Suns @ Bucks

Who will WIN this matchup?

Phoenix Suns (51-21)

@ Milwaukee Bucks (46-26)

Current odds:

Phoenix Suns: (+170)

Milwaukee Bucks: (-190)

• The line for this game is Bucks by 4.5 points.

• Game 4 of the NBA Finals became a pendulum event in the best-of-seven NBA Finals when the Milwaukee Bucks buried the Phoenix Suns in a 20-point rout Sunday. The 120-100 victory sets up the opportunity for the Bucks to even the series 2-all on Wednesday night and sent the Suns searching for answers to critical concerns that arose in Game 3.

• After scoring 118 points to win games 1 and 2, the Suns were overwhelmed in the second quarter of Game 3 and couldn’t find their footing. They also had no answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo continues to take treatment for a hyperextended left knee, but the Suns wouldn’t know he’s hurting.

• Antetokounmpo scored 20 points in Game 1, his first game in a week due to the knee injury incurred in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks. Since then, the 26-year-old flipped to bulldog mode. He turned in back-to-back 40-point games (83 total), the first to do so in the Finals since LeBron James. Only Michael Jordan, with four consecutive 40-plus point efforts in the Finals, has sustained a higher level of scoring production.

• Even when primary defender Jae Crowder does keep him from getting to the basket, Antetokounmpo has 46 points in the paint since the start of Game 2, making 23 of 25 attempts within 6 feet of the rim.

• Defensive breakdowns were only one concern for the Suns in Game 3. Star Suns guard Devin Booker was off from the opening tip on Sunday. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter and was 3 of 14 from the field, 1 of 7 from 3-point range, for 10 points.

• Paul was dogged for a full 94 feet by Jrue Holiday in Game 3 with the Bucks taking Budenholzer’s father’s advice and picking the Suns up full court. He has 10 turnovers the past two games, but continues to thrive in the mid-range game, even when shooting over the long reach of Antetokounmpo.

• The Bucks kept Booker close and ratcheted up physicality to keep him from making clean cuts or releasing from screens unchecked. P.J. Tucker has drawn the assignment for Milwaukee, but a clear team focus in Game 3 was bumping and grinding Booker with and without the ball. He didn’t respond favorably, which invites more of the same Wednesday.

• Milwaukee doesn’t need to rewind far to find the most recent instance of a team rebounding from a 2-0 Finals hole. In 2006, the Cavaliers fell behind 2-0 and 3-1 to the 73-win Golden State Warriors, then rallied for the O’Brien Trophy The Miami Heat climbed back from 0-2 in 2006 and it has happened 35 times in Finals history.