The 2021 NBA Finals officially kicked off on Tuesday night as the Phoenix Suns took on the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the series. The player who stood out the most in Game one was Chris Paul.
Paul who made his NBA Finals debut on Tuesday was lights out all game. He scored 32 points with 9 assists and 4 rebounds. Milwaukee did hang around for most of the game but they just could not stop Chris Paul as the Suns took Game 1 with a final score of 118 to 105.
“This was Phoenix’s first win in an NBA Finals game since June 18, 1993. The Suns beat the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 to stay alive in the series. Jordan had 41 points in the loss. Richard Dumas and Kevin Johnson had 25 points each for the Suns, while Charles Barkley added 11 points,” reports Fox News.
Another big story from Game one was the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo who had missed the previous two games of the Eastern Conference Finals with a hyperextended left knee. Antetokounmpo had a solid Finals debut as well as he scored 20 points with 17 rebounds and 4 assists. Phoenix had a great game from the free-throw line only missing one shot as they finished 25 for 26 as Milwaukee shot 9 for 16 from the stripe.
NBA stars impress in Game 1 of The Finals
It is still far too early to tell how this series will play out even with the loss. The Bucks’ stars played well but they are going to need much more help from their supporting cast if they want to bounce back and take Game 2 on Thursday night before heading back to Milwaukee for Game 3 on Sunday.
Another thing that could help the Bucks success is Antetokounmpo being more consistent from the foul line, which has been a struggle for him throughout the playoffs.
As Game 2 is set to tip-off Thursday night it should be a great game to watch as if Milwaukee drops that game they could be in big trouble or they could tie the series and take home-court advantage. It will be a must-watch game for NBA fans as both teams keep fighting to keep their championship hopes alive. We will have to wait and see who that will be as the series has just started.