The Phoenix Suns have dropped their third straight game in the NBA Finals, but they are still looking for a comeback.
The suns game 5 is a Phoenix Suns basketball game. The Suns are trailing 3-2 in the NBA Finals, but they have not given up hope yet.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — It was after his Phoenix Suns’ 123-119 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday that Monty Williams came up with one of the adages for which he has been lauded.
The loss marked Phoenix’s third in a row in the Finals, after losing three in a row just once all season, in January. And it happened in painful fashion: the Suns blew a 16-point lead early in the fourth quarter, falling down 14 points, only to have a chance to reclaim the lead in the last minute go wrong.
So Williams kept his message simple, looking forward to Game 6 at Milwaukee on Tuesday, with the Bucks leading the series 3-2.
He added, “We have to win one game to get them back on the aircraft.” “That is all there is to it. And you must be determined to do whatever it takes to get them back on the aircraft.”
Devin Booker, who scored 42 points in Game 4 and 40 points in Game 5, became the first player in Finals history to lose back-to-back games in which he scored 40 points or more. One more play had to go his way for him to win.
With 29.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Suns down 120-119 following a 12-3 surge in the previous three minutes, Booker collected the rebound after a Jrue Holiday miss and pushed it up the floor.
Before taking up his dribble, Booker moved all the way to the center of the paint. Because Giannis Antetokounmpo rushed over to assist on defense, Booker’s pump fake to pull P.J. Tucker off his feet didn’t provide him enough room to get off a close-range jumper, the Suns shooting guard attempted to re-calibrate.
Holiday was lurking on his hip, out of Booker’s peripheral view, and pounced at the ball, taking it away from Phoenix’s rising star, just as Booker attempted to rotate to create some space and swung his left shoulder.
“I was just attempting to score a goal. He was standing behind me, “After that, Booker said something. “I looked around, and there he was.”
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Suns were 7-of-10 from the field with zero turnovers on plays when Booker drove to the basket in Game 5 previous to the Holiday steal.
Holiday threaded a ready-made alley-oop ball to Antetokounmpo, who slammed it home, while taking a foul from Chris Paul, who shoved Antetokounmpo in midair.
“That was a fantastic play by Jrue,” Williams remarked. “I’m at a loss for words with that one.”
The game wasn’t done yet, as the dunk put Milwaukee up 122-119 with 13.5 seconds left and a free throw from Antetokounmpo to follow.
The two-time MVP missed a free shot, as he did with seven of his 11 tries on Saturday, but Antetokounmpo tapped his own board back to Khris Middleton, who was fouled and added another free throw to put the game out of Phoenix’s grasp.
In Game 5, the Suns were tripped up by a turnover and an offensive rebound, just as they were in Game 4, when they were condemned by 17 turnovers and 17 offensive rebounds allowed.
Suns center Deandre Ayton, who was set up to attempt to grab the rebound but couldn’t get a touch on it, remarked, “That was a terrible miss.” “It was simply an athletic move; he tipped it behind him knowing his teammates were there. It was a huge blunder.”
The issue is whether the Suns will look back on the 2021 Finals as a lost chance for years to come.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Paul said after rebounding in Game 5 with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting, 11 assists, and one turnover. “We weren’t expecting it to be like this.” It’s difficult. Everything we desire is on the other side of hard, and it doesn’t get much tougher than this, as Coach has emphasized all year.
“As a result, we must regroup and learn from this game. But it’s all over now. We need to prepare for Game 6.”
Game 6 is as much of a must-win game for the Suns as it gets, with the Suns behind for the first time in the series — and just the second time in the playoffs, after the Los Angeles Lakers had the Suns down 2-1 in the first round before Phoenix won nine consecutive playoff games — Phoenix can either force a Game 7 and give itself a shot at its first championship in the franchise’s 53-year history, or live with the heartbreak of what might have been as the Bucks celebrate a victory on their own floor.
“I like it,” replied Ayton. “The tables have now been turned. We’ve now become the desperate squad.”
The suns game stats tonight is a Phoenix Suns blog that provides up-to-date information on the team’s performance.
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