It goes without saying that the Bucks earned their spot in this year’s 2021 NBA Conference Finals, but for some reason have been transparently off as of late. Going into what we all knew would be a competitive Game 3, Milwaukee trailed in the series suffering from a 2-0 deficit in which they refused to let go on any longer. The drive behind a recently injured Giannas Antetokounmpo spread through his teammates, enabling them to gain their hard-fought 120-100 victory in the Fiserv Forum.
Giannas finished the game with high authoritative performance including 41 points, 6 assists, and 13 rebounds over the span of just 38 minutes of action. The Milwaukee star shot a confident 14-23 from the field as he decreased his team’s deficit to just 2-1 in the series, pushing them one step closer to creating history. This 41-point and 13-rebound game is the second one in a row Giannas has provided for his team following Game 2 where he put up 42 points and 12 rebounds. With these impressive back-to-back performances, Giannas became the only other person in the history of the NBA Finals to join Shaquille O’Neal by accomplishing ‘back-to-back games with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds,’ a new self-accomplishment for the 7-foot athlete.
Probably the reason for the Bucks outperforming the Suns, Devin Booker only received 29 minutes on the floor compared to his usual 39 plus. Accompanied by that the Phoenix star only managed to put up a disappointing 10 points, 2 assists, and 6 rebounds while shooting only 3 of 14 from the field. His close friend and point guard to his team, Chris Paul, tried to pick up the slack but unfortunately was unable to carry the weight of his team with just his 19 points and 9 assists.
Phoenix still holds a solid 2-1 series lead but as Giannas and the Bucks showed us Sunday night, it can easily go either way. As both teams continue their competitiveness and drive for victory it will be an interesting match to observe as this game can be easily one of the most important ones that these athletes have come across throughout their careers, more specifically Chris Paul’s. Game 4 of this nail-biting series will take place again in Milwaukee as the Bucks look to use their momentum to take them all the way through the finish line.