Milwaukee Bucks preach business as usual going into Game 6 of NBA Finals

The Milwaukee Bucks stand one away from glory going into Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

After literally wrestling away a 123-119 victory in Game 5 that was decided by the steal from Jrue Holiday and alley-oop slam thrown down by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee has come this close to fulfilling their quest of adding another title to their organization. And they’ll be able to do so at home in Milwaukee with throngs of Bucks fans inside Fiserv Forum and outside in the Deer District Tuesday night.

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Despite carrying the weight of all of that into Game 6, a clear theme emerged Monday afternoon from Bucks players and head coach Mike Budenholzer as they met with the media ahead of Game 6 tonight.

Just as Giannis Antetokounmpo has preached about during the Bucks’ playoff run and the ability to stay in the moment, the Bucks aren’t losing focus of the task at hand, just as the two-time MVP talked about Monday that ESPN’s Tim Bontemps recalled later:

"“We didn’t get too high, we didn’t get too low,” Antetokounmpo said. “We were down 0-2 to Brooklyn. Came back. We did our job. We’re down right now. We came back, did our job. We were down against Atlanta [in the conference finals]. Came back, did our job. We were up against Miami. Went there, did our job.“We kept focusing, building good habits. I think it comes from, as I said, Coach [Mike Budenholzer], Khris [Middleton], Jrue [Holiday], me, to have that mentality. And then you pass down to the whole team. So we did a really good job.“Now, is it going to end up well in the championship? Who knows. But no matter how it ends up, I’m really proud of this team. Really proud of all the work we have put in.”"

The Milwaukee Bucks stand one away from winning an NBA title

The sentiment that Antetokounmpo spoke on was certainly shared by the likes of Budenholzer, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday as all three went before the media throughout the afternoon.

However, one wouldn’t blame Bucks players for looking ahead, given the opportunity that stands before them. The ability to close out an NBA Finals and potentially win a championship on their home floor is something all players, coaches, fans and an entire organization as a whole envisions.

While that may become a reality, Antetokounmpo later spoke on not getting ahead of what first lies ahead for the Bucks against a Suns opponent that has lost the last three games this series:

"“It’s hard, man,” Antetokounmpo said with a smile after Monday’s practice at Fiserv Forum. “It’s hard. Because you work so hard to be in that moment, which is tomorrow. It’s hard not to get ahead of yourself.“But this is the time that you got to be the most disciplined. That’s what I’m going to try to do. I’m going to try to be as disciplined as possible. Don’t get too excited. Don’t get too pumped up for the game. None of that. I can’t play the game right now … right now, there’s nothing I can do about that. So I don’t even try to think about that. But it’s very hard not to. Sometimes you sleep and you’re dreaming about the game.“But this is the time that we have to be disciplined individually … we got to be disciplined and we cannot worry about that. We cannot worry about having plans of celebrating. None of that, until it’s done. And that is the mindset I’m going to have until tomorrow.”"

This is undoubtedly the battle that players and fans share alike going into such a massive night in Milwaukee. There is much work to be done in order for the Bucks to celebrate what could be the end of a long and intense journey. All that’s left is a few more hours until tip-off Tuesday night.