Apr 19, 2021; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer argues with officials following the game against the Phoenix Suns at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Phoenix Suns defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime on Monday on a deflating foul call.
Monday night featured a potential NBA Finals matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns. It is a shame that such a game that reached overtime ended in anticlimactic fashion.
With the game tied at 127 points a piece in the waning seconds of overtime, Suns guard Devin Booker let off a shot while double covered by Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker that missed the basket. The thing is, the referees called Tucker for the foul with 0.3 seconds on the board. Booker stepped to the charity stripe, nailed the first free throw, intentionally missed the second, and won the game for the Suns, 128-127.
We will let you decide whether you believe Tucker was rightfully or wrongfully called for the foul that decided the game.
Suns narrowly defeat Bucks in overtime on deflating foul call
While Bucks fans are furious over the ending of the game due to the call, Suns fans may say that turnabout is fair play. Of course, we are talking about the controversial timeout rewarded to Milwaukee in the final seconds of regulation despite the fact they failed to gain possession of the ball.
Taking a look at the play, it does look like Tucker made contact with Booker’s arm on the final shot:
In any case, it all worked out for the Suns in the end. While Booker did lead the team in points (24), veteran guard Chris Paul made history. By tallying 13 assists, he passed Los Angeles Lakers legend and Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson for fifth on the NBA’s all-time assists leaderboard. Center Deandre Ayton tallied a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Bucks had three players score over 25 points in Khris Middleton (26), Holiday (25) and Antetokounmpo (33). Yet it was not enough to secure the W.
The Suns will look to build on this momentum when they face another Eastern Conference powerhouse in the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. As for the Bucks, they will look to get back in the win column when they play the 76ers on Thursday.