Have Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks taken control of the NBA Finals?
For Milwaukee, it was a win 47 years in the making.
Game 3's triumph against the Phoenix Suns marked the first win in the NBA Finals for the Milwaukee Bucks since May 1974, in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's heyday.
Milwaukee blew out the Suns 120-100, shutting down Chris Paul and Devin Booker on defense while Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his outrageous playoff run.
Paul and Booker scored a combined 113 points on 42-for-85 from the field in Games 1 and 2, but Phoenix's dynamic backcourt duo was held to 29 combined points on 11-for-28 shooting in Game 3.
Booker, in particular, struggled and didn't see the floor in the fourth quarter with the Suns down big.
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Someone who didn't struggle? Well, that'd be Antetokounmpo, who put on yet another game-defining performance Sunday night.
Antetokounmpo rattled off a casual 41-point, 13-rebound double-double, shooting 60.9% from the field. Perhaps most impressively, he found his rhythm at the free-throw line, draining 13 of his 17 attempts.
He needed just 31 points to surpass Kareem for the most points scored by a Bucks player in a single postseason — 515 points in 1974 — and blew that figure out of the water.
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As Chris Broussard put in on "Undisputed," Antetokounmpo was "a monster" against the Suns.
Broussard credited Antetokounmpo for playing to his strengths and being aggressive around the rim, rather than taking jumpers.
"Only five of his 23 shots came outside of the paint, and two of those were like on the low block, just outside of the paint," Broussard said. "All 28 of his points that didn't come from the free-throw line came in the paint. His average shot [distance] was two feet. … He was dominant."
For Shannon Sharpe, performances like the one Antetokounmpo had in Game 3 are now expected outcomes.
"The Greek Freak" is averaging 29.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists this postseason, after all, despite hyperextending his knee on June 29.
What made the difference for the Bucks in Game 3, Sharpe said, was the uptick in effectiveness from Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton.
"The Bucks believe they have a ‘Big 3,’ Giannis, Middleton and Holiday, " Sharpe said. "And really, what they've had the first two games was a ‘Big 1’ where the other two guys came along. … Their two key role players, Middleton and Holiday, showed up last night to offer some assistance to Giannis."
"Giannis is going to be Giannis, the difference is Middleton & Holiday" — Shannon Sharpe on Bucks' Game 3 win in Finals ' UNDISPUTED
After going a combined 28-for-77 (36.36%) from the field for 67 points in Games 1 and 2, Middleton and Holiday found their footing at Fiserv Forum.
Middleton scored 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting, while Holiday dropped 21 on 8-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Holiday also played a key role in defending Paul and disrupting Phoenix's offense.
With so much positivity surrounding the Bucks as they avoided an 0-3 hole in the Finals, has the tide shifted firmly in Milwaukee's favor?
Nick Wright of "First Things First" said he sure believes so.
"When you have a guy who is going to give you 40 and 15 on 60% shooting — night in, night out — your path to victory is so much simpler than the other team's," Wright said. "… I think the Bucks have stolen control of the series from Phoenix."
Nick Wright: The Bucks have stolen control of the series from Phoenix in Game 3 win ' FIRST THINGS FIRST
There's an old adage during the playoffs that suggests a series hasn't really begun until a team loses a home game.
And Milwaukee, fresh off some home cooking in Game 3, will have their chance to even things up in Game 4 on Wednesday.
If they don't, they'll drop to 3-1 with the Finals headed back to Phoenix — and it could be curtains for the Bucks right as the series "begins."
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