Milwaukee wins first NBA title since 1971
The Milwaukee Bucks, powered by a masterpiece from Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, ended their 50-year wait for a second NBA championship with a 105-98 win over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
With the victory, the small-market Bucks clinched the NBA Finals 4-2 and became only the fifth team to win the best-of-seven championship series after losing the first two games.
Antetokounmpo was named most valuable player of the series, making him only the fifth international winner, after scoring a playoff career-high 50 points in the clinching game that will surely soothe the Bucks’ recent history of playoff letdowns.
“This is a feeling, like this is an addictive feeling,” Antetokounmpo, who was born in Greece to Nigerian parents, told reporters.
“I love playing in the playoffs. I love playing in the Finals. This is the moments I want to chase. I want the team to build off this and hopefully we can do it again.”
Phoenix overcame a slow start and led by as many as seven points early in the third quarter but could not contain the dominant and determined Antetokounmpo down the stretch.
Suns guard Chris Paul had a team-high 26 points.
For Phoenix, who were seeking their first championship in the team’s 53-year existence, the defeat marked the first time all season they have lost four consecutive games.
Unlike last year’s NBA Finals when the celebratory screams of the Los Angeles Lakers echoed across an arena void of fans due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bucks’ win kicked off a wild party for both a capacity crowd of 17,000 inside and the 65,000 supporters who attended a watch party outside the arena.
“We made it, we crowned a champion,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said during the trophy presentation.
“I have to say, playing through a pandemic required enormous resilience from all 30 teams. Thank you to every team and every player in the league for a tremendous season.”
SHAKY START
Both teams got off to a shaky start that saw poor shooting on both ends of the court and plenty of turnovers but Milwaukee, powered by Antetokounmpo, led 29-16 after the first quarter.
Phoenix, facing elimination for the first time in the 2021 playoffs, shook off their lowest-scoring first quarter of the postseason as they turned up the defense while Paul led the offense and the Suns took a 47-42 lead into the half.
The Suns opened up a seven-point lead early in the third quarter but the Bucks responded with a 16-6 run that put them back in front. From there the teams went back and forth and took a 77-77 tie into the final quarter.
But Milwaukee, whose only other championship was a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Bullets in 1971, never trailed the rest of the way as Antetokounmpo took over on the offensive end to deny the Suns’ a chance to host a decisive seventh game.
“Everybody in that locker room knows we had enough, but it wasn’t enough,” Paul told reporters.
“So, we got to figure it out. I think for me I just look at myself and figure out how can I get better, what I could have done more and make sure I come back next season ready to do it again.”
(责任编辑:新闻中心)
- Ruling bloc seeks tougher sentences for deepfake sex crimes
- The 7 best YouTube cooking channels to up your culinary game
- Silver mirror triples efficiency of perovskite solar cells
- North Korea slams Japan for seeking to revise pacifist constitution
- NASA rover snaps photo of its most daunting challenge yet
-
Malan retires from international cricket
LONDON:Dawid Malan retired from international cricket on Wednesday, with the batsman saying his Engl ...[详细] -
What the end of the Iran deal could mean for the Middle East.
Update, May 8, 2018:On Tuesday, President Donald Trump removed the United States from the Iran deal. ...[详细] -
Defector group sends propaganda leaflets into North Korea in defiance of ban
Fighters for a Free North Korea leader Park Sang-hak in a video the group released on Friday, where ...[详细] -
Fighters for a Free North Korea leader Park Sang-hak in a video the group released on April 30, wher ...[详细]
-
Doosan scraps controversial Robotics
(Doosan Group)Doosan Group has officially scrapped its merger plan between Doosan Robotics and Doosa ...[详细] -
赏彩叶正当时!广东多地森林迎来“变装季”_南方+_南方plus近日,韶关南雄在帽子峰旅游景区举行2023年银杏观赏季系列活动,擦亮南雄“银杏染秋”生态旅游品牌。记者从省林业局获悉,每年的11月至次年的 ...[详细]
-
5月22日,是联合国确定的“国际生物多样性日”。2018年是《生物多样性公约》生效25周年,也是我国加入《生物多样性公约》25周年,今年国际生物多样性日主题是“纪念生物多样性行动25周年”,为此,我市 ...[详细]
-
为他们点赞!2023“广东十大最美农村乡土专家”拟认定名单公示
为他们点赞!2023“广东十大最美农村乡土专家”拟认定名单公示_南方+_南方plus日前,广东省农业农村厅官网发布了关于对“2023年广东十大最美农村乡土专家”拟认定人选名单的公示。经单位提名,县、市 ...[详细] -
How much for Oasis tickets? Fans joke about splurging on reunion shows
Oasis, one of the biggest bands ever, broke up for 15 years because of a longtime feud between broth ...[详细] -
Two women accuse former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw of sexual misconduct.
Two female former staffers accused former NBC News anchor and icon Tom Brokaw of sexual misconduct, ...[详细]
- A Journey Into the Mind of Stephen King
- What the end of the Iran deal could mean for the Middle East.
- May posts biggest increase in employment
- Microsoft patent details folding phone with 3 displays
- NASA's new plan keeps Starliner astronauts in space until 2025
- 红动起来·寻爱 雅安热血故事征集活动进行中
- World's new largest wind turbine sweeps 10 football fields per spin