Phoenix Suns vs. Milwaukee Bucks NBA Finals Game 6 live updates: Giannis Antetokounmpo steps up
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The Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks face off in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Follow our updates on the game, which is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Arizona time. The game can be seen on ABC.
The Bucks hold a 3-2 lead in the series and will be the NBA champions with a victory. A Suns win would force a deciding Game 7 in the series on Thursday in Phoenix.
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More Suns vs. Bucks coverage:
If the Suns are going to win Game 6 of the NBA Finals and extend the series and their season, they are going to have to outscore the Bucks in the fourth quarter (or perhaps tie them in the fourth and outscore them in overtime?).
The Suns were able to rally from a late third-quarter deficit to tie the game after three quarters, 77-77.
Milwaukee outscored Phoenix in that quarter, 35-30.
Can the Suns win the fourth quarter on the road?
Giannis Antetokounmpo has 37 of his team’s 77 points. Only five Bucks players have scored in the game.
Chris Paul has 17 points in 27 minutes to lead the Suns. Devin Booker has 15 for Phoenix.
Ayton picks up fourth foul
The Suns’ Deandre Ayton picked up his fourth foul with 4:09 left in the third quarter when he was called for a foul defending Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Suns really have no one else to guard Antetokounmpo in the post and foul trouble with Ayton has hurt the team in earlier games in the series, particularly in Game 3.
Antetokounmpo has 33 points for the Bucks, who have built a 71-69 lead with 2:46 left in the third quarter.
Giannis heating up for Bucks
If the Suns want to win this game, they might need to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is heating up for Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo had 17 points for the Bucks at the half, he already has 12 points in the third quarter as the Bucks have built a 58-55 lead, overcoming a 47-42 deficit at the half.
He is 10-of-16 from the field and maybe more impressively 8-for-9 from the free throw line.
Some fouls are starting to pile up for Phoenix defending him. Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul both now have three personals for the Suns.
Some halftime thoughts from around the NBA: Suns bounce back, take lead into half
After a disastrous first quarter in which the Suns scored just 16 points and trailed 29-16, the Suns rebounded in a huge way to take a 47-42 lead into the half.
Phoenix outscored Milwaukee 31-13 in the second quarter.
Chris Paul leads the Suns with 13 points at the half, Giannis Antetokounmpo has 17 for the Bucks.
Phoenix is 18-for-42 from the field while Milwaukee is 15-for-43.
The Suns had seven turnovers in the first half while the Bucks had 10.
Phoenix went 4-for-12 on its three-point attempts. Milwaukee went 3-for-17.
Suns fight back in second quarter
The Phoenix Suns are attempting to fight back against the Bucks after a disastrous first quarter of Game 6, much like Milwaukee did in the first quarter of Game 5.
They have succeeded so far in that attempt.
Phoenix has outscored Milwaukee 23-7 in the second quarter to lead the game, 39-36 after Phoenix trailed by 13 after the first quarter.
There is 3:11 left in the second quarter.
Khris Middleton has three fouls for Milwaukee. The Bucks are now shooting just 13-of-39 from the field.
Phoenix is 14-for-37.
Jae Crowder has just four points for Phoenix, but he has eight defensive rebounds and the Suns are +2 with him in the game, the highest plus/minus for anyone in the game.
Cameron Payne provides a spark
The Suns have needed someone to step up after a rough start to the game and Cameron Payne has stepped up for Phoenix.
The backup point guard has 10 points off the bench in six minutes of play.
The Suns have outscored the Bucks 8-0 in the second quarter and trail 29-24.
Phoenix has been outrebounded 21-14, but has drawn closer in that category this quarter. There is 8:47 left in the second quarter.
Suns fall flat in first quarter
Well, that isn’t the way to start an elimination game for the Suns.
The Suns trail the Bucks at the end of the first quarter in Milwaukee, 29-16.
The crowd at the Fiserv Forum is into it and the Suns have a big deficit to overcome if they want to extend the series and avoid elimination.
Phoenix shot just 7-of-24 from the field in the first quarter and went 2-for-9 from three-point range.
Milwaukee was 11-for-23 from the field and 3-for-9 from 3-point range.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 10 points in the quarter on 3-for-5 shooting. He went 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
What adjustments with Phoenix try to make to get back into this game?
The Suns have gotten off to a slow start in Game 6 against the Bucks, making just 5-of-16 attempts from the field.
They trail, 18-11 with 3:09 left in the first quarter.
The Fiserv Forum crowd is into it, providing a home-court advantage for Milwaukee. The Bucks are 7-for-15 from the field.
The teams have combined for 11 turnovers in the early going. Phoenix has five, Milwaukee has six.
Jae Crowder has two early fouls for the Suns.
Defense key for Suns, Bucks in Game 6
The Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin broke down the keys to the game in a story published Tuesday.
For the Suns to win, he wrote: “Phoenix has to regain its defensive edge and execution. Milwaukee shot 71% in scoring 79 combined points in the second and third quarters of Game 5. Getting back on defense would help. The Bucks scored 21 transition points in Game 5 to continue their fast-break onslaught on the Suns; they’re averaging 17.2 points on the break in the finals. The Suns are scoring enough points, but must defend at a higher level to force a Game 7.”
As for Milwaukee, he wrote: “Reserves Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis scored a combined 23 points in Game 5. They could use similar production in Game 6. Devin Booker took 33 shots to get 40 points in Game 5, a second consecutive 40-point game for the two-time Suns all-star. Milwaukee needs to find a way to slow him down. The Suns connected on 55.2% of their shots, including 13-of-19 from 3. The Bucks must defend the 3 better as the Suns likely will look to shoot even more of them in Game 6.”
Who do you have winning the game?
Can Suns spoil Bucks’ celebration?
Milwaukee fans appear to be very confident heading into Game 6 against the Suns tonight.
Championship shirts are being sold outside the Fiserv Forum (as well as some NFSW shirts involving Phoenix).
Others have been heard discussing parade routes after the Bucks clinch the title.
They even have a song.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s Game 6, Milwaukee singer and hip-hop artist Klassik released a “Bucks in 6” song.
Milwaukee has also expanded the “Deer District” outside the arena for the game, with the capacity to hold 65,000 fans.
Can the Suns spoil the night for the Bucks and their fans in Milwaukee?
How Suns can force Game 7
Fox Sports analyst Chris Broussard broke down how the Suns can defeat the Bucks in Game 6 on FS1’s First Things First on Monday.
He cited three reasons.
“No. 1,” Broussard said. “The Suns have one of the best coaches in the league in Monty Williams.
“No. 2,” he continued. “Chris Paul. It had to be hard. Paul’s whole career has been hard. It wasn’t going to be easy. 16 years, all the injuries, it had to be a seven-game championship win for him.
“Then Devin Booker,” Broussard said. “Devin Booker wants to be Kobe, this is a Kobe opportunity. This is a Kobe moment. You know he wants to redeem himself from that late turnover.
“I’m telling you all. Don’t write them off. Suns in seven.”
Other NBA analysts not as high on Suns
Some other NBA analysts and hosts aren’t as high on the Suns’ chances to prevail in Game 6 against the Bucks.
Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd talked about how Milwaukee has worn down the Suns in the NBA Finals.
The Undisputed’s Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless are both in the Bucks’ corner after Game 5.
First Things First’s Nick Wright was also not high on the Suns’ chances to extend the series.
Can Suns overcome 3-2 deficit vs. Bucks?
First Things First’s Brandon Marshall explained why he still liked the Suns’ chances to beat the Bucks in the NBA Finals.
“At the end of the day, this was the hottest team going back to March 1 in the Suns,” he said Monday. “The team is better. Trust me when I say Monty Williams is the better coach. CP3 is the better point guard and the Big 3 on the Suns is better than the Bucks’, but they are not playing like it.”
Pregame reading
Check out these azcentral sports stories in preparation for Game 6 between the Suns and Bucks.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns vs. Milwaukee Bucks NBA Finals Game 6 live updates: Season on line for Suns