National Basketball Association

The Suns' 3-point shooting burns the Bucks in Game 2 of the Finals

Updated Jul. 9, 2021 12:56 a.m. ET

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Two games down and two wins in the book for the Phoenix Suns.

And both wins have been stark in contrast.

After making just 11 3-pointers against the Milwaukee Bucks in their Game 1 win, the Suns caught fire early and often from deep in their 118-108 Game 2 win to take a 2-0 series lead.

The Suns made eight shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter alone on Thursday night, one shy of the NBA Finals record for a quarter. And they never cooled off from that moment on, shooting 20-for-40 from 3-point range on the night.

The most important aspect of the shooting display from the Suns was that it was a team effort, not just one hot hand accounting for the majority of the production.

Devin Booker led the way with seven made 3-pointers on the night, part of a team-high 31 points. 

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But five other Suns' players made multiple 3-pointers as well. Jae Crowder, Chris Paul and Mikal Bridges made three each, with Bridges also wracking up 27 points, a career playoff best.

"We need that," Booker said of Bridges' performance. "It takes a lot of pressure off everybody. He has a tough assignment every night on the defensive end having to guard Khris Middleton or whoever the dynamic scorer is that night. If we can get him going on the offensive end, it helps us out a lot."

Cameron Johnson and Torrey Craig also chipped in two 3-pointers each.

While the Suns' win was good news, Craig suffered a knee injury in the third quarter that removed him from the game.

It remains to be seen how significant the injury is – the Suns called it a "knee contusion" – but this comes a game after Dario Saric tore his ACL. A second injury to a key reserve would severely limit the Suns' depth the rest of this series.

The hot shooting of the Suns was juxtaposed with the Bucks shooting just 9-for-31 from 3-point range and it's easy to see what the difference in the game was.

The Bucks' starters in particular struggled the most, shooting just 4-for-17 from deep.

The Suns have now proven they can win in multiple ways, and now the Bucks have their work cut out for them trying to put out this fire.

For more up-to-date news on all things NBA, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

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National Basketball Association

Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker

Chris Paul

Mikal Bridges

Jae Crowder

Cameron Johnson

Torrey Craig