The crowd at The Wharf in Manitowoc was electric as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals 105-98, securing the first championship for the franchise in 50 years.
We spoke with Manitowoc resident Paul Durkee before the game, who had never seen a Bucks team make it to the finals.
“Growing up, as a kid, they were good. 2000/2001 they had potential, but then no one watched them for the better part of a decade,” he said. “Then they got Giannis. It has been exciting to be able to watch over the last few years.”
Paul Durkee
Durkee attributes the family mentality that the Greek Freak spoke of prior to the game as a big reason why they have been able to make such a historic run.
“They seem to be playing unselfishly,” Durkee noticed. “Each guy, every game, seems to step up their game, and they are playing team basketball when it really counts. They have stars on their team but it doesn’t seem like it.”
The two big plays that pushed the Bucks into a 3-2 lead heading into last tonight were a block by Giannis late in Game 4, and a steal by Jrue Holiday, and a subsequent alley-oop to Antetokounmpo.
Durkee said the play of the series was “The steal and the oop…because being able to go down there and win in Arizona…they had to do it. That was the turning point I think.”
He called the block a turning point in that game, but the steal and alley-oop was a turning point in the series.
Giannis ended up with a post-season best 50 points and was named Finals MVP, while Middleton added 17, and Bobby Portis Jr. was the surprise player of the game with 16 points.
Chris Paul led the Suns with 26 points, while Devin Booker, who was a driving force behind the Suns run, was held to 19.
Former Badger Frank Kaminsky saw some significant playing time for Phoenix as well, picking up six points, 2 rebounds, and an assist.
