Has Milwaukee flipped the narrative in the NBA Finals?

by:Pranavdeep Singh07/18/21

SinghPranavdeep

[caption id="attachment_359630" align="aligncenter" width="1109"] (Getty Images)[/caption] How the tables have turned in a week. Just seven days ago Devin Booker was up 2-0 on the two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, now the former Wildcat is face-to-face with elimination, down 3-2 in the 2021 NBA Finals. In five games, Booker has been averaging 30 points while shooting 47 percent from the field and 32 percent from the 3-point line. However, the Suns have lost three consecutive games since Game 3 last Sunday, in which Booker scored only 10 points while shooting below 25 percent from both the field and beyond the arc. In Games 4 and 5, Booker scored back-to-back 40-point games but was unable to overcome his teammates' lack of production, as the Milwaukee Bucks were able to shut down everyone except Booker. https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1416602525990494209?s=20 With more 40-point games in his first playoff appearance than LeBron James, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant combined, Booker’s fourth 40-point game was not enough to carry the Suns past Milwaukee in Game 5. Scoring 11 points to open up in the first quarter, Booker was overtaken by Jure Holiday on both ends, who shot 12-20 from the field along with 13 assists. https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1416603165080702976?s=20 Holiday, who scored 14 of his 27 points in the second quarter, was determined to not let Booker be the one to beat the Bucks. The NBA journeyman constantly hounded Booker throughout the night with three steals. The two turnovers by Booker were direct results of Holiday stealing the ball both times. The Suns, who were 13-0 in the playoffs when leading by double-digits, were handed their first loss last night despite going up 16 early in the first quarter. https://twitter.com/KevinOConnorNBA/status/1416587281155121156?s=20 The Suns became the first team in NBA Finals history to lose a game while shooting over 55 percent from the field and almost 70 percent from beyond the arc. In the last three games, Milwaukee’s big three has been playing up to full potential, with Giannis outdueling his superstar counterpart on the Suns, Devin Booker. https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1416616675512705026?s=20 Less than a month ago, Giannis hyperextended his knee, and Booker was supporting a facemask nursing a broken nose, now the two are going face-to-face in hopes of winning their first NBA Championship. Devin Booker is going to need another 40-point game if he wants to outlast Antetokounmpo, who is dominating in the Finals. https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1416610720414781443?s=20

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2024-05-05