For the first time in over two decades, the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks have both earned their spot in this year’s 2021 NBA Conference Finals. The two franchises went head to head in what was a competitive first game of the series. A focused Chris Paul showed out Tuesday night as he would lead the Suns to an impressive 118-105 victory over Milwaukee at home, in the very familiar Phoenix Suns Arena.
On his debut Finals appearance 36-year-old Chris Paul had an outstanding night by providing his team with a total of 32 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds while shooting an eye-opening 12 of 19 from the floor. Athletes among other NBA teams took to their social media accounts to congratulate Paul on winning his first-ever Finals match. More specifically, Lebron James posted a statement to his Twitter account confidentially saying, “1 down. 3 to go,” then proceeded to tag his regular-season opponent and close friend. Both Chris Paul and Devin Booker were seen, during the game, drinking out of their own water bottles that had, “Book and Chris’ Secret Stuff,” written on the side; a tribute to the popular 1997 basketball classic, “Space Jam” featuring NBA Legend Michael Jordan.
Throughout the game, Devin Booker was consistently adding his stats to the Suns’ chart before finishing up with 27 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds while playing the entirety of 42 minutes, the most floor time of any Suns player on Tuesday night. Clearly not working alone, Paul had the incredible help of not only Devin Booker but DeAndre Ayton as well. Ayton became the first player since Kareen Abdul-Jabbar to achieve over 70 percent from the field, score over 20 points, and come down with over 15 rebounds for his team; Ayton finished the game with a total of 22 points, 19 rebounds, and shot a self-record breaking 8 of 10 from the floor. And even with a healthy Giannas Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee still did not seem to have enough drive behind their goal of winning the NBA Finals.
Continuing to have their home-court advantage in Game 2, the Phoenix Suns are looking to extend their series lead against the last obstacle that stands in their path towards gold, the Milwaukee Bucks. Knowing Giannas and his team, fans can assume that they will not go down without a fight as the Greek Freak will leave it all on the court as he tries to do every single night he performs. Game 2 of the NBA Conference Finals will take place on July 8th and will be broadcasted live on NBA TV.