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The Phoenix Suns took a 2-0 lead in the 2021 NBA Finals after their 118-108 Game 2 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. The two teams will now head to Wisconsin to play the next two matches of the series.
Game 2 was an interesting matchup, to begin with, as the Milwaukee Bucks looked more aggressive and were showing more intent than they did in the series opener. It looked as though it would be a closely contested game, but the Phoenix Suns had other ideas.
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The Suns were absolutely lethal with their three-point shooting, knocking down 20 of their 40 attempts from downtown during the game. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks struggled immensely, with Giannis Antetokounmpo left waging a lone war. He had a historic night individually, though, scoring 42 points for the team.
A gigantic collective effort from the Phoenix Suns and Giannis Antetokoumpo's effort saw multiple records broken during Game 2 of the NBA Finals series. We list five of them in this article.
2021 NBA Finals: Listing the 5 records broken during Game 2 between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks
#5 Devin Booker's seven 3-pointers ties him for the third-most 3's by a player in an NBA Finals game
Devin Booker started the game on a rough note and was 0-for-4 from the field. He came back strongly after that and never looked back. He scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half of the game, shooting 8-of-13 from the field in that period and 12-of-25 overall.
Seven of his shots came from downtown on 12 attempts, which helped the Phoenix Suns massively in keeping the lead. Booker was making impossible shots after the Milwaukee Bucks put him in difficult positions, barely giving him any space, but he couldn't seem to miss. His tally of seven threes tied him with ten other players on the all-time list for most threes made in an NBA Finals game.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors leads the list with nine threes made. Considering Devin Booker's range and shooting prowess, it won't be a surprise if he overtakes or ties Curry for the record at some point in his career.
#4 Giannis Antetokoumpo becomes the fourth player to score 40+ points, 10+ rebounds and 3+ blocks in an NBA Finals game
Giannis Antetokounmpo was on a mission Thursday night, displaying why he deserved to be a two-time league MVP with his 42-point effort. The rest of his teammates had a tough game as they were unable to make shots efficiently. Giannis shot a whopping 68.2% from the floor, tallying 12 rebounds and three blocks as well, giving it everything he had to help his team avoid a loss.
That wasn't enough, though, as the Phoenix Suns buried the Milwaukee Bucks with their lethal shooting and collective effort to go 2-0 up. Giannis broke multiple records with his performance; he joined a legendary group of players like LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neale, and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar as the only players to put up a 40/10 stat-line and also make at least three blocks.
#3 Chris Paul overtakes Kobe Bryant on the all-time assists list in the NBA Playoffs
Chris Paul did not have the kind of game one would have expected him to have after his Game 1 heroics in the 2021 NBA Finals. He recovered well from a poor start, though, but made sure he was highly efficient with his playmaking throughout the game. He tallied 23 points on 50% shooting from the floor, including three 3s on the night.
Paul dished out eight assists, which saw him surpass the late legendary LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant on the all-time list for most assists in NBA Playoffs history. He has now entered the top ten with 1041 assists in the postseason.
#2 Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes the fourth player in the last 50 seasons to score 20 points in one quarter in an NBA Finals Game
Giannis Antetokounmpo took over for the Milwaukee Bucks in the third quarter of the game, with the rest of his teammates continuing to struggle to play well on the offensive end. He scored 20 points, while the next highest scorer behind him was Khris Middleton with only five points during that stretch.
The Suns led by 15 points at one stage, but Giannis' efforts helped the Bucks close the gap to within five points. The Bucks couldn't keep up with the pressure, though, eventually heading into the fourth quarter with a ten-point deficit.
Giannis' 20 points in that quarter saw him break multiple records; he was the first player in the last 25 seasons to have a 20-point quarter in the NBA Finals. The Greek Freak overtook the likes of Kobe Bryant (2010) and LeBron James (2014) who scored 19 points in a single quarter in an NBA Finals game.
He also became just the fourth player to score 20 points in a single quarter of an NBA Finals game, joining the elite company of Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars as the only players in the last 50 seasons to achieve the feat.
#1 Phoenix Suns become the third team to make 20 3s in an NBA Finals game
The Phoenix Suns made 20 of their 40 attempts from downtown to become only the third team to achieve the feat in NBA Finals history. The only other teams to make 20+ threes in NBA Finals game before the Suns were the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2019 Golden State Warriors.
The Suns' lethal shooting proved to be the key to them winning Game 2, especially after the kind of aggressive basketball the Milwaukee Bucks played to start the match on Thursday night.
