Milwaukee vs. Phoenix: Bucks Fall to Suns in OT, 128-127

In quite the controversial finish, the Bucks were ousted by the Phoenix Suns, 128-127 in overtime.

his games started with some tight defense by both teams. Paced by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday, the Bucks were able to maintain a single point advantage moving into the second quarter, 25-24. On the other end, Devin Booker poured in 11 first quarter points.

Milwaukee would continue to get ample looks from the perimeter, but were unable to connect on a majority of them. At half, the Bucks were shooting just 2-of-16 from the 3-point line. However, 21 first half points from Giannis were keeping them in it and they trailed by a single point at the break, 55-54.

The Bucks would really come alive in the third. Led by their star in Antetokounmpo, everything started to look more fluent on offense, and Milwaukee swung the momentum back in their favor. Going into the fourth quarter, the home team registered a 90-83 lead.

Milwaukee’s lead would expand to by as much as nine, but Phoenix wouldn’t make it easy to put them to bed. This would be back and forth until the final seconds of regulation, when Phoenix had a chance to win it off a sidelines play. However, they were unable to convert, and we headed to overtime.

Overtime would be just as thrilling as regulation, with both teams going back and forth. It’d eventually come down to Devin Booker being fouled on a very controversial call stemming from the body of PJ Tucker. Booker would connect on one of the free throws, and Phoenix would prevail, 128-127.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 33 points on the evening. For the Suns, Devin Booker led the way with 24 points.

What Did We Learn?

Obviously, this was a frustrating finish for the Bucks and their fans. This one will definitely leave a sour taste for Milwaukee, as this was a game that they definitely could’ve taken. The foul call was definitely questionable, controversial, and many other words. In his postgame, this is what Bud mentioned:

but on the other side of the coin, Monty Williams claimed that he heard a slap. Definitely interesting. Here is the official pool report:

Three Observations

Jrue was a massive impact last night.

The impact Holiday had on this game was incredible. Not only did he score some big buckets (and rack up 25 points on the evening), he also was massive on the defensive side of the basketball. How big? Here are some words from Monty Williams in his postgame presser:

The energy that Holiday brings to this team is well-noticed, and man, has it made an impact. Despite that controversial call, it was a bad look for Booker, as Holiday forced him to throw up a near desperation heave from the sideline. It’s going to be a real treat to watch Holiday on this squad in the weeks ahead and during the playoffs, because he really does a one-of-a-kind dimension to this squad.

It’s great to see Giannis have his fingerprints all over the box score again.

After being sidelined with his knee issues, it’s been great to see Giannis have a positive impact in these types of games. Last night, he really seemed to be back to his normal self. How so? He’d finish with 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting and looked quite spry. It was tough to see him go out of the game in overtime. However, in his postgame availability, Bud mentioned that this was just a cramp and due to Giannis’ knee issues as of late, he didn’t feel comfortable bringing him back in.

It wasn’t the best of nights for Brook Lopez.

Prior to last night, Brook Lopez had been averaging 18 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting 56% from the field and 47% from three. He had also scored at least 17 points in each of the last three games. However, Brook was unable to retain that scoring presence last night. He’d end up posting up just seven points in 33 minutes played, going 3-of-8 from the floor. It’ll be imperative for him to have a quick memory with this one, as the Bucks will need him to be on his A-game with Joel Embiid and the Sixers coming to town on Thursday.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Donte returned to the starting lineup in this one. He’d play 31 minutes on the evening and tally nine points on 4-of-10 shooting.
• Do we think Giannis is healthy? I think Giannis is healthy.

(NOTE: This was put into the article before he cramped up in OT)

• Shoutout to Bobby on the defensive side of the ball last night. That guy was everywhere.
• That Jrue play in the final quarter of shot faking it, then dunking it down with two hands after running down the baseline was incredible. He’s so good, man.
• Chris Paul is just ridiculous. Just a pure joy to watch. So good at basketball. Also, congrats to him on this accolade: