NBA Finals: 3 takeaways from Bucks-Suns Game 2
NBA Finals: 3 takeaways from Bucks-Suns Game 2 – No. 2: Giannis Antetokounmpo was stellar, but the supporting cast of the Milwaukee Bucks were the opposite
One week after MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee and looked like he’d be sidelined for months, the Greek Freak recorded a 42-point performance on 68.2 percent shooting from the floor followed by 12 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks through 40 minutes on Thursday night. Antetokounmpo set a franchise Finals record for most points scored and posted 20 points in just the third quarter, marking the most in a Finals quarter since Michael Jordan’s 22 points in the second quarter of Game 4 during the 1993 NBA Finals.
It was a monstrous effort from a generational talent. Although, Antetokounmpo’s supporting cast didn’t show up to support his historic contest. The co-stars of the Milwaukee Bucks, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, both struggled from the field, which proved to be costly.
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Middleton and Holiday combined for a whopping 28 points on 12-of-37 field goals. Khris failed to get into a consistent flow while Jrue, who was non-aggressive in Game 1, seemed overaggressive in Game 2. Holiday had 17 points but shot 33.3 percent from the field on 21 attempts.
The entire starting lineup outside of Antetokounmpo scored 43 points, one point more than Antetokounmpo’s 42. That’s not the ideal scenario for Milwaukee. Pat Connaughton was the only other Buck to step up, scoring 14 points on 50.0 percent field goals and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench, but everyone else failed to provide a spark.
If the Bucks are going to defeat the Suns four times to win this series and claim the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, that can’t happen. Especially if both Middleton and Holiday regress offensively, Milwaukee has no chance to overcome this well-coached Phoenix team.
As Middleton has been clutch for the majority of the postseason while Holiday has shown glimpses of why the Bucks sacrificed a haul of assets to acquire him for these very moments, the Milwaukee Bucks need at least one of them to efficiently fulfill expectations and step up alongside Antetokounmpo in these NBA Finals.