By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Milwaukee Bucks jumped to a 3-2 lead over the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals as Giannis Antetokounmpo put the finishing touch on the Game 5 win. Jrue Holiday was there helping to get the job done, but his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo was sidelined after entering health and safety protocols prior to Saturday’s contest.
Antetokounmpo, 26, was late to his post-game meeting with reporters due to experiencing intense cramping. “I was a little bit dehydrated. I’m a softy, but it’s okay,” he said.
“He can go down to the other end and just, you know, go for like a full play, run the clock down. But he trusted me and made an incredible pass, also, for the lob,” he mentioned commenting on Holiday’s assist, “It was big time. It was a big-time play. It was the winning play of the game.”
“But that’s what we need from Jrue. We need him to keep defending. We need him to keep being great defensively. But things like that, that’s what makes him elite,” he added.
That play sealed the deal on Game 5. The Greek Freak ended up with 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists extending his dominating displays all around the NBA Finals.
“I saw him going there. I saw Chris Paul and then I started sprinting, and I saw nobody was around me. He didn’t want to throw me the ball at first, but I was like, Throw it, throw it, throw it,” he said on his alley-oop dunk, “And then he threw it. He trusted me. After the game I was like, Thank you for trusting me. He could throw it and make a wrong pass and that would be on him as the point guard. The coach would say, You’re supposed to keep the ball. But he trusted me and he knows I’m going to finish the play. That says a lot to me. I went up to him after the game and I told him that, too.”
His brother was not present but for sure enjoyed the conclusion of Game 5.
“It was extremely difficult because I know how bad he wanted to be here and to help the team, be around the team and cheer for the team and give the energy that he always gives to everybody, because everybody feels his energy. But at the end of the day we have to do our job. We have to come out here and try to play good basketball, try to win the game,” noted Giannis, “As much as it hurts everybody that he’s not here, and me even more, we still got to do our job. We know that he’s supporting us. He was sending me messages personally. We were able to do our job even though he was not here to give that energy he gives all the time from the bench.”
“Just because I know him a little better, he’s probably screaming in front of the TV, and probably in the last possession, he probably took his shirt off and started playing defense, sweating, jumping on the bed,” he added, “Once the game was over, he FaceTimed me. I could see that he was extremely happy. He was watching every single moment of the game and he was cheering us on.”
Game 6 in Milwaukee is planned to be held on Tuesday.