Who revived Bucks’ title hopes?
Long before Giannis Antetokounmpo was born, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the Milwaukee Bucks to their lone NBA title in 1971 by dominating in the paint. In order for Antetokounmpo to bring a long-awaited second title to Milwaukee, playing like Abdul-Jabbar in the post appears to be the best way to make that happen.
Antetokounmpo dominated in the post like Abdul-Jabbar during the Bucks’ 120-100 Game 3 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Sunday night at Fiserv Forum. He didn’t shoot a field goal outside of 5 feet and finished with 41 points and 13 rebounds. Antetokounmpo now has three 40-10 games this postseason, including his last two outings. The NBA record for the most 40-point, 10-rebound games in a postseason run is five, held by Abdul-Jabbar (1977) and former star center Shaquille O’Neal (2000).
“When he’s rolling sometimes, like he was these last two games, you’ve just got to give him the ball, give him his space and allow him to go to work,” Bucks forward Khris Middleton said of Antetokounmpo.
After Game 3, Antetokounmpo referred to his teammates many times.
“I’m going to compete as hard as possible and I’m going to do the right thing to help my team be in the right position and have the opportunity to win any game we play,” he said.
Abdul-Jabbar predicted on Twitter before the NBA Finals that the Bucks would win the Finals in six games. While the Suns still hold a 2-1 lead in the Finals, Antetokounmpo being legendary in the post just like Abdul-Jabbar was in 1971 could finally make history in Milwaukee.
