Jrue Holiday scored 33 points, Brook Lopez recorded 22 points and 13 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied despite playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, picking up their 14th consecutive win in a 104-101 decision over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo was a scratch from the lineup, stemming from exiting Milwaukee's win over the Miami Heat on Friday with a quad contusion. Despite playing without the 31.2 points-per-game scorer, the Bucks led Sunday's rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals for the entirety of the second and third quarters -- but never by more than 11 points.
Staying in striking distance allowed Phoenix to surge ahead in the fourth quarter, building a lead of as many as seven points in the period.
Deandre Ayton scored the last of his 22 points on a layup with 5:47 remaining, giving the Suns their biggest lead. Ayton also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
From there, the Bucks went on a 13-4 run that spanned 3:15. Phoenix scored only one field goal over that stretch and went more than five minutes total without scoring from the floor. The Milwaukee run culminated with Holiday knocking down a go-ahead 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 100-98 lead with 2:12 left.
Milwaukee took the lead for good when Lopez scored at the rim with 24.8 seconds left off of a Khris Middleton assist.
Former Suns forward Jae Crowder -- part of the deal for Phoenix to acquire Kevin Durant from Brooklyn -- made back-to-back 3-pointers during the pivotal Milwaukee run for six of his seven points on the game.
Crowder also provided critical defense against leading Suns scorer Devin Booker, who scored 24 points -- including a jumper to tie the score at 100 with 33 seconds remaining -- but committed a critical turnover with 11.3 seconds to go.
Booker also missed 2 of 3 free throws awarded when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 0.9 left and Phoenix trailing by four points.
--Field Level Media
Phoenix | Milwaukee | |
Devin Booker 24 | Scoring | Jrue Holiday 33 |
Devin Booker 8 | Assists | Khris Middleton 6 |
Deandre Ayton 11 | Rebounds | Brook Lopez 13 |
Devin Booker 5 | Free Throws Made | Bobby Portis 4 |
Josh Okogie 3 | Steals | Grayson Allen 1 |
Deandre Ayton 2 | Blocks | Brook Lopez 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Phoenix | 101 | 42.1 | 8-24 | 13-22 | 21 | 55 | 5 | 4 | 12 |
Milwaukee | 104 | 43.7 | 13-45 | 15-21 | 15 | 45 | 7 | 4 | 12 |