The Milwaukee Bucks have secured their first NBA final berth in almost forty years following a tightly contested 4-2 Conference final win over the Atlanta Hawks. This win came without the assistance of key player Giannis Antetokounmpo and as such an even impressive feat.
Milwaukee’s key game six 118-107 win was down chiefly to the efforts of Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday who combined for 59 points. The win, at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, sets up an intriguing NBA finals clash with the Phoenix Suns. Betting on the NBA finals is sure to be fierce and making sure you make the most of the best odds around can be a tricky task. Fortunately, you can visit here to check out sidelines.io’s up-to-the-minute odds. They provide information relating to odds comparison as well as spreads, money lines and totals.
Current sportsbook odds have the Suns as favorites, which is perhaps unsurprising given they finished five games up on the Bucks in the regular season. However the odds may be affected by whether or not Antetokounmpo recovers to play a part in the finals series.
The win over the Hawks sparked scenes of jubilation and it’s a victory that led many to reflect on just how close to victory the Bucks now are, with Holiday stating;
"It feels awesome," Holiday stated. "I'm still kind of on this high, but I'm going to the Finals. It's cool to think as a little kid, this is what you watch the playoffs for. These are all the moments that I felt as a little kid watching TV. I lived them and went through them and now I get to go to the Finals and see what this is about."
It’s a victory that comes in marked contrast to the Bucks’ limp postseason form last time around, albeit that was in the ‘bubble’. Indeed, some players used that disappointment to fuel themselves for the current campaign, something Khris Middleton reflected upon after the buzzer.
"It's been a long journey," Middleton said. "But it's been a great journey. It's been worth it. After winning 15 games in our first year here and seven years not making the playoffs, for the last two years thinking we had a chance and just didn't do enough and now we're here. This is what we've worked for."
Coach Mike Budenholzer was full of praise for Middleton and the missing Antetokounmpo;
"There's a bittersweetness to him not being able to play these last two games," Budenholzer stated. "Khris and Giannis are the key to this team, to this organization. To have the opportunity to coach them and come here three years ago and try to build something special, those two guys are special, and it starts with them."
The finals start on Tuesday 6th July with the Bucks at the Suns and it’s worth remembering that while the Suns beat their upcoming opponents twice this season they did so only by a single point on each occasion.
In both those encounters it was Antetokounmpo who finished as the top scorer, hereby further underlining just how important the two-time NBA MVP could be for Mike Budenholzer’s side.
