By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
It was one defensive stop that defined the Milwaukee Bucks’ winning moment.
Needing a bucket to take the lead with 19.5 seconds left in the fourth and the Suns down by one, Devin Booker wanted to go to his spot and look to score the basketball.
After driving into the paint and getting smothered by Tucker and Giannis, Booker looked to pass the ball to an open teammate but guess who was there to steal the ball.
It was Jrue Holiday.
Holiday raced up the court and assisted on an alley-oop to Giannis Antetokounmpo which pushed their lead to three, 122-119, essentially sealing the game and pushed the Bucks to just one win away from their first NBA championship since 1971.
It was not an easy win for the Bucks as they were completely demolished by the Phoenix Suns after jumping to a huge 16-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bucks rallied in the second quarter where they would flip the switch as they caught fire from the field to score 43 points in the second period alone.
In just seven minutes of action, Phoenix’s 16-point lead quickly evaporated with the surging Bucks slowly gaining the momentum albeit being the away team.
It was Holiday who shone the most after bouncing back from sub-par performances in the past games to lead Milwaukee with his 27 points, 13 assists, and four rebounds.
With his steady offensive game sparking the team, it was his superb defense that stood out the most after recording one block and three steals including the game-sealing one on Booker.
Game 6 will be crucial to the Suns and it’s up to them to take on the challenge of forcing a win-or-go-home Game 7 thriller against the Bucks.
