The Milwaukee Bucks took their first step toward making the NBA Finals a long series. Playing in a Finals game in Milwaukee for the first time since 1974, the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-100 in Game 3 on Sunday. The Suns lead the series 2-1, and Game 4 is Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, ABC).
In a game the Bucks could not afford to lose, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a special performance. Milwaukee relied on Antetokounmpo’s special, almost unstoppable brand of bully-ball. He scored a game-high 41 points, including an impressive 13-for-17 from the foul line. He also had 13 rebounds and six assists.
“There’s a lot of ways you can spin it, but they played with a great deal of aggression for longer stretches than we did,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “We knew it was coming. We did not respond to it well tonight, especially in the second and third quarters. The turnovers certainly hurt us, points in the paint, everything we have been talking about the whole series. So it was a tough lesson for us to learn.”