The Phoenix Suns fell short against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, 140-129. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo around, the Bucks turned to three-point shooting as their primary weapon, sinking a total of 24 threes to down the Suns. Following the game, Phoenix forward Kevin Durant touched on the topic, explaining how Milwaukee played with confidence due to their shots going in.
“You got five shooters,” Durant said, per The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin. “Bobby Portis came in and hit every shot…You got to give him credit. That just opened the game up for him. Everybody feels confident when you're up 12, 15 (points). You pull a three, everybody feels confident then.”
“…When you get five guys that can shoot the three out on the floor and you rely on just catching and shooting threes, you're gonna get hot and they got hot tonight,” he added.
"We were scrambling. They were driving to the rim. We got to do a better job of keeping the ball in front of us so we don't have to help so much and they spread us out. You got 5 shooters. Bobby Portis came in and hit every shot."
Kevin Durant as Portis 5-of-5 from 3. #Suns pic.twitter.com/woPsAYe0WM
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 17, 2024
Devin Booker also gave his two cents on the matter. The Suns guard mentioned how the Bucks were able to “play free” without the Greek Freak on the floor.
“They were just letting it fly, making a lot of shots,” Booker said. “You got to understand that when teams are missing somebody who usually dominates the ball a lot, those guys are going to go out there and play free and that's what they did.”
"You got to understand that when teams are missing somebody who usually dominates the ball a lot, those guys are going to go out there and play free and that's what they did."
Devin Booker on #Bucks 140-129 win w/o Giannis Antetokounmpo. #Suns #Bucks pic.twitter.com/9QhibF9ldi
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 17, 2024
The Suns come up short on Sunday
Milwaukee led by as much as 25 points during the third quarter. While the Suns were able to fight back and trim it down to six, the Bucks built momentum again, with Damian Lillard sinking a 33-footer to put the team up by 15 entering the fourth.
A final comeback attempt saw the Suns bringing the lead down to seven with 6:17 remaining. The Bucks would not have it, however, as their downtown barrage continued late in the game to seal the win.
Bobby Portis and Lillard both had 31 points apiece to lead the Bucks.
For the Arizona-based squad, Bradley Beal's 28 points and seven assists paced the offense. Grayson Allen followed with 25 points and eight assists while Booker added 23 points and nine rebounds.
Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the rest of the Suns look to bounce back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
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