The 2021 NBA Finals began Tuesday, where the Milwaukee Bucks traveled to Phoenix to play the Suns in Game One. Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was a game time decision after hyperextending his knee in the Eastern Conference Finals, and ended up giving it a go, but his presence wasn’t enough as they lost to the Suns in a 118-105 contest.
With only one player on either team having competed in the NBA Finals before (Jae Crowder of the Suns), this series looked to be tough and gritty as all of the players want to win their first championship. Chris Paul was once again the absolute catalyst for the Phoenix Suns, with 32 points and nine assists, becoming the oldest player in NBA Finals history to record those stats. On top of that, he also only had an impressively low two turnovers.
Both teams came out a little tight to start, with jitters clearly affecting everyone. But then things started to click for both teams, and it was a close matchup through the first quarter, with the Suns holding a four-point lead. They extended it to eight at halftime, and then the brakes came off for the Bucks in the third quarter, where the Suns blew up the lead to as much as 18.
Paul led all scorers, shooting a nice 12-19 from the field and 4-7 from three-point territory. Devin Booker had a quiet 27, with disappointing shooting percentages, being only 1-8 from three. He made up for it, however, by hitting all 10 of his free throws and being a playmaker, dishing out six assists. Deandre Ayton had an unquestionably special performance, dominating the paint with 22 points and a whopping 19 rebounds. Cam Johnson and Cameron Payne each scored 10 off the bench, providing strong energy for the second unit.
On the Bucks side, Khris Middleton led the way with 29 points, hitting five three’s and playing 45 of the game’s 48 minutes. Giannis worked his way back from the injury, playing 35 minutes and scoring 20 points. After the game, he said that his knee felt “great” playing out on the floor. Despite shooting a poor 4-14 from the field, Jrue Holiday was a defensive presence for Milwaukee and set up his teammates, posting nine assists on the night. Brook Lopez hit three shots from behind the arc, putting up 17 points.
After the game, Chris Paul spoke about the team’s readiness for the moment, saying, “We’ve been building all season long for these moments. We’re going to keep playing.” He continued, emphasizing the team’s need to stay focused, adding, “This is just one game. We’ve got to stay locked in.”
Khris Middleton took an optimistic approach in his postgame press conference, stating, “here’s times where we’re going to be down in this series. But this series isn’t over. We’re down. We’ve still got to keep competing and just playing.”
Game Two on Thursday is a must-win for the Bucks, as they will look to even up the series. If they go down 2-0, the Suns will have all the momentum going to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee for Game Three, and it will be incredibly difficult to come back from. Jrue Holiday has to step up and take the challenge to put real defensive pressure on Chris Paul, as slowing him down will slow the rest of the Suns down, because he is their main source of firepower. Despite the lackluster performance, these NBA Finals will still be competitive, and whoever comes away as a champion will not have done it easily.
