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In a back-and-forth showdown, the Bucks were unable to escape the desert with a victory and fell to the Phoenix Suns, 125-124.
After one, things were pretty level. In fact, exactly level. Both offenses wasted no time and consistent shooting leveled things off at 32 apiece going into the second quarter. The 3-point ball really began to drop for Milwaukee in second. Bryn Forbes would contribute with five threes of his own, and the Bucks sank 13 first half threes. That’d help give them a 71-59 lead at halftime.
After putting the Suns in the bonus with just 9:10 to go in the third quarter, the Bucks still maintained their advantage throughout most of the period. However, Phoenix did slice things towards the end, as they unleashed an 11-2 run to close things out to 101-98 moving into the fourth.
It’d remain competitive down the stretch with Phoenix really locking down on the Bucks on the perimeter. Eventually, Giannis would get a good look from the top of the key as the final buzzer sounded to win the game, but it would rattle out and the Bucks fell, 125-124.
Stat That Stood Out
I’ll take Giannis’ stats at the free throw line for tonight’s STSO. For as much trouble that Giannis has had with his free throw shooting this season, it was quite nice seeing him shoot 17-of-21 from the line. He’d erupt for 47 total points on the evening, but it was awesome seeing him shoot that high of percentage from the charity stripe. You saw tonight just how much his point total can grow if he connects at the line and if he can maintain that success moving forward, it’d be huge for Milwaukee.