The Phoenix Suns picked up one of their biggest wins of the season on Wednesday night when they took down the Milwaukee Bucks in a 125-124 thriller. Devin Booker and Chris Paul finally had big nights at the same time for the first time this season, as Booker had 30 and Paul had 28 to out-duel a monster night from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The reigning two-time MVP went off for 47 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, but wasn’t able to lift the Bucks to a win when he got the ball with 2.8 seconds to go. Antetokounmpo caught the ball about 30 feet from the basket and pulled up from 18 feet, missing the game-winning jumper long.
Giannis drops 47 PTS vs. Suns but falls short on the final shot. pic.twitter.com/VuCLohRxDo
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 11, 2021
After the game, Booker was asked about how he felt watching Giannis go for the game-winner, and said that once Giannis rose for a jumper, he felt the Suns were “in good shape.”
The full question and answer from Book with the followup question and answer for the ~context~ pic.twitter.com/8gSUAAzOef
— Kellan Olson (@KellanOlson) February 11, 2021
Now, this wasn’t Booker taking a big shot at Giannis, but simply noting that when it comes to the Bucks at the end of the game, seeing Giannis pull-up from the deep midrange is just about the best case scenario after he was getting to the rim at will most of the night.
The Suns were helped by the clock, as with 2.8 seconds to go it was going to be difficult for him to get from 30-plus feet out to the basket so long as the Suns played decent defense. By denying Khris Middleton the ball, the Bucks best jumpshot creator, they forced it to Giannis well away from the basket, and from outside 10 feet this season, he’s shooting under 30 percent from the field. It’s, objectively, a best case scenario for anyone facing the Bucks, but at the same time, it is a pretty funny quote when you consider he’s saying that about the league MVP taking a decently open shot for the win.