NBA Finals; Bucks – Suns Game 5 Recap

Dantre Cole 7/17/21

NBA Finals; Bucks – Suns Game 5 Recap

Photo via Barry Gossage/NBAE getty images

The Milwaukee Bucks can just smell the Larry O’Brien trophy at this point, as they picked a huge road win in Phoenix to win their 3rd straight game in the series heading back home to Milwaukee with a 3-2 lead over the Phoenix Suns. Milwaukee will be looking to close things out on their home court Tuesday night to bring the first NBA championship to Milwaukee since 1971. Game 5 was a close one, as the Bucks walked away with a 123-119 win and some key plays during clutch time. Here is the breakdown of what happened.

Suns quick start in 1st quarter, lost lead

The Suns came out scorching in the 1st quarter of game 5 on their home court, outscoring the Bucks 21-37 and taking a 16-point lead after the 1st quarter. With the Suns being at home, you would think going up 16 points at home, they would be able to hold the leas throughout the remainder of the game, as the Bucks would have to claw and scratch their way back into the game, but this was not the case. Milwaukee came out blazing in the 2nd quarter of the game, outscoring the Suns 43-24 in the quarter to take all the momentum and a 3-point lead heading into the half, and they would not look back neither as they outscored the Suns in the 3rd quarter as well to take a commanding 10-point lead on the road heading into the 4th quarter. The Suns certainly had their chances during this game 5 to keep their foot on the pedal and close the Bucks out early, but they did not, and Milwaukee took full advantage of it.

Bucks Big 3 balanced scoring

The Milwaukee Bucks had 3 great outings from their big 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the game with 32 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. One thing Giannis has been doing lately is distributing the ball well as a big man. Fellow all-star Khris Middleton finished the game with 29 points on 12-23 shooting, while Jrue Holiday finished the game with 27 points and 13 assists on 12-20 shooting. If the Bucks big 3 continues to play like this throughout the remainder of the series, it will be hard and nearly impossible for the Suns to stop the Bucks. Middleton and Holiday have certainly stepped up since falling behind 0-2 in Phoenix, and it shows as the Bucks now have the commanding 3-2 lead looking too close out on their home court Tuesday night.

Pat Connaughton off the bench, Bucks 3-point shooting

A huge contributor for the Milwaukee Bucks off the bench during game 5 was Pat Connaughton. Connaughton finished the game with 14 points off the bench, shooting 4-6 from 3-point range and hitting some key shots during the 4th quarter. While Pat Connaughton certainly stepped up during the game 5 win, the Bucks 3-point shooting during game 5 was excellent as well. Milwaukee shot 14-28 (50% FG) during the game 5 win. Shooting 50% from the 3-point line as team is always a plus during a game. Although the Suns shot well from the 3-point line as well (13-19) it was not enough to outlast the Bucks, as the Bucks got better play off the bench as well.

Another big game for Devin Booker

Devin Booker continued to have a great series outside of his game 3 performance, pouring in another 40-point performance finishing with a game high 40 points on 17-33 shooting and a +/- of +12. Booker posted his 2nd straight 40-point performance, and although he had solid outings from teammates Chris Paul (21 points, 11 assists, 1 turnover) and Deandre Ayton (20 points, 10 rebounds), it just was not enough to outlast what the Bucks big 3 put up on the opposing end against the Suns.

Suns turnover problems continue; GW steal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSP22Xw9gQE

The Phoenix Suns continued to struggle with not turning the ball over. The Suns finished the game with a team total of 20 turnovers compared to Milwaukee’s 17 team turnovers. If the Suns had hopes of winning this game on their home court and taking the 3-2 lead, they had to make sure that they secured the basketball on the offensive end and limited their number of turnovers just like Milwaukee did in the game 4 win, but they did not. One last thing was Jrue Holidays game winning steal on Devin Booker to wrap the game up and solidify the win for the Bucks on the road. Holiday stole the ball from Booker with 17 seconds left in the 4th quarter of the game, with Milwaukee being up by 1 point, and went down the court to throw the alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who made the dunk and got the and-one play after being fouled by Chris Paul with 13.5 seconds left. That game winning steal by Holiday on Booker all but wrapped the game up for the Bucks, to take the demanding 3-2 lead heading back to Milwaukee on Tuesday looking to close things out at home.