The Defense “Rests” in Finals’ Game 5

Following his team’s six-point defeat in Wednesday’s Game 4, Phoenix coach Monty Williams bemoaned his squad’s paltry 23 shots from behind the arc (after matching their season average of 35 3FGA’s during the series’ first three games). And while he surely can’t find fault with the Suns’ extraordinary 68 percent accuracy (10-for-11 in Q1 and Q4 combined) from Three-point Land Saturday, it does seem inexplicable that their attempts dropped to just 19 … indeed, it appeared as though Phoenix was trying to beat the Bucks at their own game, attempting over half (54 percent, 47 of 87) of their shots from the “Paint.”

Whether it came from a “purpose,” simple desperation, or a nod from the hoops gods, Phoenix could do no wrong in Q1, converting 16 of its 23 possessions (.696) and building a 16-point lead …

… but even more quickly (4:12, to be exact), the Bucks ran off nine conversions in their first 10 Q2 possessions and, PRESTO, the game was dead even at 42.

Check out the Conversion Percentages by Quarter:

Q1: Phoe – 16-23, .696 / Mil – 10-24, .417

Q2: Phoe – 11-25, .440 / Mil – 18-24, .750

Q3: Phoe – 14-23, .609 / Mil – 16-22, .727

Q4: Phoe – 12-20, .600 / Mil – 12-20, .600

And yet, despite all that offensive prowess, the outcome was determined courtesy of a Jrue Holiday defensive effort – a blind-side strip and steal from Devin Booker with 17 seconds remaining when the Suns were in position to cap off a frantic comeback by taking the lead.

Holiday’s 13th assist of the evening pushed Milwaukee’s lead back to three points …

… and fittingly on this night, a defensive failure – the Suns’ inability to secure the Greek Freak’s errant and-1 FT – robbed Phoenix of a final, potentially game-tying possession.

Scoring: Phoe – 119 / Mil – 123

FG: Phoe – 48-87, .552 / Mil – 50-87, .575

3FG: Phoe – 13-19, .684 / Mil – 14-28, .500

“Paint”: Phoe – 26-47, .553 / Mil – 23-35, .657

“Mid-Range”: Phoe – 9-21, .429 / Mil – 13-24, .542

FT: Phoe – 10-11, .909 [5] / Mil – 9-17, .529 [6]

TO: Phoe – 8 + 1 (team) / Mil – 11 + 1 (team)

OR: Phoe – 8 + 3 (team) / Mil – 11 + 4 (team)

Poss: Phoe – 91 {38 “Empty”} / Mil – 90 {34 “Empty”}

CV%: Phoe – 53 / 91, .582 / Mil – 56 / 90, .622

Stripes: Phoe – 12 [6 conversions] / Mil – 6 [3 conversions]

Adjusted CV%: Phoe – 59 / 91, .648 {expectation, 118 pts} / Mil – 59 / 90, .656 {expectation, 118 pts} 

As was the case through three games, the teams were dead even in “Adjusted Conversions” in Game 5 with 59 apiece.

Again, the Bucks’ 5-1 edge in and-1 opportunities creates the four-point difference in the final score.