Game 4 of the NBA Finals saw Khris Middleton and Devin Booker both score 40 points apiece for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns respectively, but the game-changing play of the night came from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
With just over a minute left in the match, and with the Suns trailing by two points, the Bucks superstar made one of the best defensive plays in NBA Finals history.
Booker received the ball off a handoff from Deandre Ayton and took PJ Tucker with him, dragging Antetokounmpo over to that side of the floor, which allowed the Suns guard to throw the ball up for Ayton, who was open on the left side of the rim after rolling towards the basket.
Yet, with Ayton having his hands on the ball and it seeming destined to drop into hoop and make it a tied game, Antetokounmpo somehow recovered to make up the ground and make the block, which ensured that the Bucks kept their two-point advantage as the game entered its final stages.
LeBron James-esque
The play by Antetokounmpo was reminiscent of LeBron James‘ famous chase-down block on Andre Igoudala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, which subsequently allowed the Cavs to go on and win their first-ever NBA championship.
By making the block on Ayton, when the score was 101-99 in favour of the Bucks, it then spurred Milwaukee to go on and seal the victory in Game 4 as they ended up winning 109-103.
As such, with the series now tied at 2-2 and heading back to Phoenix for Game 5, the momentum gained from levelling things up and having won the last two games could play into the Bucks‘ favour, all thanks to the work of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
