National Basketball Association

NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks even series vs. Phoenix Suns with crucial Game 4 win

Updated Jul. 15, 2021 1:03 a.m. ET

Wednesday marked a pivotal night in the race to be NBA champions.

And the Milwaukee Bucks made the most of the big moment, evening up the series 2-2 in front of their home crowd at Fiserv Forum and denying the Phoenix Suns the opportunity to take a decisive lead in the NBA Finals.

Khris Middleton buried 40 points on Phoenix to lead the Bucks, as Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in with 26 points and some stellar late-game defense.

Devin Booker led all scorers with 42 points for the Suns, but a dismal night from his backcourt mate, Chris Paul, aided in a 109-103 win for Milwaukee.

With the series knotted up, it's anybody's game in this thrilling series.

Here are the biggest moments from Game 4:

After a poor shooting performance in Game 3, Booker scored the first bucket of the game for the Suns with a pullup jumper.

Brook Lopez and Middleton also got on the board early to make it 4-2 in favor of the hosts, but then Phoenix went on an 8-0 run that forced an early timeout from Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.

In case you needed a reminder of the magnitude of this game, the Bucks had some royalty in the building.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Jon McGlocklin, three members of the 1971 NBA championship for Milwaukee, were on the scene at Fiserv Forum.

Middleton stayed hot as the Bucks cut the deficit to four points with 3:25 remaining in the first, including draining this jumper over Jae Crowder.

The first quarter was a bit sloppy for both sides. The Bucks shot just 32% from the field but managed to capitalize on five Suns turnovers and scored four points off giveaways.

And, of course, Antetokounmpo provided a highlight for the home fans with a nasty putback dunk.

At the end of one quarter, it was 23-20 in favor of Phoenix.

The Bucks closed the lead early in the second, with Antetokounmpo making it a one-point game after a gorgeous coast-to-coast finger roll.

And with 7:14 left in the second, the Bucks knotted it up at 33 after Brook Lopez ran the floor for an easy bucket.

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Though he's naturally right-handed, Booker used his left hand to get a few baskets midway through the second quarter.

The electric Suns guard kept it rolling, too, finishing the first half with a game-high 20 points ⁠— doubling his 10-point output from Game 3.

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But Middleton was right there with him, pouring in 16 points to lead the Bucks in the first half.

As is befitting such a neck-and-neck matchup, the teams went into the tunnel tied at 52 with the first half in the books.

In the third quarter, Booker picked up where he left off and set the record for points scored by a player in their first career postseason with 522 (and counting).

The Suns got the better of the Bucks through the first few minutes of the second half, getting out to a slender 59-54 lead before the Bucks called timeout with 8:14 left.

Though Phoenix had a lead, Chris Paul didn't factor into it by much. In fact, the Suns guard had more turnovers (three) and he did points (two) at that point.

Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo continued to live up to his nickname, "The Greek Freak," on a gorgeous find from Jrue Holiday later in the quarter.

The story of the third remained Booker, however, as he went 7-for-7 from the field coming out of the half, pushing his total to 38 for the contest.

With Booker continuing to cash, Phoenix took an 82-76 lead into the final 12 minutes of regulation.

The game ⁠— and the ball, oftentimes ⁠— were up for grabs throughout the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo scooped a pretty steal with just more than eight minutes to go to make the score 89-96 with an emphatic slam.

Both defenses buckled down in crunch time, as Bobby Portis and Deandre Ayton got in some crucial blocks for their respective teams.

Pat Connaughton put forward a solid game for the Bucks and canned a big triple to make the score 97-95.

And with under two minutes to go, Antetokounmpo rose for an incredible block to deny an alley-oop for Phoenix, maintaining Milwaukee's two-point lead.

Down to their last life, the Suns fell flat ⁠— literally ⁠— as Paul slipped and turned the ball over down 101-99. The Bucks collected and ran the floor for a 103-99 lead.

From there, it became a game of free throws. The Bucks cashed in six in a row from the stripe to counter Phoenix's buckets, and the game finished 109-103 for a hard-earned win for Milwaukee.

Now, the series shifts back to Phoenix for Game 4 on Saturday.

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