No panic from Suns despite Bucks tying series

MILWAUKEE • The Phoenix Suns will not panic after squandering a two-game advantage in the NBA (National Basketball Association) Finals, but they will need improved ball-handling and rebounding to slow the momentum-fuelled Milwaukee Bucks.

Khris Middleton scored 40 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to power the Bucks to a 109-103 win over the Suns on Wednesday, tying the best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Phoenix, who led by seven in the fourth quarter, committed 17 turnovers, five by star guard Chris Paul to match the Bucks' total, and allowed 17 offensive rebounds.

Paul is averaging 4.3 turnovers per game in the Finals.

"We certainly had a lot of self-inflicted stuff," Suns coach Monty Williams said. "It wasn't just Chris. As a team, we've got to take better care of the ball."

Having wasted a 2-0 series edge, the Suns will return to Phoenix for Game 5 tomorrow needing to tighten their defensive work and hustle harder in key situations.

"There's no hitting the panic button. You go back home and adjust," said Suns forward Cam Johnson. "It's the Finals. You're not going to get away with anything easy."

The Suns are chasing the first title in the team's 53-year history while the Bucks are seeking their second overall crown since they last won it in 1971.

"It's high stakes, very high stakes," Johnson added.

"We know what's on the line."

Milwaukee closed on a 12-4 run in the final 2min 7sec to win after the Suns had led most of the night, Phoenix wasting a 42-point performance from guard Devin Booker, who missed much of the fourth quarter with foul trouble.

"We were holding it down, defending at a high level," he said. "We have to close possessions and that's something that hurt us."

Paul, in the first Finals of his 16-year NBA career at age 36, said each team knows the other well and mental toughness will decide the championship.

"They can call out our plays, we can call out their plays. It's about execution," he said.

"Down the stretch we've got to box out, we've got to execute. We're a team that's closed out games like that all season long.

"This is a tough one but we've got to bounce back. That's why we fought all season to get home court."

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE