NBA Finals Game One Recap: Bucks 105, Suns 118

It was a valiant effort by the Milwaukee Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo returning to this game to score 20 points in 35 minutes, but the Phoenix Suns outclassed their opponent en route to a 118-105 win.

NBA.com Box Score

Milwaukee went back and forth with Phoenix through the first quarter, ultimately trailing 26-30 despite a solid early opening from their surprise starting superstar. The Bucks missed plenty of bunnies in the second, as the Suns opened up a 57-49 lead heading into halftime. In the third, Phoenix blew the game wide open with a dominating scoring display leading to a 92-76 advantage after three. Bud went to a small ball lineup for almost the entire fourth, but the Bucks couldn’t pull it closer than seven as the Suns answered the call again and again.

Stat that Stood Out

Milwaukee wasted a stellar 16-36 (44%) performance from deep tonight, but it’s hard to point out anything but the free throw disparity in this one. The Bucks allow one of the lowest free throw rates in the league, but the Suns shooters garnered plenty of trips to the charity stripe and, most importantly, delivered on an incredible 25-26. The Bucks were merely 9-16, and almost half of those attempts coming in the closing minutes by Giannis.

There were lots more execution issues and larger problems for this team to clean up going forward that contributed to the loss, but the free throw disparity sure felt frustrating.

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