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Khris Middleton chipped in 17 factors and Bobby Portis had 16. Phoenix’s Chris Paul led the Suns with 26 factors.
Antetokounmpo — who was born in Athens, Greece — was 16 for 25 from the sphere and hit all however two of his 19 free throws. He additionally had 5 blocks in a efficiency hailed by commentators and fellow gamers as one for the ages.
“I need to thank Milwaukee for believing in me, thank my teammates,” stated Antetokounmpo after accepting the Finals MVP award. “They performed onerous each freaking recreation. I trusted this staff. I needed to do it right here on this metropolis, I needed to do it with these guys, so I am completely satisfied. I am completely satisfied that we have been capable of get it carried out.”
Bucks Coach Mike Budenholzer praised the Suns, saying that they had nice gamers, an excellent coach and an excellent group. Then he hailed his staff.
“These gamers, they’re champions every single day,” he informed NBA Finals broadcaster ABC. “Day-after-day they arrive to the constructing they’re champions. They’ve embraced getting higher every single day, they’ve embraced competing, they’ve embraced enjoying collectively. And it is made them champions tonight. I could not be extra happy with them.”
Paul, an 11-time All-Star who made his first look in an NBA Finals, stated he hadn’t seen a stat sheet but it surely felt like his staff made too many turnovers. “They made well timed pictures, we did not,” he stated. “We did not get stops after we wanted to and so they simply beat us.”
Paul, 36, stated he’s not enthusiastic about retiring.
It was a gut-wrenching loss for Suns coach Monty Williams.
“I believe it is going to take me a minute. I simply do not take it without any consideration. It is onerous to get right here and I needed it so dangerous, you understand. It is onerous to course of proper now. It is onerous. That is all.”
The Bucks led by 13 factors after the primary quarter, 29-16. Antetokounmpo had 10 factors and 6 rebounds within the interval. The Suns shot 7 for twenty-four (29%) within the quarter. It was Phoenix’s lowest level complete for the primary quarter within the 2021 playoffs.
However Paul led a Suns’ rally, scoring 10 factors as Phoenix rapidly made up the deficit and took a 47-42 lead into halftime.
The rating was tied at 77 after three quarters as Antetokounmpo poured in 20 factors within the interval. He had 13 extra within the fourth quarter because the Bucks pulled away, together with a stretch the place he scored six consecutive factors for his staff.
In 1971, the Bucks gained the title of their third season behind the standout play of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and Oscar Robertson. They beat the Baltimore Bullets within the last 4 video games to none, successful the ultimate recreation on the highway.
This was the Bucks’ first look within the Finals since 1974 and it was the Suns’ third look within the Finals, the newest coming in 1993. The franchise has by no means gained an NBA championship.
Three gamers from the NBA Finals will head to Tokyo to swimsuit up for Crew USA within the Olympics: Middleton, Bucks guard Jrue Vacation and Suns guard Devin Booker. After the sport, Booker stated he’d be boarding a airplane in just a few hours.
He stated the post-game locker room was “Silent. Simply a variety of emotion. It is a lengthy season, we went via rather a lot.”
CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.
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