What Happened Last Night: NBA Finals Game 1 Recap

Chris Paul (3) and Devin Booker’s (1) combined 59 points led Phoenix to a Game One victory. (Christian Peterson/Getty Images )

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns got balanced scoring from their top three players in Chris Paul, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, allowing them to build a lead early and ride out the rest of the game within their offensive game plan. 

The 81 points from this big three were more than enough to outlast the Milwaukee Bucks, though a late run propelled by putting two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at the center position surrounded by three-point shooters made the game more interesting, it was not enough.

Antetokounmpo’s health was certainly a question going into Game 1, given a knee injury he suffered in the previous series against the Atlanta Hawks. 

These questions were dismissed quickly as Antetokounmpo looked to be his normal self, grabbing rebounds, moving bigger players than him to position better for dunks or flying through the air for a LeBron-Esque chase-down block in the first half. He would go on to finish the game with 20 points and 17 rebounds, showing that while he may not be at full strength, he still makes one hell of an impact on the game. Though he would finish with a measly 11 shots attempted, Giannis would go on to state after the game, he was feeling fine. 

The biggest story taken from this game lies in Bucks’ coach Mike Budenholzer’s insistence on playing center Brook Lopez extended minutes. This is because while Lopez can certainly provide size and length, he moves very poorly on defense. This wouldn’t be a problem if Phoenix had players who couldn’t make their own shot. The problem is, Chris Paul and Devin Booker are two of the best individual shot-makers in today’s NBA landscape. 

For stretches in this game, Lopez would be lumbering on the court and be forced to guard Paul or Booker after a pick-and-roll switch on defense, leading to very easy shot attempts for both guards as Lopez could not keep up with the quick Suns’ guards.   

DeAndre Ayton (22) showed up in his first NBA Finals appearance with 22 points and 19 rebounds. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

If one were to look at the stats alone from this game from each team, it would appear to be confusing as to how Pheonix won by 13 points. Milwaukee had much better three-point shooting, more assists, more rebounds and only missed one more field goal than the Suns. 

The contrast lies in the free throw percentage for each team and the more balanced scoring for the Suns. 

Outside of Antetokounmpo, Lopez and Khris Middleton, no Bucks’ players scored more than 10 points. 

This lack of scoring balance led to Middleton and other supposed star Jrue Holiday attempting 40 shots combined.  While Middleton put together a respectable performance shooting just under 50 percent, Holiday only made four of his 14 shots leading to increased strain on other players to throw up lower percentage shots due to the Bucks’ supporting cast having a case of the misses.

Is this series over? Most likely not.  It is unclear if Antetokounmpo’s lack of shots was due to his health or him attempting to facilitate for other players on the court, but expect him to come out next game and take many more shots than just the paltry 11 he attempted in Game 1. 

Budenholzer might be onto something with playing Antetokounmpo at the center position, so keep your eyes on that as well as the Bucks cobbled together a nice scoring run when those lineups were present on the floor. 

Though Ayton does make life hard for whoever is at the center position for the Bucks due to his defensive versatility and rebounding acumen.