MILWAUKEE (AP) — When Giannis Antetokounmpo crashed to the court just two weeks ago with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, there was no guarantee he’d be back this season.
Maybe, he feared, he might even miss a year.
Antetokounmpo refused to stay down.
These Milwaukee Bucks just won’t, either.
Antetokounmpo had 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the NBA Finals’ return to Milwaukee, and the Bucks pounded Phoenix 120-100 on Sunday night, cutting the Suns’ lead to 2-1.
“We knew what kind of game this was going to be,” Antetokounmpo said. “We knew that if we lose the game you’re in the hole.”
Instead, the Bucks started climbing out of one.
The first NBA Finals game in Milwaukee since 1974 went to the home team in a romp, with Antetokounmpo and the bigger Bucks overwhelming the smallish Suns to the tune of a 20-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Game 4 is Wednesday night, with the series guaranteed to go back to Phoenix afterward.
“I said it after last game. This team’s not going to give in. They’re going to keep playing all the way through,” Suns star Devin Booker said. “So we have to bring that same effort that we had in the first two games and I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Antetokounmpo, who missed the last two games of the Eastern Conference finals because of a hyperextended left knee and was no sure thing to even be ready to start this series, followed up his 42-point, 12-rebound performance in Game 2 by doing it all again — even making his free throws this time.
Back in front of his own fans and free of the loud counts he’s been hearing on the road, Antetokounmpo went 13 of 17 at the line. With two straight 40-point games in the NBA Finals, he’s halfway to Michael Jordan’s record — set against the Suns.
Chris Paul had 19 points and nine assists, but the Suns got next to nothing from his star backcourt mate. Booker shot 3 for 14, scoring just 10 points.
Jrue Holiday bounced back from two poor games in Phoenix with five 3-pointers and 21 points to get the Bucks going again onto the comeback trail, having already overcome one 2-0 deficit in this postseason. Khris Middleton added 18.
“We all hate to lose and we know the ultimate goal,” Holiday said.
Fans broke out their “Bucks in 6! Bucks in 6!” chant as Milwaukee started to pull away in the first half and then again as the benches emptied with the final minutes.
The Bucks are seeking their second NBA title and hadn’t even played for one in 47 years. They grabbed control of this game by outscoring Phoenix 30-9 over the last nine minutes of the second quarter, then ending the third with a 16-0 finish.
Fans began making their way to the Deer District outside the arena in the middle of the afternoon, with so many fans decked out in green that Fiserv Forum felt more like Fiserv Forest.
