Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Milwaukee Bucks will need to do more of the same from their latest win to beat the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
It goes without saying just how important each game is in the NBA Finals. Wednesday’s Game 4 between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks will result in either a huge 3-1 or 2-2 series swing heading back to Phoenix for Game 5.
After dropping the first two road games of the Finals, Milwaukee bounced back in a big way with a dominant 120-100 Game 3 victory on Sunday, trailing the Suns 2-1 in the series.
Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks will need more of the same from the two-time MVP if they want to even up the series. Here are three keys to doing so in Game 4.
3. Giannis needs to continue his dominance inside the paint
Coming off a 42-point performance in Game 2, once again Giannis asserted his inside presence with a 41 points while shooting 14-for-23 from the field in the Game 3 victory. Whether it was on his own drives, or other Bucks players feeding him inside, it was clear the offensive game plan was to feed Giannis inside. Overall, the Bucks outscored Phoenix 54-40 in the paint.
The Suns had no answer, and Giannis played into the referees’ whistles, finishing his night with 13 made free throws on 17 attempts. He had more free-throw attempts than the entire Suns team did (16) in Game 3.
Phoenix head coach Monty Williams pointed out the heavy free-throw advantage for Milwaukee. It’s up in the air just how much the referees will take note of this in Game 4, but regardless, Giannis should still attack inside. He’s at his best when he’s going to the rim, and his style will put pressure on the Suns to defend him hard, along with the added pressure on the officials to make calls.
Usually at home, a superstar will get calls in a hostile environment. Giannis has averaged 17.6 free-throw attempts so far in three Finals games.