NBA Finals Game 6: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Phoenix Suns

50 years removed from their first and only championship, Milwaukee is set to host a Game 6 Tuesday against a Phoenix Suns team that once had their number and a 2-0 series lead. But for the second time in the 2021 playoffs Milwaukee has rallied from a 2-0 deficit and now stands poised to win the chip. 

The Bucks 123-119 win on Saturday was punctuated by Jrue Holiday's fourth quarter strip of Devin Booker. Holiday then then fed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo who thanked him with a thunderous dunk, made all the more impressive because he was being blatantly fouled by Chris Paul in mid-air. This would have been Giannis' best moment in the playoffs had he not already registered that now legendary block of Deandre Ayton in Game 4. Antetekounmpo finished Saturday's game with 32 points, shooting 14 of 23 from the field while grabbing nine rebounds. Booker was even better, scoring 40 points to lead Phoenix's offense, but the late game strip now has the Suns' backs to the wall. 

The first two games of these Finals were all about Chis Paul and his chance to finally get a title. Paul and Booker combined for 113 points in Phoenix's two wins and seemed in control of things heading into Game 3 in Milwaukee. But Paul has had an average series at best, finishing Saturday's game with 21 points and 11 assists. Respectable stuff. But Paul needs to be more than respectable. He'll have to step it up and give Booker more help. Like the kind of help Antetokounpo got Saturday, when Khris Middleton (29 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and Holiday (27 points, four rebounds, 11 assists) had great games to compliment the big man like they have so many times this year. 

Paul dropped 32 against the Bucks in Game One on 7/6, his highest point total of the series. But he hasn't topped 25 points since. Still, his playoff average of 18.9 PPG is better than his regular season average (16.4) and so is his 3-point shooting percentage (39.5 in the regular season vs. 44.4 in the playoffs). So why the calls for CP3 to step it up? Well, Phoenix wants the dog in him to come out. They need the dog in Paul to come all the way out. The dog that is the supreme floor general and who can take over a game. The dogs have already come out for Milwaukee in the last two contests, and it's gonna take a bigger dog, or more specifically a stronger offensive performance to take them down. Wow, for a second there I thought I was writing about a dog show and not an NBA basketball game. Point is, if Middleton is gonna score 29, Holiday is gonna score 27 and Antetokounmpo is gonna go for his typical 28 and 11, then Paul has to score 35. If he can do that and Booker remains hot, Phoenix will force a Game 7.  

Devin Booker has been consistent throughout these Finals. Save for his 10 point performance in Game 3, he's been a force for the Suns, averaging 30 points per game. I expect another great game for Booker Tuesday, and I think Paul will turn it up offensively. They'll have no choice as they're facing elimination on the road against an expected crowd of 17,000 very loud, title hungry fans at Fiserv Stadium. 

Suns' fans don't want the lasting memory of Paul in this Finals to be the foul on Anetekounmpo at the end of Game 6 that many thought was un-necessary and ill-timed. Paul, to his credit, thought Giannis would miss the dunk and the free throws, and considering Antetekounmpo is shooting 55.6% from the line in the playoffs, we need to give CP3 some credit for his strategy there. It's ultimately less about one foul and more about the desire to see Phoenix at least take it to seven games after losing a 2-0 series lead. If Paul, Booker and the rest of the Suns can put together a stellar performance tonight in Milwaukee, they'll have set themselves up for a great chance to take this series back and win a title. 

My prediction: Phoenix 100-92.