The Milwaukee Bucks are just one win away from their first NBA Championship in 50 years and they took the chance right out of the Phoenix Suns’ hands – literally.
Jrue Holiday ripped the ball from Devin Booker’s hands and set up an alley-oop pass to Giannis Antetokounmpo for a game-sealing dunk as the Bucks earned a 123-119 win in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night at the Footprint Center.
‘Obviously, we know what the deal is. It’s one game away from being the NBA champ,” said an exhausted Antetokounmpo after the game.
Antetokounmpo had 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists to lead the Bucks and Khris Middleton added 29 points. Along with his game-clinching steal and assist, Holiday chipped in 27 points and 13 assists.
Milwaukee rallied back for the win after going down 16 points in the first quarter as the Suns started off hot, scoring 37 points in the opening period.
The Bucks now have a chance to win their first championship in 50 years in front of their fans. History is on their side because the winner of Game 5 in the NBA Finals with the series tied 2-2 wins the title 21 of 29 times.
Phoenix was led by Booker’s 40 points, his second consecutive game with 40 points. Chris Paul added 21 points and 11 assists, and Deandre Ayton finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Now the Suns must win two games to capture a championship but do so on the road won’t be easy.
”We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. We didn’t expect it to be. It’s hard,” Paul said. ”Coach said it all year long, everything we want is on the other side of hard and it doesn’t get any harder than this.”
UP NEXT:
The Bucks lead the series 3-2 and will try to clinch their first NBA Championship in 50 years in Game 6 on Tuesday night at 8 PM.
