Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 118-105 Game 1 loss to Phoenix Suns in NBA Finals

Playing in their first NBA Finals game in 47 years, the Milwaukee Bucks‘ quest for an NBA championship faces an immediate hurdle out of the gate.

The Bucks suffered a 113-101 Game 1 loss to the Phoenix Suns that saw Milwaukee fall into a 1-0 hole for the third straight playoff series this playoff run. Meanwhile, the Suns gave their sold-out home crowd plenty to cheer for as they kept up their winning ways against the Bucks, just as they did during the regular season.

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As they no doubt felt the gravity of the moment going into the night, the Bucks’ night was certainly not all bad as the loss makes it out to seem. However, there were some unavoidable performances and key statistics for why things didn’t break in the Bucks’ favor last night.

So without further ado, let’s break down what stood out the most in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 1 defeat to the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo makes stunning return in Game 1 to Phoenix Suns

The biggest story going into Tuesday night ahead of this year’s NBA Finals was the status of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

To everyone’s delight and surprise, Antetokounmpo not only made his return to action a week after suffering a hyperextended left knee, but looked the part, even as he and the Bucks fell to the Suns in Game 1. Antetokounmpo finished with 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting (1-for-2 from three, 7-for-12 from the free throw line), 17 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in over 35 minutes of action.

By and large, Antetokounmpo looked like himself as he put the ball on the floor with plenty of decisiveness on his way to the basket. We saw Antetokounmpo attack the likes of Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton on the left wing of the floor early on, even going as far as muscling and pushing through Ayton on occasion.

The highlight of Antetokounmpo’s night certainly came late in the first half when he made the stunning chasedown block on an unsuspected Mikal Bridges at the basket to save the Bucks from seeing two points go down the basket. Unfortunately, that was not a fitting metaphor for how the rest of Game 1 went for Milwaukee.

Considering the fact that we saw Antetokounmpo undergo what looked to be a catastrophic injury a week ago, seeing him on the court and play as well as he did was an emphatic win for the Bucks. And to that point, Antetokounmpo himself said after the game that he thought he ‘wrecked’ his knee.

Of course, whether Antetokounmpo looks this sharp and will be able to play without considerable pain will certainly chart the Bucks’ course this series. But after the last week, it’s simply great to see Antetokounmpo back in action.

Chris Paul carves up Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 loss to Phoenix Suns

Going from the first Finals performance for a future Hall of Famer to another, Tuesday night was all Chris Paul’s and the Suns as a whole.

The veteran guard posted 32 points on 12-for-19 shooting (4-for-7 from 3-point range, 4-for-4 from the free throw line), nine assists, four rebounds and two turnovers in nearly 37-and-a-half minutes of burn.

As both teams did overall, it wasn’t exactly an auspicious start for Paul as he felt out the start of the contest and looked to make plays for others when advantageous mismatches presented themselves elsewhere on the floor. At halftime, Paul scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, along with four assists and two turnovers.

It wasn’t until the second half and the third quarter where Milwaukee felt the wrath of Paul’s dominance that ultimately helped separate the Suns from the Bucks. With 16 of his 32 points scored in the third quarter, Paul carved up the Bucks’ drop defense that proved to be an halftime adjustment to no avail.

While the Bucks capitulated back to a more switching defense later in the third game, which affected Brook Lopez’s minutes for the rest of the night, the damage was done and Paul now stands three wins away from his first NBA championship.

Jrue Holiday falls flat in Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 1 loss to Phoenix Suns

By far the biggest disappointing performance seen from Game 1 was Bucks guard Jrue Holiday.

The veteran Bucks guard greatly struggled to make a mark on either end of the floor and certainly wasn’t aggressive enough when attacking the basket throughout the night. Often seen settling for shots, Holiday was 3-for-10 on jump shots over the course of Game 1, per NBA.com/stats. Along with missing all four of his triples and going 1-for-2 on his rare attempts within the restricted area.

More worryingly, Holiday was far from engaged on the defensive side of the ball and certainly to the level of the All-Defensive first team-caliber he’s played at this season. Making a decision to overhelp on a driving Devin Booker that left Chris Paul wide-open from 3-point range that he promptly stuck served as a fitting play for Holiday’s defensive missteps to open up this series.

All in all, Holiday finished with 10 points on 4-for-14 shooting (0-for-4 from three, 2-for-2 from the free throw line), nine assists, seven boards, three turnovers in nearly 40 minutes of burn.

Holiday certainly did his part to get the ball moving, especially in the first half, and he had quite the adjustment of not nearly having the same amount of touches with Antetokounmpo on the floor as he did with Antetokounmpo out. Even with that context, Holiday will flat-out have to be better moving forward in this series.

Game 2 of the Bucks’ NBA Finals series with the Phoenix Suns will take place on Thursday night at Phoenix Suns Arena. With the tip set for a little after 8 P.M. CST once again, you can catch the action on ABC where it will be nationally televised.