quarter in this postseason when they had 16. … Deandre Ayton, who was shooting 67.6% in the postseason, was 4 for 12 for just 12 points.

Bucks: Lopez had 10 points and eight rebounds. … Milwaukee’s only other NBA Finals appearance was a loss in 1974.

The closing call as the @Bucks become 2020-21 NBA Champions, capturing their 1st title in 50 years! #ThatsGame pic.twitter.com/fzG2A1wc0m

— NBA (@NBA) July 21, 2021

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1417694085855469569?s=20

🗣️ Champion.
🗣️ Finals MVP.
🗣️ Giannis. pic.twitter.com/Y5qbnVi3SQ

— NBA (@NBA) July 21, 2021

Giannis Antetokounmpo accepts the 2020-21 Bill Russell #NBAFinals MVP trophy! pic.twitter.com/iCYriEyt76

— NBA (@NBA) July 21, 2021