This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedia's deletion policy. Please share your thoughts on the matter at this article's deletion discussion page. |
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source .(July 2021) |
The Block, also called by some as The Sun-Block was a defensive basketball play that occurred in Game 4 of the 2021 NBA Finals, played between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks on July 14, 2021, at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With 1:14 remaining in the game and the Milwaukee Bucks leading 101–99, Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked Deandre Ayton's potential game-tying alley-oop. This is considered by the fans and the media to be one of the greatest blocks of all-time. [1]
The Phoenix Suns, who entered the 2020-21 NBA season with a 10-year playoff drought and having a .302 winning percentage in the last five seasons, which is the worst winning percentage in the five years prior for a team advancing to the final playoff round in any of the four major American professional sports leagues, [2] [3] acquired All-Star Chris Paul from the Oklahoma City Thunder by trading away Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., and a future first-round draft pick, [4] and made their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993 and were seeking for their first NBA Championship in franchise history. The Milwaukee Bucks, after finishing with the league's best record in the prior two seasons before suffering disappointments in the playoffs, acquired Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans in a four-team trade, surrendering a bounty in starting point guard Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, the rights to R. J. Hampton, and a package of future draft picks, [5] and made their first NBA Finals appearance since 1974 and were seeking to end a 50-year title drought by winning their first NBA Championship since 1971. [6]
The Phoenix Suns took a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals by winning Games 1 and 2 at home, led by Chris Paul, with 32 and 23 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively, and Devin Booker, with 27 and 31 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively. [7] [8] The Milwaukee Bucks won Game 3 120-100 at home, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, as well as more support from his teammates to cut the series deficit to 2-1. [9]
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Date | July 14, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||
Referees | James Capers, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 16,911 |
The Phoenix Suns led for 37:55 of the first 44 minutes of the game. [10] After the Phoenix Suns had a 99-97 lead with 2:30 remaining, Khris Middleton made consecutive jump shots to give the Milwaukee Bucks a 101-99 lead with 1:28 remaining. [11] [12]
With 1:14 remaining in the game, Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked Deandre Ayton's potential game-tying alley-oop. [13] [12] P.J. Tucker then grabbed the defensive rebound.
After Chris Paul lost his balance on his own, Jrue Holiday stole the ball and passed it to Khris Middleton for a fast-break layup to put the Milwaukee Bucks ahead 103-99 with 27.2 second remaining. [13] [14] [15] Khris Middleton then finished his 10-point run with four more free throws to put the Bucks ahead 107-101. The Milwaukee Bucks won the game 109-103 to tie the series at 2-2. [12]
The Milwaukee Bucks would go on to win the NBA Finals in six games, winning Game 5 123-119 highlighted by Jrue Holiday's steal from Devin Booker with 16 seconds remaining after which he passed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo for the alley-oop to put the Bucks ahead 122-109 with 13.5 seconds remaining, [16] and winning Game 6 105-98 led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's 50 points (which tied a Finals record for the most scored by a player in a series-clinching game, set by Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks in 1958. [17] [18] ), 14 rebounds, and five blocks. [19] [20] Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA Finals MVP for his dominant performances in the NBA Finals, becoming the youngest player to be named NBA Finals MVP at age 26 since Kawhi Leonard (22) in 2014 [21]
The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and play at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the long-time owner of the team, but on April 16, 2014, a group led by billionaire hedge fund managers Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to purchase a majority interest in the team from Kohl, a sale which was approved by the owners of the NBA and its Board of Governors one month later on May 16. The team is managed by Jon Horst, the team's former director of basketball operations, who took over from John Hammond in May 2017.
Anthony Leon "P. J." Tucker Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns. He was the 2008 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, and Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP.
Brook Robert Lopez is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played two years of college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected as the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. Lopez played for the Nets for nine seasons and is the franchise's all-time leading scorer. He was selected to play in his first NBA All-Star Game in 2013. Lopez was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017 and signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018, winning an NBA Championship in the 2020-2021 season. His twin brother Robin Lopez is also an NBA player.
Brandon Byron Jennings is an American former professional basketball player who played 9 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known for being one of the first Americans to go from high school to the pros in Europe. After he graduated from Oak Hill Academy, Jennings decided to take his talent to the professional basketball club Lottomatica Roma in Italy, leading to controversy and debate regarding the NBA's "prep-to-pro" policy adopted in 2006. After a year in Italy, he declared for the 2009 NBA draft and was selected 10th overall by the Bucks. Jennings played four seasons in Milwaukee before being traded to the Detroit Pistons in 2013. He spent his next three seasons in Detroit before he was traded to the Orlando Magic in 2016. He went on to split the 2016–17 season between the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards.
Jrue Randall Holiday is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins before being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft with the 17th overall pick. Holiday played four seasons with Philadelphia, where he was named an NBA All-Star in his fourth season, before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2013. He is a three-time NBA All-Defensive Team member.
Eric Bledsoe is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 6 ft 1 in, he plays the point guard position. After a season with Kentucky, he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft and subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Bledsoe had a four-year tenure with the Phoenix Suns between 2013 and 2017, before being traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
James Khristian Middleton is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a two-time NBA All-Star.
Athanasios Rotimi "Thanasis" Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and NBA champion. Listed at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) and 219 pounds (99 kg), he plays the small forward and power forward positions. He is the older brother of the 2-time NBA MVP, Milwaukee Bucks All-Star and NBA Champion, Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as Kostas Antetokounmpo and Alex Antetokounmpo.
Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Deandre Edoneille Chidike Ayton is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference in the 2017–18 season and was a consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2017, as well as a McDonald's All-American. Ayton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Suns. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2019.
This page details the all-time statistics, records, and other achievements pertaining to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 2019 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2019, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 season. It was the 68th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the Charlotte Hornets. Team LeBron defeated Team Giannis, 178–164. This was the second time that the NBA All-Star Game format was not Eastern Conference versus Western Conference. Charlotte was announced as host on May 24, 2017. This was the second time that Charlotte hosted the All-Star Game; the first time was in 1991, at the Hornets' previous home arena Charlotte Coliseum.
Konstantinos Ndubuisi "Kostas" Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player for LDLC ASVEL of the French Betclic Élite and the Euroleague. He played college basketball for the Dayton Flyers. He was drafted 60th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA draft, and his draft rights were then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. His brothers Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex are also professional basketball players.
The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 16, 2020, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2019–20 season. It was the 69th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, home of the Chicago Bulls. Team LeBron defeated Team Giannis, 157–155. This was the third time that Chicago hosted the All-Star Game. The other two times, in 1973 and 1988, the game was played at Chicago Stadium, the Bulls' previous home arena. The game was televised nationally by TNT for the 18th consecutive year.
The 2019–20 NBA season was the 74th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 22, 2019, and originally was supposed to end on April 15, 2020. However, the season was suspended on March 11 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 16, at the United Center in Chicago, and was won by Team LeBron, 157–155. The playoffs were originally scheduled to begin on April 18, and end with the NBA Finals in June. At the time of the suspension, teams had played between 63 and 67 games.
The 2018–19 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 51st season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bucks moved from the Bradley Center to the new Fiserv Forum before the start of the season. On May 17, 2018, the Bucks hired Mike Budenholzer as head coach. The Bucks opened the season with seven straight wins, the first time they started a season 7–0 since 1971–72. On March 1, 2019, with a 131–120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Bucks became the first team to secure a playoff berth in the season. Later on, The Bucks clinched their first Division Championship since 2000-01. They then clinched the best record in the NBA with a win against the Philadelphia 76ers on April 4, 2019, achieving the feat for the first time since 1973–74. Eventually, the Bucks finished the regular season with a 60–22 record, the franchise's first 60-win season since 1980–81. The Bucks finished 33–8 at home, the second-best home record in the NBA, behind the Denver Nuggets, and their 27–14 road record was the best in the league, tied with the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks also won all 14 of their season series against Eastern Conference opponents, and lost back-to-back games just once, resulting in their longest losing streak for the season, at two games. The Bucks had the best team defensive rating in the NBA.
The 2021 NBA playoffs was a postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2020–21 season. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the NBA for the second consecutive year, the regular season was reduced to 72 games for each team and the start date of the playoffs was moved from its usual time in mid-April to May 22, 2021. It ended with the 2021 NBA Finals in July.
The 2021 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns, 4–2, winning their first NBA championship in 50 years and their second title overall. Holding home-court advantage, the Suns led the series 2–0 before the Bucks came back and won the next four games. Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP). With the COVID-19 pandemic altering the NBA's schedule for the second consecutive year, the start date of the series was pushed from its usual time in late May or early June to July 6, the second-latest start in Finals' history.
The 2020–21 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 53rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 30, 2021, the Bucks clinched the Central Division for a record 10th time with a win over the Chicago Bulls. The Bucks finished the season with a 46–26 record, good enough for the third seed. The Bucks began their playoff run by sweeping the sixth seeded Miami Heat in the opening round, in a rematch of Eastern Conference Semi-finals the previous year. The Bucks then defeated the second seeded Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bucks defeated the Atlanta Hawks in six games, reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 47 years, and winning the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Bucks are the first NBA team to have won both a Western Conference and Eastern Conference championship in their history, as they were in the Western Conference when they reached the NBA Finals in 1971 and 1974. The Bucks would face the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. Despite losing the first two games, the Bucks won four straight, winning 4–2 clinching their second NBA title, the first since 1971.
The Steal, also known as the Valley-Oop for the play that occoured after, was a defensive basketball play that occurred in Game 5 of the 2021 NBA Finals, played between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns on July 17, 2021 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. With the Milwaukee Bucks leading 120-119 with 16 seconds left in the game, Jrue Holiday stole the ball from Devin Booker and passed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo for an alley-oop to put the Bucks ahead 122-119.