Bucks end 50-year wait for NBA title

The Milwaukee Bucks are the 2020-2021 NBA champions. The Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 105-98 to take game six and, in doing so, wrapped up the series with an unassailable 4-2 lead. The game 6 triumph came on the back of a 50-point game from regular season and playoff MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Antetokounmpo has joined a prestigious group of only seven basketballers to score 50 points in a finals game. The list includes Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, Jerry West, Michael Jordan and most recently LeBron James.

The third quarter of game 6 was a dead heat that saw both teams locked on 77 points.  Antetokounmpo and the Bucks came out blazing in the fourth quarter, Giannis also came up big on the defensive end, managing to keep the Suns’ ace player, Chris Paul, quiet. Khris Middleton chipped in 17 points and Bobby Portis 16.

Phoenix’s Chris Paul led the Suns with 26 points. This was the Bucks’ second NBA title and the first title since 1971 when the team was led to a 4-0 series win over the Baltimore Bullets with star player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. it was the Suns’ third appearance in the finals, the most recent being in 1993. The franchise has never won an NBA championship.

“I want to thank Milwaukee for believing in me, and to thank my teammates,” said Antetokounmpo after accepting the MVP award. Meanwhile Chris Paul, 36, said he has no intention of retiring as he has his eyes set on winning an NBA title. He lamented the number of turnovers his team made in last Thursday’s decisive game. Bucks’ Coach Mike Budenholzer was full of praise for his players as well as the Suns’ team and coaches. Three players from the NBA Finals have made their way to Tokyo to join up with the other members of the USA team at the Olympics. Khris Middleton, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Suns’ guard Devin Booker all made the trip.

The victory for the Bucks was made even sweeter by the fact that they managed to clinch the series on their home court. The celebrations were, however, marred by reports of two shootings during the post-game festivities in the vicinity of the arena where the game was played. The shootings happened about 12:42 a.m. at two locations near Water Street, police said in a statement. Three people were hurt in the two shootings – a 22-year-old man, a 32-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman. Police said they had arrested two men, ages 18 and 25. In a separate incident, over 60,000 people were gathered in Deer District Plaza for a watch party and a police officer was trampled by people attempting to get into the watch party. Milwaukee police captain, Jesús Ortiz, said the officer didn’t have any major injuries but was in pain.