NBA Finals: The Suns burn the Bucks again as they take a two-game series lead
Phoenix, Arizona - The Phoenix Suns are now halfway to their first NBA championship as they took care of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
The Suns beat the Bucks 118-108 on Thursday night to go 2-0 up in a series now heads east to Milwaukee for the next couple of games.
Devin Booker (25) led Phoenix with 31 points and Chris Paul added 23 as the Suns kept up their hot shooting performance to keep the Bucks at Bay.
Milwaukee did manage a small lead after one quarter but by halftime, the Phoenix had them figured out, racing to a double-digit advantage. The second half showed the Bucks threatening to come back several times, but the Suns never gave up their lead or even allowed a tie up to the final buzzer. Phoenix was on fire from long-distance, especially when they were surprisingly left open, hitting 20 threes as a team.
The Bucks have had the highest-rated defense during the NBA playoffs, but you wouldn't have guessed it on Thursday. Giannis Antetokounmpo instead attempted to put his team on his back and win the game by himself. He played a tough game, gutting out a game-high 41 points, but without much help from his co-stars Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, the Bucks just couldn’t stop Phoenix from taking a two-game series lead.
This is uncharted territory for the Suns, who never led once during their two previous Finals appearances.
Fortunately for the Bucks, they have been in this position before during this postseason
Milwaukee dropped the first two games in the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Nets last month. Those first two were on the road, but then the Bucks came back home to win the next two games on their way to clinching the series in seven games. They have an opportunity to build on their strong performance during the first quarter of Game 2, but consistency is key if they are to turn this around.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is on Sunday night, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire