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The Milwaukee Bucks emerged victorious in the all-important Game 5 of the 2021 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns at the Footprint Center.
The Milwaukee Bucks turned around a 16-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Phoenix Suns 123-119 in the fifth game of the Finals series. The Bucks are now just one win away from winning their first NBA title in 50 years.
Jrue Holiday (27 points, 13 rebounds and three steals), Giannis Antetokounmpo (32 points and nine rebounds) and Khris Middleton (29 points and seven rebounds) all stepped up for the Milwaukee Bucks to help them take a 3-2 series lead.
In the aftermath of his team's Game-5 win, Antetokounmpo said that it's important for the Milwaukee Bucks to keep fighting, especially as they are just a game away from winning the championship now. He said:
“We kept our composure; we kept fighting. This is the NBA Finals, so you got to give everything you got. And that’s what the team did tonight... You got to enjoy the moment; the job is not done. We got to stay humble; we got to stay in the present. When this team is humble, we are very very dangerous.”
Antetokounmpo missed clutch free throws down the stretch but converted an alley-oop dunk with barely ten seconds left on the clock to give the Milwaukee Bucks a three-point lead, which pretty much sealed the game for the team.
"Just Embrace it" - Devin Booker on the challenge Phoenix Suns face after going down 2-3 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals
Devin Booker came up big once again for the Phoenix Suns, producing a second consecutive 40-point game. He tallied exactly 40 points on 51% shooting (33 attempts) from the floor. Chris Paul came up with 21 points and 11 assists, while Deandre Ayton recorded 20 points, ten rebounds and two blocks on the night.
Booker could not cap off his brilliant performance as he would have expected, though, as he committed a costly turnover in the dying moments of the game. The Suns were down by one point with only 16.7 seconds left on the game clock.
The Milwaukee Bucks managed to score two crucial points off that turnover. Jrue Holiday, who forced the turnover, combined with Antetokounmpo on an alley-oop in a play that sealed the game.
Speaking after the Game-5 clash, Devin Booker said the Suns need to 'embrace' the challenge of winning two consecutive games to win the 2020-21 NBA title. Chris Paul, who was also in the post-match press conference, added that the Suns need to recover quickly for Game 6.
"Just embrace it." said Booker.
"Yeah. We knew this wasn't going to be easy. We didn't expect it to be. It's hard. Coach said it all year long; everything we want is on the other side of hard, and it don't get no harder than this. So, we got to regroup, learn from this game, but it's over, we got to get ready for Game 6," chimed in Paul.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns head to Wisconsin for Game 6 of the series on Tuesday.
