Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams seems to have found all the right buttons to push to help motivate and inspire his young guys like DeAndre Ayton. Late in Game 2, with the game still up for grabs, Williams took Ayton aside and gave one heck of a motivational speech to boost the 22-year-old's confidence.
“This is the deal. One, you get back in transition and you will have Giannis find a man and be a guard. Two, look at me, you set a high level for yourself that's why you're down. That's great. Now go reach that level, okay? And, you can reach it with force – it doesn't have to be stats all the time. Go dominate the game with force,” Williams told Ayton (via NBA).
SOUND ON for this Monty Williams coaching moment with Deandre Ayton. 💯#NBAFinals on ABC pic.twitter.com/qPqD2Y4Ryd
— NBA (@NBA) July 9, 2021
And, ‘dominate with force' he did. After struggling almost all game, Ayton finally picked things up after that unforgettable pep talk from his head coach. In a crucial stretch of the fourth and final period when the Bucks were still trying to make a comeback, Ayton shrugged off his bad game and went to work.
Article Continues BelowThe big man filled up the stat sheet late in the game and dropped two points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block to help the Suns come out with a 118-108 win.
Deandre Ayton was everywhere after Monty’s pep talk late in the 4th quarter.
2 PTS
3 REB
1 AST
1 STL
1 BLKHe finished the game with 10/11/4/3/2. pic.twitter.com/gBFqUpjJIA
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 9, 2021
I guess it's safe to say Monty's words worked. After a historic NBA Finals debut in Game 1, Ayton salvaged his evening on Thursday with that late surge to end with another double-double effort thanks to that late-game morale boost from his head coach. The Suns are now two wins away from winning it all.