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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo joined elite company in Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Finals when he led his team to a 120-100 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Antetokounmpo scored 41 points on Sunday to become just the sixth player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in back-to-back games in the Finals. It was a stellar performance from the two-time MVP, who carried the Bucks to their first Finals win since 1974.
Including Antetokounmpo, here are the 6 players to score 40 points in back-to-back NBA Finals games:
#1 Jerry West (1965 and 1969 NBA Finals)
In league annals, Jerry West is the only player to record back-to-back 40-point games in the NBA Finals more than once, doing so in 1965 and 1969.
In addition to this incredible accomplishment, West was also the first player in NBA Finals history to score 40 points or more in succession. The LA Lakers guard scored 45 points in the Game 2 loss and 43 in a Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics in the 1965 Finals. It was an offensive explosion that hadn’t been seen in the championship round before.
Despite his individual brilliance, West failed to carry the Lakers to victory in the NBA Finals that year, as the Celtics romped away with the championship in a gentleman’s sweep of 4-1.
In the 1969 NBA Finals, the LA Lakers once again faced the Celtics in a seven-game series. West was an offensive force, pouring in 53 points in Game 1 and 41 in Game 2 with the Lakers winning both times. Unfortunately for West and his team, they would win just once in the next five games as Boston dominated the series.
West’s only consolation was that he was named the NBA Finals MVP, the first and only player from the losing team to win the award.
#2 Rick Barry (1967 NBA Finals)
![Rick Barry of the San Francisco Warriors [Photo by Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/07/f791b-16260931290995-800.jpg)
Rick Barry of the San Francisco Warriors became the second player in league history to score 40-plus points in back-to-back games. Barry accomplished the feat in the 1967 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers.
In Game 3, Barry led the Warriors to a 130-124 win by scoring 55 points, the second highest output in the Finals, which would eventually be tied almost 30 years later. The next game, Barry netted 43 points, though his team lost 122-108.
He would miss out on four straight 40-point games, however, after scoring “just” 36 points in the Game 5 victory, then exploding for 44 in the Game 6 loss.
For the series, Barry averaged 40.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
#3 Michael Jordan (1993 NBA Finals)
![Former NBA commissioner David Stern and Michael Jordan [Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/07/569dd-16260929044604-800.jpg)
Michael Jordan was unstoppable in the 1993 NBA Finals, putting up the greatest scoring performance in the championship round.
The Chicago Bulls faced the Phoenix Suns in 1993 in an attempt to win the first three-peat in NBA Finals history since the Celtics won eight straight in the 1960s. Jordan scored 40 points or more in back-to-back-to-back-to-back games to become the only player to hit the mark in four straight contests.
His Airness topped the 40-point barrier first in Game 2 with 42 as the Bulls took a 2-0 lead in the 1993 NBA Finals. Coming home to Chicago, Jordan scored 44 points but the Bulls lost in the now-classic Game 3 which went to three overtimes. In Game 4, he went berserk for 55 points, tying Barry for the second-highest points in the Finals, and leading his team to a 111-105 victory.
Game 5 ended in a loss for the Bulls despite Jordan’s 41 points. They won the championship anyway after taking down the Suns in Game 6 at Phoenix.
Overall, the five-time MVP averaged 41.0 points, the highest scoring average in NBA Finals history. Naturally, Jordan was named Finals MVP, his third straight time winning the award and the first player to lay claim to the feat.
#4 Shaquille O’Neal (2000 NBA Finals)
![Kobe Bryant #8 and Shaquille O'Neal #34 [Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/07/d9352-16260926019011-800.jpg)
Shaquille O’Neal’s most dominant season is arguably the 1999-2000 season especially with a dominant NBA Finals performance. Not only did the LA Lakers win the championship that season, O’Neal also won league and Finals MVP in the same year.
In addition, Diesel also became just the fourth player to record 40 points in back-to-back games in the NBA Finals, doing so in Games 1 and 2.
The Lakers won Game 1 against the Indiana Pacers, 104-87, with O’Neal scoring 43 points and pulling down 19 rebounds. He had a similar performance in Game 2 but with a 40-20 outing as he scored 40 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in their second consecutive win.
The 2000 NBA Finals would last six games but the Lakers would ultimately win out with O’Neal winning Finals MVP for the first time in his career.
#5 LeBron James (2016 NBA Finals)
LeBron James put the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back in the 2016 NBA Finals, leading them to the championship in dramatic fashion. After going down 3-1 in the series against the Golden State Warriors, the four-time MVP would play two of the best games of his career.
In Games 5 and 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals, James recorded back-to-back 41-point games to help the Cavs stave off elimination both times. In Game 5, James and teammate Kyrie Irving each scored 41 points in a 112-97 win on the road.
James would continue his hot-streak in Game 6, going 16-of-27 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3-point territory to allow the Cavs to tie the series at 3-3.
Cleveland would finish off the historic comeback with a 93-89 victory in Game 7 and capture their first championship as James won his third NBA Finals MVP.
#6 Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021 NBA Finals)
Antetokounmpo is the latest player to score more than 40 points in the NBA Finals. In the 118-108 loss in Game 2, he scored 20 points in a sizzling hot third period to join Jordan, Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars as the only players to score at least that many in a quarter.
Aside from the 42 points he scored, he also hauled down 12 rebounds, which would be significant three days later.
The Bucks went on to rout the Suns 120-100 in Game 3. Antetokounmpo’s output of 41 points and 13 rebounds not only made him part of the back-to-back 40-point club, he also joined O’Neal as the only players in NBA Finals history to record back-to-back 40-point, 10-rebound games.
O’Neal accomplished the feat in 2000, but Antetokounmpo could surpass the Lakers legend if he does the same in Game 4 on Wednesday to become the only player to do so in three consecutive Finals matches.
Also Read: 5 Reasons why Milwaukee Bucks won 120-100 against Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of the 2021 NBA Finals
Guess the Lakers players!
