Skyler’s Swishes: A new legacy

“Skyler’s Swishes” is a column by Skyler Trepel covering the week’s top basketball events.

This week’s swishes feature an all-time great Finals stretch, an epic Game 4 and a legendary sequence to end Game 5.

Giannis Antetokounmpo makes NBA Finals history

Giannis Antetokounmpo joined four-time champion Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to ever post over 40 points and 10 rebounds in back-to-back NBA Finals games, as he did in Games 2 and 3. While O’Neal may have been more physically dominant, Giannis’ athleticism allowed him to do something no one in NBA Finals history has ever done.

The Greek Freak put up over 80 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists over a two-game span, showing off his unique versatility. As you’ll see in the video below, Giannis scored nearly all of his points from inside the paint with his ability to drive, dominate, dunk and even finish with a soft touch on his layups.

Giannis was beginning to receive heavy criticism for taking too many 3-pointers, but in Game 3 he only attempted two. He essentially reinvented his offense to resemble a more traditional center as opposed to relying too heavily on his jump shot, which is something most players couldn’t do in the middle of the NBA Finals.

An epic Game 4 shows what the Finals are all about

The NBA Finals should have games that are down to the wire with memorable plays, achievements we’ve never seen and big-time scoring. Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday had all of that and more.

Although the Milwaukee Bucks ultimately won the game, the Phoenix Suns put up a fight and likely would have won the game if it weren’t for some Devin Booker foul trouble. Booker had one of the greatest first three quarters in Finals history as he scored 38 points, the second most in the Finals over the last 25 years — behind only Steph Curry and tied with Allen Iverson.

He even hit this ridiculous spin-move pump-fake fadeaway shot before finishing with a total of 42 points. The reason Booker only scored four more points in the final frame of the game was because he had five fouls and couldn’t come back in until nearly halfway through the quarter to avoid the risk of being ejected with his sixth.

This gave way for Giannis and Khris Middleton to heat up. Middleton went on to score 40 points and hit some big shots down the stretch including a fadeaway to give Milwaukee the lead for good, before putting the final blow on the Suns with this driving finish through contact.

Although Middleton led in quantity of points, it was Giannis who brought the quality. The Greek Freak lived up to his nickname with an absolutely freakish block while also scoring 26 points and nearly securing a triple-double with eight assists and 14 rebounds. Giannis was facing away from the basket to defend Booker before jumping and spinning in mid-air to block the alley-oop lob to Deandre Ayton against the backboard.

The block was so good, people compared it to LeBron James’ chase-down block on Andre Iguodala in the final stretch of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Golden State Warriors Game 7 Finals showdown for the ages in 2016. While LeBron’s blocks will always be more significant due to the higher stakes, one could argue Giannis’ was more athletic and skilled, which is why some analysts questioned if his was the greatest block of all time.

An all-time great defensive sequence to end Game 5

In another legendary game on Saturday, the Suns led by 16 at one point in the first half. Suddenly, the Bucks came roaring back, and while both teams made tough shots throughout, this game will be remembered for the closing sequence.

To set the scene, Booker was having his second 40-point game in a row, meaning that he and Giannis are the only two players to ever have back-to-back 40-point games in the same Finals series. Chris Paul and Ayton had decent games, but not enough to make serious noise as the Bucks’ unconventional “big three” made their own noise.

Middleton tallied 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Jrue Holiday scored 27 to go along with 13 assists and three steals and Giannis lit up for 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists. However, it was Holiday and Giannis who were involved in an iconic sequence at the end of the game.

Booker had just hit an absurd contested fadeaway 3-pointer before Paul hit his own clutch shot to bring the score within one. Booker took the ball up the court with a chance at a game-winner, but Holiday said no as the defensive stalwart came up with a clutch steal, literally ripping away Booker’s potential shining moment.

Holiday threw a lob to Giannis from the 3-point line as Giannis finished the alley-oop over Paul, using the vicious slam to stop his momentum as he had to duck his head under the backboard.

The Bucks now have all the momentum heading into a homecourt Game 6 showdown as the Suns will have to fight harder than ever to force a Game 7 in Phoenix. This series was expected to be a dud with it being the first Finals to not feature Kobe Bryant, Curry or LeBron in 15 years, but it’s living up to be one of the all-time greats as a champion will be crowned in Game 6 on Tuesday or Game 7 on Thursday.