The Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns meet for the fourth time in the NBA finals series on Wednesday.
With still in the lead, the Suns looked to extend the win over the Bucks. However, the Bucks had other plans in store for the Suns.
Going down two wins the Bucks were desperate for the win. And the Bucks got their much-needed win in Game 3.
Continuing the record, the Bucks took another win and tied the series with the Suns.
The Bucks defeated the Suns 109-103 in Game 4, taking back-to-back wins and tying the series.
They showed that “it’s not over till it’s over” and holding onto the game and making a comeback.
Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo are not giving the Suns an easy win.
Their confidence and brilliant performance became a vital part of the Bucks’ win over the Suns.
Middleton led the Bucks followed by Giannis’s double-double.
On the other hand, Devin Booker led the Suns with a game-high point. Despite his best effort the Suns failed to get the wins.
The Suns started well in the first quarter of the game even taking the lead.
However, the Bucks quickly made a comeback in the second quarter.
In the third quarter again, the Suns outscored the Bucks but the Bucks eventually came up with a win in the fourth quarter.
The Suns took the lead in the first quarter.
Devin Booker came up with the first shot of the night, dropping a jump shot. Khris Middleton dropped a layup on the other end to tie the game.
Brook Lopez dropped a dunk on Jrue Holiday‘s pass and took the lead for the first time.
Subsequently, Booker answered back, dropping a floater and tying the game again.
Deandre Ayton dropped a dunk on Jae Crowder and the Suns eventually took 6 point lead.
Booker grabbed his own offensive rebound and knocked down a jumper. This extended the lead to 8 points.
Middleton finally dropped a three-pointer cutting the Suns’ 8-0 run to cut the lead to five points.
Mikal Bridges answered, dropping a jumper. Middleton then came up with a jumper.
Bobby knocked down a three-pointer from the corner. Subsequently, Giannis dropped a dunk and the Bucks cut the lead to two-point with 1:26 remaining in the quarter.
Booker found Ayton under the rim for a bucket. Cameron Johnson knocked down a three-pointer with about 30 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Eventually, the quarter ended 23-20 with the Suns taking a three-point lead into the second quarter.
The Bucks tied the game in the second quarter.
They were 25-20 early in the quarter as Middleton dropped floater as the first shot of the second quarter of the Bucks.
Giannis drove straight to the rim and dropped a layup, adding another bucket for the Bucks.
Khris & Giannis with some smooth drives early in the 2Q! 🔥#NBAFinals on ABC pic.twitter.com/PiEsS0yGM5
— NBA (@NBA) July 15, 2021
Crowder came up with a three-pointer on Chris Paul’s pass.
Antetokounmpo dropped a dunk on Jeff Teague’s pass. While Torrey Craig dropped jumper on Paul’s pass.
Jrue Holiday dropped a jumper and also drew a foul in the process. Eventually, the Bucks took the lead.
But the Suns took the lead right back. Lopez made a bucket on Middleton’s pass and tied the game.
They were 37-33 halfway into the quarter as Booker knocked down a long jumper.
Middleton answered back, dropping a jumper on the other end.
Booker dropped a left-handed layup and tied the game. They were tied at 41-41 with 4:31 remaining in the quarter.
Subsequently, Booker added another long jumper to take the lead. However, they tied once again at 45-45.
Cameron Payne came up with a jumper and Booker added another jumper on the next possession.
Jrue Holiday dropped a floater and Mikal Bridges answered back, knocking down a three-pointer.
Middleton threw the ball to Giannis for a bucket and also tied the game with a three-pointer on the next possession.
Khris Middleton (16 PTS) ties the game entering halftime on ABC!@Bucks 52@Suns 52#NBAFinals presented by YouTube TV pic.twitter.com/vMWM5lXvXz
— NBA (@NBA) July 15, 2021
Eventually, the quarter ended with both tying at 52-52, entering the third quarter.
The Suns took the lead in the third quarter.
Jae Crowder knocked down a three-pointer to start the third quarter. Booker added another bucket, knocking down a long jumper.
Giannis dropped a jumper cutting the lead to three-point over two minutes into the quarter.
They were 59-56 as Booker dropped a fadeaway jumper with 7:40 remaining in the quarter.
Mikal Bridges came up with a block on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Subsequently, Antetokounmpo came up with a dunk on Jrue’s pass. Chris Paul knocked down a jumper.
Jrue found Giannis under the rim and Giannis answered back, dropping a floater.
They were 69-67 with under four-minute left to play in the quarter. As Pat Connaughton knocked down a three-pointer and took the lead for the Bucks.
Cameron Payne dropped a layup and also drew a foul in the process.
What a finish from Cam Payne 🤯@Suns 73@Bucks 70#NBAFinals on ABC pic.twitter.com/mxV9ONoDu1
— NBA (@NBA) July 15, 2021
Booker knocked down a fadeaway jumper. Eventually, the game tied at 73-73 with about two minutes left in the quarter.
Booker came up with a step-back three-pointer. And Cameron Johnson blocked Jrue Holiday on the other end.
While Payne knocked down a three-pointer and eventually took 7 point lead with under a minute left to play in the quarter.
Middleton answered back, knocking down a three-pointer. Crowder came up with a block on Middleton in the final seconds of the game.
Hence, the quarter ended 82-76 with the Suns taking 6 point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bucks turned the game around.
They were 85-76 early in the quarter as Pat Connaughton knocked down a three-pointer.
The Bucks cut the lead to four-point but Johnson knocked down a jumper to extend the lead.
Chris Paul knocked down a jumper and the Bucks trailed the Suns by five-point with 8:40 remaining in the quarter.
Middleton came up with a jumper. While Giannis came up with a steal to add another bucket, knocking down a dunk in transition.
Giannis added another dunk on Jrue’s pass. Middleton dropped a layup and the Bucks cut the lead to three-point halfway into the quarter.
Payne drove straight to the rim for a bucket but Bobby Portis blocked him at the rim.
Middleton made a three-pointer shot but failed to get the bucket. Connaughton tipped off the miss.
Ayton came up with a block on Portis on the other end. Subsequently, Giannis deflected Chris’s pass to Booker and passed to Jrue, who passed back to Giannis.
Giannis then dropped a layup, bringing the game within a point with 3:15 remaining in the quarter.
Connaughton knocked down a three-pointer and the Bucks eventually took the lead.
Booker dropped a jumper and the Suns tied the game with under two minutes left to play.
Middleton knocked down a long jumper and the Bucks took the lead right back.
Antetokounmpo came up with a crucial block on Ayton, preventing the Suns from tying the game.
Game 4 down the stretch was SPECIAL. #ThatsGame
The @Bucks held on to defeat the Suns and tie the #NBAFinals presented by YouTube TV at 2-2.. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/nkovoL8LbT
— NBA (@NBA) July 15, 2021
Paul then lost the ball while Middleton dropped a layup, extending the lead with 27.2 remaining in the quarter.
The game ended with Jrue dropping free throws while Paul knocking down a layup in the final seconds of the game.
Eventually, the Bucks took the win and tied the series 2-2.
Scoring highlights.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks, scoring 40 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Following him, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 14 rebounds double-double along with 8 assists.
Their performance in the final moment of Game 4 helped the Bucks take the lead.
Giannis’s block on the defensive end and Khris’s big shot along with free throws afterward changed the course of this NBA finals.
”Khris has no fear and he never has,” Milwaukee guard Jrue Holiday said.
“That’s what he does down the stretch. We want him to have the ball,” Antetokounmpo said of Middleton.
“We want him to be the decision-maker.”
He added, “We know he’s going to take big shots, and tonight he was incredible.”
“That’s an NBA Finals special moment right there,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “And we’re going to need more of them. His impact on the game on both ends of the court … it’s a big-time block. That’s what he’s capable of.”
The Bucks needed their star players to step up in the game once again. And the star players depended on each other and came up with a game-winning performance.
“We’ve done this a lot of times,” Antetokounmpo said. “You know, there’s times that going down the stretch, I’ve got to trust (him) and he’s got to trust me.
“As I said, we’ve closed so many games. We’ve lost a lot of games, but closing a game like this in the NBA Finals, obviously, means a lot. It felt good, but we cannot be satisfied. We’ve got to keep enjoying the game. Keep playing good basketball.”
The Bucks team great performance for the win.
Besides Khris and Giannis, three other players scored in double-figures. Their team performance tonight turns things around for the Bucks, showing,” it’s not over till it’s over”.
Brook Lopez made 14 points while Jrue Holiday had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Meanwhile, Pat Connaughton led the Bucks’ bench, scoring 11 points and 9 rebounds.
”We wanted this bad and the team showed it tonight,” Antetokounmpo said.
”Nobody caved,” Middleton said. ”We stayed with it.”
Devin Booker did it all for the Suns.
The Suns’ star player Booker was brilliant in Game 4. He did everything for the Suns to lead them to win.
Devin scored game-high points and even made history in the process. But his performance was not enough to win the game.
He led the Suns, scoring a game-high 42 points and 2 assists along with a rebound.
Devin Booker (42 PTS tonight) is the 3rd player in NBA history to score 40+ points 3 times in their first postseason, joining Rick Barry (5 times in 1967) and Wilt Chamberlain (3 times in 1960).
He and Khris both had 40 points game making them just the 4th pair of opponents to each score 40 plus points in an NBA Finals game.
“It doesn’t matter at all,” Booker said on his big night. “I said that after last game, too, when I struggled shooting it. The main objective is to win the game.”
The Suns low scoring night.
Besides Booker, three other players scored in double figures but neither of them scored more than 15 points.
Following Booker, Crowder scored 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists.
While Chris Paul had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.
“It was bad decision-making,” Paul said on his low-scoring night. “That time we were down two and I tried to cross over right there, slipped, turned it over.
He had five turnovers equal to the Bucks’ team total.
“I had some bad passes in the first half. They got a significant amount (of) more shots than us, so for me, I got to take care of the ball. We got 17 turnovers, we shoot the ball too well not to have those opportunities to score,” Paul added.
Meanwhile, Cameron Johnson led the Suns’ bench, scoring 10 points.
After losing Game 3, the Suns aimed to take another win in Game 4. With that plan, the Suns even started strong, taking the lead in the first quarter and dominating them in the third quarter. But they couldn’t maintain the momentum and lost to the Bucks in the final moment of the fourth quarter.
”When you have that kind of lead in the fourth, if we can just hold on to the ball and get good possessions, you feel like you can at least hold it there,” Suns coach Monty Williams said.
Now after the loss, the Suns aimed to make a comeback and take the lead in Game 5.
”This is a tough one but we’ve got to bounce back,” Paul said. ”That’s why we fought all season to get home court.”
The Suns and the Bucks meet each other for Game 5 on Saturday night in Phoenix.
