Suns Lose in Game 3
- Matt Elvy
- Jul 12, 2021
- 3 min read
Milwaukee outplay the Suns in game 4, winning 120-100.
You can't spell Finals without an L and that's exactly what the Suns got in game 3 of the NBA Finals. This is the 1st Finals game in Milwaukee since 1974, so you knew the crowd would be crazy and the Bucks would come out with something to prove. What we didn't account for though was an off shooting night from Booker and foul trouble from Deandre Ayton.
The game started well with the Suns withstanding the Bucks aggressive play and though Booker shot 1 for 7 in the quarter, the Suns were able to end the period with a 3 point lead. Phoenix focused on getting the ball to Ayton early on and he delivered shooting 6 of 7 for 12 points. He would finished the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. Chris Paul also had a nice start, shooting 3 of 4 (from the mid-range of course) and handing out 3 assists.
The 2nd quarter mirrored the 2nd quarter from game 2, this time though it was the Bucks who put the defensive clamps on, holding the Suns to just 17 points. The Bucks got the lead not only from their defence, but by grabbing 5 offensive boards for extra 2nd chance points and doing plenty of scoring in the paint. It also didn't help that the Suns couldn't knock down their shots, shooting only 36.8% and missing all 5 of their 3-point attempt. Milwaukee would end the quarter on a 10-0 run and the Suns would go in to half time down by 15.
The 3rd quarter was much the same. The biggest issue we faced here, was Deandre Ayton picking up his 4th foul less than 2 minutes in to the half - he would sit for the rest of the quarter. Thanks to a career quarter by Cameron Johnson, where he'd shoot 4 of 5 for 10 points, including this poster dunk, the Suns were able to cut Milwaukee's lead down to just 4 points, but that would be the closest they'd get for the rest of the game. The Bucks seemed to win every single 50/50 balls, which then led to fouls and foul shots, as they went 10 of 11 from the line in period. The Suns however, went just 3 of 7. The shooting from both teams in the quarter was excellent - Suns shot 63% and the Bucks 52%.
I'd also like to highlight Jae Crowder's work in the quarter, shooting 3 of 3 from downtown. He would end the game shooting 6 of 7 from 3 for 18 points,
With Booker struggling to find his shot, he was settling too much for long-range, contested shots. He went to the bench with around 4 minutes remaining in the quarter and wouldn't return for the rest of the game.
Milwaukee would end the quarter on a 16-0 run, going in to the 4th quarter up by 22 and they'd keep that lead till the end of the game.
Monty Williams went small for most of the 4th quarter. Chris Paul and Crowder tried getting the Suns back in to the game, netting 6 points each, but it was too little too late. Despite the overall poor performance, CP3 still had solid numbers, finishing with 19 points and 9 assists,
This certainly wasn't a good performance from the Suns, with lots of things going wrong, but you have to credit Milwaukee's defence and overall hustle in this game. Yes they were desperate - going down 3-0 in the NBA Finals is pretty much a death sentence to your season, but the Suns are a lot better than the team we saw play last night.
This team has bounced back from poor games all throughout the season and Playoffs and I don't expect anything different going in to game 4. I'm still confident that the Suns can win this series in 6 games.
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