The performance of this club from Milwaukee was truly sensational in the 2020/21 NBA season. In the final series of matches, the team managed to turn the game around despite the tough fight. And, for the first time in the last 50 years, it won the champion’s title in the battle with the Phoenix Suns, which have not won the tournament for 53 years. Therefore, both teams had more than enough motivation. The results and statistics of these games are available at https://scores24.live/en/basketball.
The Finals: how it all happened
In the finals, the club confronted the Phoenix Suns. Six matches had to be played to determine the best of two, and for the Bucks, the start of this streak was rather unsuccessful. Two defeats in a row with a score of 118:105 and 118:108 seemed to be a good reserve for their rivals. Even many of the Milwaukee buck’s fans failed to believe in the comeback, as the Phoenix played very well and had a consistent performance in the first two meetings, leaving almost no chance for Mike Budenholzer’s troops.
Despite the spectacular performance of Giannis Antetokounmpo on the court, the Bucks could not do anything with the offensives by Chris Paul &Co. Well, the first two games were played away, and the situation dramatically changed at the home court in Milwaukee.
In their first home game, the Bucks won 120-100, as Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points and became the best slam dunker of the match. That very moment became the turning one in the battle for the championship. The Milwaukee Bucks’ next home game turned out to be more close-range and competitive. The guests were leading in the course of the meeting, but the hosts managed to snatch victory in the last quarter (109:103), thus leveling the score in the series and sparking the thrill.
The next game took place at the Phoenix home court. Chris Paul and his team seized the initiative right in the first quarter, but could not resist the pressure of the opponent and lost for the third time in a row. So the series score reached 3:2 for the Milwaukee Bucks, which played the next game at its home court.
The Bucks needed to win to write their names into the NBA history for the first time in 50 years. The team was more motivated than ever, but it was only the last quarter when the hosts managed to get ahead. The final score of the match was 105:98, and the series score was 4:2. Almost half of all Milwaukee points were scored by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The best players of the Finals and Series MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo became the most effective player of the winning team (50 points, 5 blocked shots, and 14 rebounds).
Chris Paul with 26 points was the best in the Phoenix Suns.
Unsurprisingly, Giannis Antetokounmpo was recognized as the MVP in the final series. By the way, he had earlier become the NBA’s most valuable player twice without having any major achievements. So, finally, the basketball player was able to show his gift not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs. At the same time, the athlete topped his performance record. Before, no one was able to score 50 points in a playoff round with 5 blocked shots and 14 rebounds.
Apart from Giannis, only six players have managed to score 50 points or more in one of the matches of the final series. Their names are well-known to everyone who is interested in basketball. This list contains the following big names:
- Bob Pettit;
- Elgin Baylor;
- Rick Barry;
- Jerry West;
- Michael Jordan;
- LeBron James.
The longest NBA streak without the champion title
The Milwaukee Bucks last became the NBA champion back in 1971. Thus, it had one of the longest streaks without the champion title among the teams playing in tournaments of the National Basketball Association.
In 2021, the Bucks left the list of losers. Now the Sacramento Kings is the team that has the longest streak. The last time this team won the final 70 years ago, back in 1951.
The Atlanta Hawks was the strongest team in the NBA 63 years ago, and the Los Angeles Clippers, despite the pretty good performances of its player, has been struggling for 51 years.
At the end of the final, one of the teams would have dropped out of this list in any case since the Phoenix Suns has an even longer run without a champion title – 53 years.
The result achieved: is it the luck or logic trend?
Needless to say, the Bucks deserved the championship with their game. They performed well in the playoffs and showed a game that was high-scoring, fast-paced, and exciting to watch.
The winner is always right, but basketball fans will surely be talking of a combination of luck for the Milwaukee Bucks. Now we are mostly referring to a series against the Brooklyn Nets, where Giannis&Co managed to win in a very tough battle and where the maximum number of possible matches was played since the winner was determined after the seventh meeting (4:3 for the Milwaukee Bucks). Then the Bucks also started a series of two defeats in a row, and the strongest team was determined only by the results of overtime.
It is hard to believe that the Milwaukee club could snatch victory in that series if the Brooklyn Nets players were in optimal physical condition and without staff losses. Kyrie Irving was absent due to sickness, and Harden did not have time to fully recover from the illness. Nevertheless, Kevin Durant outplayed the entire Bucks squad alone and even Antetokounmpo called him the best player in the world.
Therefore, it would be natural to conclude that although Giannis became the MVP of the finals and got the champion title as part of the team, he still has not reached such a status.
Is Chris Paul the main loser of the final series?
Such headlines can often be found in many American media. But Chris Paul is not the one to put all the blame for the defeat. He is an awesome point guard who will undoubtedly surpass the legendary Magic Johnson in many statistical key indicators.
There is no doubt that Chris could have played better in some games. He made quite a few mistakes in the last four games, but the basketball player is mainly criticized for the fact that, despite an amazing career, Paul has not yet won the title.
Experts say that if the Milwaukee Bucks point guard moves to the Lakers and teams up with Davis and LeBron, it will be a very sound statement for the championship.
