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The Milwaukee Bucks secured their second NBA Championship – their first in 50 years – after beating the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals. That they did it in front of a packed Fiserv Forum with 65,000 fans outside in the Deer District, especially during a season where they played majorly without fans, was just the icing on the cake.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a performance for the ages to mark the occasion. He scored 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks on 16-of-25 shooting against the Phoenix Suns. Most importantly, he made his free throws when it mattered most for the Milwaukee Bucks, going 17-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a few words to say after the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals.
"When I re-signed with the city of Milwaukee, that's the main reason I re-signed," Giannis said. "I didn't want to let the people down... I could go to a superteam and just do my part and win a championship. But this is the hard way to do it and we did it."
Incredible stats as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals
Both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns put up some phenomenal performances throughout this series. Several records were broken, in particular by Giannis Antetokounmpo. On that note, let's look at 10 incredible stats from the 2021 NBA Finals.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo became the first player to score 50 points in a closeout game of an NBA Finals series since Bob Pettit in 1958. Pettit scored 50 points to seal the title for the then St. Louis Hawks against the Boston Celtics.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, five assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in the 2021 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns. The Milwaukee Bucks talisman also shot 61.8% from the field. He's the first player to average 30-10-5 in a finals series while shooting over 60%.
3. The Phoenix Suns became only the fifth team in history to blow a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. The other four teams are the LA Lakers (1969), Philadelphia 76ers (1977), Dallas Mavericks (2006) and Golden State Warriors (2016).
4. Chris Paul has now become the first player in NBA history to blow four 2-0 series leads in the playoffs after the Phoenix Suns blew their 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Bucks.
5. Torrey Craig became only the third player to be on the roster on both teams in the NBA Finals in a year. Craig started the season with the Milwaukee Bucks and was later traded to the Phoenix Suns. Anderson Varejao (2015-16, Cavaliers and Warriors) and Dion Waiters (2019-20, Heat and Lakers) are the other two players.
6. Giannis Antetokounmpo is now the first player in NBA history to win Most Improved Player (2017), Most Valuable Player (2019, 2020), Defensive Player of the Year (2020) and NBA Finals MVP (2021).
7. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 of his 50 points for the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half tonight. He became only the second player in the last 50 years since Michael Jordan to score 33 points in one half of an NBA Finals game.
8. Devin Booker became only the third player in history to score multiple 40-point games in an NBA Finals series and end up on the losing side. The two other players to have done this are Jerry West (1965, 1966, 1969) and Rick Barry (1967).
9. Following Jrue Holiday's 27-point performance in Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns, he, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton became only the fifth trio in NBA Finals history to each score 25 points on 50% shooting in at least one game of the series.
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013. He is only the third player in the last 10 finals series to win an NBA Finals MVP with the same team that drafted him. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers, 2016) and Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs, 2014) are the only two other players to have done so during this span.
After two spectacular regular-season campaigns and subsequent misery in the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks finally managed to win it all. It's time for Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. to celebrate. The Phoenix Suns will be feeling entirely opposite emotions right now, but reaching the NBA Finals after ending a 11-year playoff drought is no easy feat and they should be proud of what they achieved.
Guess the Lakers players!
