Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Lose to Suns in Finals


PHOENIX – Giannis Antetokounmpo squinted, disillusioned, and squirmed on the court in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks last week.

He landed clumsily while guarding a pass, his knee widening and twisting like a rubber band. The pain continued until the next day, when he was unable to walk as the swollen knee doubled. In those tense moments, he thought he would have surgery and was away from the field for a year.

Instead, just one week after being unable to walk, Antetokounmpo played for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, losing to the Phoenix Suns 118-105 on Tuesday night. The Bucks opened up their offensive presence with an alley-oop attempt to get Antetokounmpo rolling into the rim.

The road to the finals revolved around the availability of Antetokounmpo, one of the league’s brightest stars and a two-time Most Valuable Player Award winner. It fit into a postseason era defined by and derailed. shooting star injuries – Among them are Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard.

Without Antetokounmpo, who missed Game 5 and 6 of a six-game series, the Bucks defeated the Hawks without Trae Young in Games 4 and 5, repurposing a lower version for Game 6. Playing in the NBA finals would severely hamper Milwaukee’s first championship bid in 50 years.

Bucks manager Mike Budenholzer often deflected media questions about Antetokounmpo’s situation, while the player himself did not appear on the field before Game 1. Putting a wide, protective sleeve on his leg, he tested himself before the opening, thought he could play, and got permission. from the medical staff of the team.

Count the Suns as not surprising.

“This is the time of year when you sacrifice everything, and that’s what we expected,” Suns Coach Monty Williams said. “So we weren’t caught off guard, but we were planning for the best and Giannis the best of them.”

Last season’s finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat were played in the isolation of a restricted-access quarantine zone at Walt Disney World in Florida. On Tuesday, he opened the NBA finals in front of 16,557 fans, many of whom were eager to cheer the Suns for their first NBA title.

They watched a sampler of Antetokounmpo’s 2021 playoff journey.

He scored his first basket with a short comeback jump over Deandre Ayton. He outlasted Jae Crowder and Ayton to dunk and chased Mikal Bridges for the LeBron James-esque block.

While on an island, he drew a 3-pointer at home and endured 10-second counts from the crowd on each of his 12 free throws for his extended routine.

“From my treatment, to lifting and going out on the field, to pool sessions, to keeping my feet elevated 24 hours a day,” Antetokounmpo said of the rehabilitation required to play. “Obviously it wasn’t easy, but I was willing to do it and the medical staff had a great schedule for me, I was able to do what I had to do to stay fit and also recover and recover. I have a lot of swelling in my knee.”

He scored 20 points and had 17 rebounds. Antetokounmpo said he wasn’t in any pain, but seemed to lack the usual outburst that sometimes set him apart on the open court.

“He said it hurt talking to him, it hurt a lot,” said teammate Khris Middleton. “But he still found a way to get over it, play with some pain and fight for it. That’s great. That’s all you ask of your teammate, to give it your all. I don’t think it’s exactly 100 percent, but it’s close to going out and playing and giving it all. ”

Antetokounmpo may not have made any difference in Tuesday’s result.

Playing in the first NBA finals of his long and unforgettable career, Chris Paul finished the game with 32 points and 9 assists. He’s taken control of the game from the second quarter, scouting the field to find his favorite mid-range shots or setting up others to capitalize on Milwaukee’s frequent defensive changes.

A defying quarterback, Paul’s genius runs into a problem as he enters Game 2 for Milwaukee.

Throughout the season, Bucks center Brook Lopez has been a valid offensive line for Milwaukee. In Antetokounmpo’s absence, he scored 33 points in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

A veteran in season 13, Lopez deserves credit for reinventing the traditional post game and being an environmental shooter. He lacks the agility to dance on the defensive with cunning bodyguards like Paul and Devin Booker. Antetokounmpo played in the middle and they knocked Lopez down on the bench for most of the second half of Game 1.

The Bucks missed Lopez’s offensive debut in a night where Middleton had 29 points in 26 shots but failed to attempt a free throw and Jrue Holiday missed 10 of 14 field goals. The Bucks will need to find a way to keep Lopez on the defensive and get him to give more than he allows.

“We’ve learned a lot,” Lopez said. “There’s a lot we can look at right now, review and move forward from now on.”

Ayton continued to shine as he did throughout the season. A hub that’s agile enough to switch to smaller guards. On offense, he sought picks to identify partners to match and roll while collecting 22 points and 19 rebounds.

The finals began how much of the playoffs were settled for these two teams. Phoenix claimed every opener. Milwaukee dropped the first game of every season-end game, except for the first-round series against Miami.

The Suns faced an injury issue for a star player early in the playoffs when Paul injured his shoulder against the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round.

Before Game 1, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed injuries in the league. He said the rapid turnaround between seasons played a role, among other factors, but that teams played 10 games less in the regular season and injuries had tended to rise for several years.

“None of it is an exact science,” Silver said. “This is something we’re very focused on in the league, as you all know, even before Covid. We’ve commissioned people to focus solely on injury prevention. Exactly why we got the injuries we did is still unclear to us. It’s something we’ll continue to work on out of season.”

Paul then missed the first two games of the Western Conference finals after breaking into the league’s coronavirus health and safety protocols.

He reacted by playing some of his best basketball at the age of 36 and has rallied ever since.

Now Milwaukee and Antetokounmpo will try to blunt their influence and react in Game 2.

Every team has suffered some kind of injury or trouble after this season. The winner of the Larry O’Brien championship trophy could be the first team to rise again.



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