What Happened Last Night: NBA Finals Game 2 Recap
Game 2 of the NBA Finals has concluded, the Phoenix Suns defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-108. The Suns won by answering every run the Bucks threw at them, playing tough defense throughout the game, shooting the lights out of the building by hitting 50% of their threes which resulted in 60 points from behind the three-point arc and cohesive ball movement leading to open shots.
Coming into Game 2 of the NBA Finals, it was clear the Bucks needed to come out swinging against the Suns given their second-half performance in Game 1. The message was received early as the Bucks jumped out to a 21-12 lead over the Suns as Giannis Antetokounmpo led this charge with dunks and aggressive play on the defensive side of the court.
The Suns’ response for the rest of the first quarter to the end of the first half was nothing short of magisterial.
Closing the lead by the end of the first quarter to three points as they were buoyed by eight three-pointers, but not much else, as they shot 39% from the field overall.
To start the second quarter, their shooting woes would end. The Suns ramped up their defense throughout the entire quarter leading to a 14 point disparity for the quarter, including an 8-0 run towards the end. The Bucks’ inability to adapt to a zone-based defense led to only 16 points in the second quarter. Milwaukee’s “big three” of Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton seemed to shrink under the heat of the Suns’ defense, with Holiday, in particular, losing his ability to hit shots consistently, having a lackluster 3-for-11 shooting line at halftime.
Following their horrid second quarter, the Bucks and r Antetokounmpo were injected with life.
While they scored only one more point than the Suns, they were able to shift the momentum in the game which put them in a position to compete for the game in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo’s hair seemed to catch fire as he put up 20 points in the third quarter alone, the highest in an individual quarter since 1993 when Michael Jordan lit the very same Suns on fire. Antetokounmpo got fouled almost every time down the court in the third quarter leading to many free throw attempts.
Antetokounmpo (34) faced punishing defense all night en route to 42 points against the Suns in Game 2. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The Suns continued their spectacular play on both ends of the court leading to tough shot attempts by all Bucks’ players not named Giannis and hot shooting from the three-point line leading to 16 total threes by the start of the fourth.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Suns seemed primed to close the game out, continuing to hit three-pointers and continuing to play solid defense. Devin Booker in particular was solid, scoring six points during an 8-0 run in the middle of the quarter.
Suns’ center DeAndre Ayton, who had been quiet for most of the game, seemed to be ignited by a speech by coach Monty Williams telling him to take his game to a new level and to dominate down below. The message was received as Ayton woke up, giving the Suns monumental defense against Antetokounmpo and the Bucks as they continued to try and get back in the game, dominant rebounding against the sizable Bucks and good finishing at the rim following Chris Paul dimes leading to a solid closeout performance in the fourth quarter winning by 10 points.
Budenholzer’s refusal to play Antetokounmpo at the center position for a large number of minutes could lead to the demise of the Bucks. (Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)
Booker, making his case for Finals MVP led the team with 31 points and a blistering seven for twelve from three-point range, almost individually carrying the Suns on offense when it seemed Milwaukee was closing the gap.
Paul also seemed to get almost any shot he wanted down the stretch, keeping Milwaukee at a distance.
Antetokounmpo scored 42 points in the loss as he showed his metal hitting 11 free throws and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Heading to Milwaukee, one would expect the Bucks to respond, similar to how they responded in the series against the Brooklyn Nets. However, Mike Budenholzer continues to play Brook Lopez with Antetokounmpo together leading to good looks from Booker and Paul whenever the Bucks would switch their pick-and-roll.
While Antetokounmpo got more time at the center position, it seems Budenholzer seems attached to the idea of having Lopez on the court, potentially losing them more games.
