Bucks in six: Giannis and Co. embodied the toughness and hustle of the city they represent

NOTE: This story was updated on Jan. 18, 2022, to make it free for all readers.

“I want to be here. I want to be here and help my teammates and help this organization win a championship. I want this organization and my teammates to help me win a championship because, obviously, it goes both ways.” – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Dec. 16, 2020

That statement may not exactly be Ruthian, because Giannis Antetokounmpo would never call his shot so specifically, so brazenly, but it’s going to be remembered that way – that in the 50th anniversary season after the Milwaukee Bucks’ first championship, the 26-year-old Antetokounmpo brought a title to Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo’s 50-point, five-block performance was vintage — a throwback to an era of big men bringing the thunder on offense and rising to swat stars from the sky.

And so was the 105-98 clinching victory in Game 6 over the Phoenix Suns at Fiserv Forum.

It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t slick. It was work.

Defense mattered.

Toughness was required.

Hustle was needed. Would Milwaukee want it any other way?

"Coming back, I was like, this is my city. They trust me. They believe in me. They believe in us," Antetokounmpo said, his smile dancing off the orbs of the Larry O'Brien and Bill Russell Most Valuable Player trophies. "Even when we lost, the city was still – went outside and you know, obviously I wanted to get the job done. But that's my stubborn side. It's easy to go somewhere and go win a championship with somebody else. It's easy. I could go could go to a super team and just do my part and win a championship.

"But this is the hard way to do it and this is the way to do it and we did it. (Expletive) did it. We did it, man."

Khris Middleton added: "For the city I'm sure it means everything. They have seen the work we put in to get to this point, trying to sell tickets to people to come to the game to now having it packed out and having I think 65,000 people outside the arena tonight. It's an amazing transformation.

"But it's not just me and Giannis, it's whole organization. They did a great job of building things around this city, helping the communities around here and then getting them to come and cheer us on, that was our motivation for sure."

And general manager Jon Horst and head coach Mike Budenholzer built and coached a team for just this.

More: Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo wins NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award

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The acquisition of Jrue Holiday was perfect. It didn't always matter how many shots went in for the point guard — but it always mattered which shots he prevented from even going up. (Does anyone remember what was given up to get him?)

Middleton was, well, Middleton: Sleepily consistent but unafraid to toss a firecracker into the garbage can when it was crunch time. And he always found the inside of the bucket.

Donte DiVincenzo and Brook Lopez were the perfect complements to those three, their self-sacrifice but understated confidence, their ability to mix defense and timely buckets were invaluable.

P.J. Tucker’s seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal effort on Kevin Durant is legend. The combustibility of Bobby and the off-the-top-rope energy of Thanasis tattooed the hearts of Bucks faithful — no last names required.

More: Purchase the Milwaukee Bucks Champions edition of the Journal Sentinel

"We had 80,000, 90,000 to 100,000 people," Portis said, eyes wider than ever. "That's unheard of, to have that many people here supporting and knowing it's a long time since the Bucks have been in this position. They never wavered. They came and supported us. It's a great feeling, man, to be called a champion."

Bryn Forbes’ hot hand and Pat Connaughton’s bruised joints and jaw created playoff moments that helped set up the NBA Finals stage at center court of Fiserv Forum.

And they were all needed, from Game 1 against Miami to the final ticks of a title.

"That is what made us better is just the character of the guys, the characters of guys like Brook, the characters of guys like P.J. and Bobby and guys that they don't really care what it looks like on the stats sheet," Connaughton said. "They just want to make winning plays. They want to be out playing and putting ourselves in the best position to win."

Milwaukee and Phoenix were remarkably matched from the outset of this series, where everything had to be earned. And while Walter Payton once said to never die easy — an axiom that defines this Bucks team in a lot of ways — it’s just that they have made their life too hard at times.

The Bucks had to do it in Game 5 after being down 16 after one quarter. Tuesday night, they led by 13 after one quarter but trailed by five going into the half. Middleton was in foul trouble. Holiday was in shooting trouble. Antetokounmpo kept the team afloat with 17 points while Portis gave them 10 off the bench.

They were 3 of 17 from behind the three-point line. They turned it over 11 times. They tied a season low with 13 points in the quarter and missed 13 of their first 14 shots.

Antetokounmpo would have loved Payton.

He scored 20 of the Bucks’ 35 points in the third quarter. He assisted on three more just for the Bucks to make up that five-point deficit and go into the fourth quarter tied at 77.

And in the fourth quarter, his teammates wouldn’t go down either. Connaughton took a charge. Tucker stripped Devin Booker at halfcourt. Middleton hit a fallaway.

Just enough for history.

The Bucks were the fourth team to win three straight games after trailing 0-2 and just the third to win four straight and win the title, joining Portland (1977) and Miami (2006). They became the second team in NBA history to overcome multiple 2-0 series deficits in a single postseason, joining this year’s Los Angeles Clippers.

And they erased the longest title gap for any NBA franchise at 49 years.

"Oh, man," Tucker said. "My dogs. I told people, we have a lot of dudes that people counted out, didn't believe in, didn't think they could play, didn't think they were supposed to be here. We look at each other in the locker room – I can't even explain it to people."

Those players, for the most part, can enjoy it.

But the 2021 NBA draft is in nine days. Coaches will be at summer league in Las Vegas in 19. The title defense officially begins in 70, when the Bucks open training camp.

Fifty years in the making, they get the second-shortest offseason in NBA history to soak it in. It’s human nature to look ahead, though – and especially in sports. What players may not pick up their options? What trades could Horst make under the tight constraints of the salary cap? Does a championship make the veteran minimum more appealing?

And of course, there is the ever-popular phrase and wish to just run it back.

But this is not LeBron’s East. Antetokounmpo may own every MVP trophy that exists but there are no guarantees of a return trip to this point, let alone a repeat performance.

Heightened expectations and excitement for what may be are natural, but it’s been a 50-year wait to be let into the party — enjoy every part of it.

After all …

“Bucks in six.”

Yeah, Brandon Jennings said it. For the culture.

He banged the drum Tuesday night for Wayne Embry and Brian Winters. For the tailgaters on Vel R. Phillips and State Street. For Nellie and Sid and Marques. For the over 80,000 packed into the arena and the district. For the original “Big Three” and Scott Williams, and the people snaking past the rebranded Milwaukee Arena. For the fans with the scratched Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut jerseys. For the Pope Boys and Sector 7.

Bucks in six.

It was preposterous.

It was unbelievable.

Perhaps improbable.

Never impossible.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks win NBA Finals with toughness, hustle that embody Milwaukee