Appropriately, there is heavy rain, though I have not seen lightning, adding to the doom and gloom, of not having the Suns, now huge “faves” to win their first title.
In #2, the Suns, who won their first two home final tilts in ’76, then lost 4 straight home final tilts, now have 2 home final wins and a (2-0) final round lead vs the Milwaukee Bucks, the latter seeking their second title and first in 50 years.
Devon Booker, a standout some years back, in the one NBA game I have attended in so many years, hit for 31, Mikal Bridges, who played on Villanova title teams in ’16 and ’18, added 27-Chris Paul 21, as Phoenix bet vs (-5 plus to minus 4 plus) won (118-108) in game 2.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a “Jerry like” (West) 42 in a final round game loss for the Bucks.
Jerry had 42 in defeat vs the Celts’ 11th title in 13 seasons in #7/’69 final on May 5th, a year after, sadly, the excellent actor Albert Dekker passed away.
The Bucks are not “dead” in this series, my chances for “bucks” as almost always are, but need the ABC fix and are 4 point “faves” in #2 at Milwaukee Sunday night.
No more Sunday afternoon tilts, as was the case in 3 1974 NBA final tilts, two wins by the Celts at Milwaukee, including the John Havlicek win in a Mother’s Day #7.
Mikal Bridges pictured above. I cited Bill Bridges regarding Hawks/Knicks, “knew” this, however, nada!!
There will be sun later, at least all day on TCM with “The Sunshine Boys” airing at 2 P.M. Eastern Time and “A Raisin In The Sun” at 5:45.
Facing elimination just once, (they won that (1-0) and the Cup clincher (1-0) vs Montreal, a 5th straight series clinching shutout for Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Andrei Vasilevskiy) the Tampa Bay Lightning now have 2 straight titles, winning them a record low, just over 9 mos. apart.
The Lightning join the Tom Brady led Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as current Tampa/Champa Bay champions.
Ross Colton scored the game’s only goal, taking a pass from David Savard. Colton and Savard are the only first time title winners on the Lightning squad, which by the way, will lose a number of key players in the upcoming off season.
Pat Maroon, who played on his home town St.Louis Blues’ lone title team in ’19 has now played on 3 straight Cup winners, the last 2 with T.B.
Nikita Kucherov, who was less than generous in his comments about Montreal, is a brilliant player who led the ‘offs in points, without a tie situation for the second straight year. He joins the great Mario Lemieux (for the ’91 and ’92 champion Pittsburgh Penguins) as the only players to do so.
Brayden Point, who started “all this” with a goal in the 5th overtime vs the Blue Jackets of Columbus (where is Amy, either “Mc” or Winehouse, my ’89 interviews with such as Sandy Koufax and “Dons,” Drysdale and Sutton?!), again led in points during the ‘offs.
Ross Colton, pictured above.
The Phoenix Suns, as is the case with their final round opponents, in their 53rd season, are now over 3 to 1 “faves” to cop their first NBA crown.
Chris Paul, now a favorite, in this his 16th season to not only win a title but also to be final round MVP, hit for 32 as Phoenix won (118-105) (in an) over the Milwaukee Bucks in the final round opener.
The Bucks do have one title, that clinched in a (118-106) win on April 30, 1971 (this series is so extended, which of course is TV driven, with Tues, Thurs, Sunday, Wed. Sat, Tues and Thurs,) and also clinched its first final “app” in 47 years scoring 118 at Atlanta last Saturday, but are on the wrong end of a 118 for the winner in this final round opener.
The home team is now an incredible (16-1) counting the bubble designation of L.A. as the home team last year, (15-1) not counting it and (15-2) vs the spread or (14-2) in the last 17 final round openers. The lone loss by Miami, which eventually Ray Allen’d and Leb James’d the Spurs in 7, in ’13.
By the way, “Horse,” aka Brent Musberger, touted a Bucks/under wease, which lost bucks for those who backed Brent. Maybe for old time sake, I can “inform” Phil Mushnick of this “tidbit/nugget,” when he is the guest on the New York Giants Preservation Society “Zoom” tomorrow night.
The Suns broke a 4 game home final round loss skein and are now (3-4) in home final tilts. The Bucks fell to a still very good (4-2) road final record. Normally, I would root for 4 straight and certainly (2-0) but I so messed up the Suns and their opposition injury aided run to a likely, but far from certain title, that I hope “Milw” makes it at least a bit tough for the Suns (likely it is Lightning then Sun(s)), by winning game 2.
Only 9 times in now 75 NBA final series, has the home team both lost game 1 and the series (’04,’95, ’93 when the Suns did, ’82, ’75, ’74 when the Bucks did, ’58 when the Celtics did, ’50 and ’48).
There will be a 5th game, meaning ‘offs tilts at least 4straight nights as the NBA final opens Tuesday with game 2 Thursday.
The Canadiens in OT on Josh Anderson’s second goal of the tilt, the second time he had 2 goals in a Habs’ win including one in overtime (the other after the Fleury give away, #3 semis vs Vegas).
Thus no NHL final sweep for a 21st consecutive season after there had been sweeps in 4 straight (’95-’98).
Speaking of ’95, that was the first of 3 New Jersey Devils’ crowns, the first two clinched on a Saturday matching Chicago’s first two, each a Tuesday in ’34 and ’38 before their next on a Sunday in ’61.
The Lightning won their first two titles on Mondays in ’04 and 2020, but failed to Monday clinch tonight.
I will put a link to a nice article about the current Toronto Maple Leafs title drought.
As for ESPN and its sickening, but oh so popular, sports highlight show (I will not dignify it by name) the Clippers nee Buffalo Braves now have a 51 year not 50 title drought, encompassing the seasons from (’71-2021). They “graphic’d” 50.
https://fansided.com/2021/07/03/nhl-when-last-time-toronto-won-stanley-cup/
Khris Middleton hit for 32 points and the Milwaukee Bucks scored 118 points, the same number they scored in game 4 of the ’71 final, to claim their lone title, winning (118-107) over the Atlanta Hawks, to advance to their first final since 1974.
When the Bucks titled in ’71, it was in an eerily similar, (118-106) win vs the then Baltimore Bullets.
Now they face, the also now (3-7) in semis, Phoenix Suns, the latter a 6 point and 9 to 5 series “fave,” in a final between the two ’68-’69 expansion teams, who had the famed coin flip won by the Bucks, who gained the great player Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Only me: There have now been 64 seasons of two best of 7 semi-final series and this year and ’92 (Bulls over the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers over the Jazz) are the only one in which both were clinched in road team game 6 victories.
Khris Middleton, pictured above. The Hawks, a truly good story and a good, non bet by me, wagering proposition in 2021, remain a woeful semi failure at (0-4) in series and the “reverse Ron Perranoski ’63 record,” of (3-16) in semis games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning by virtue of a second straight year Friday night final round win that was their third in the entity, are almost certain to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions and a 7 to 5 favorite to complete the first Cup final sweep since 1998.
Tyler Johnson, somehow with the excellent T.B. coach, Jon Cooper for 10 straight seasons, had 2 goals while greats, Nikita Kucherov and last year’s Conn Smythe winner, Victor Hedman each had a goal and an assist in the Lightning “doubling” of the Montreal Canadiens (6-3) in #3, giving the defending champions a truly commanding (3-0) final round lead.
Last year in the “Edmonton bubble, the Lightning won a game 4 Friday night final round tilt on Kevin Shattenkirk’s (he is no longer with T.B, however, Pat Maroon still is. Mr. Maroon is almost certain to play on a third Cup winner in 3 seasons, the first with the Blues and the next 2 with the Lightning. I know Bill Skowron, with the somewhat similar sounding to Maroon, nickname of “Moose,” played on 2 straight Yankees’ title teams and then on the ’63 Dodgers who swept the Yankees in the W.S) overtime goal to take a (3-1) final round lead. The “tail wags the dog” schedule called for a game 5 the next night, which Dallas won to force a 6th game, on the following Monday.
The Lightning won their second title that Monday night, each won on a Monday. They will seek a third “Monday clinched title” 2 days hence as this year, “wag the dog” yielded an extra day off, though #4, as was the case with #3, will be played before 3500 fans in Montreal.
Tyler Johnson, pictured above.
The Milwaukee Bucks, hoping to join the Phoenix Suns with a (3-7) semis record in the upcoming NBA final, took a (3-2) series lead in a semi or final for the first time in 5 such tilts last night, easing vs the now (3-15) in semis, Atlanta Hawks, in a home tilt last night.
They lost #5 of a (2-2) semi at L.A. vs the great ’72 Lakers (the Bucks were also a tremendous team that season and essentially in Lew Alcindor/Kareem’s first 5 seasons ’70 -’74) and to Toronto (Raptors) just 2 years ago. Both the Lakers, arguably the NBA’s greatest champion and the Raptors, quite the opposite 6’d the Bucks and went on to their first titles in that still current venue.
In both the ’01 semi vs the Sixers of Philly and the ’74 final vs the Celts of Boston, Milwaukee lost 35 of a (2-2) series and were beaten in game 7.
The #6 loss to the Lakers on April 22, 1972 coincided with an Astros at Giants tilt, in which Fran Healy the Giants’ catcher withstood a collision with Doug Rader, to apply the tag for an out, denying Tom Helms an rbi single.
Healy was born 2 years after Rader in 1946 and hit .250 lifetime while Rader, who once won 5 straight Gold Gloves for N.L. third baseman, hit .251 for his career.
Last night Chris Paul, in his 16th season and now to his first final, hit for 41 points as the Phoenix Suns 6’d the first time ever in the semis, L.A. Clippers, nee Buffalo Braves with a devastating (130-103) rout in a “Catholic School” Breen tilt.
Phoenix will be making its third NBA final appearance, each in a same calendar year (’76 and ’93 were the others) and will meet the winner of the extend Marv Albert’s career semis between the opening series heavy favored Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks, whose game 4 home win was just their third in 17 NBA semis tilts, which is tied at two games apiece.
On a night Tampa or “Champa” Bay became overwhelming favorites for a third city/area title amidst its 3 teams’ four straight final round appearances, L.A. denied in hockey and “pig” after baseball and basketball “bubble” or non venue crowns last year, has now been denied in basketball.
Meanwhile the Suns, like the Canadiens, in their first final since ’93, are now a slightly high, as they are there vs a still undetermined opponent, (-210) “fave,” juxtaposed with the Canadiens (also a finalist in ’76 and winners in said final rounds in ’76 and ’93, going an incredible (28-5) in tilts while the Suns (0-2) in previous final rounds were 6’d each time, first by the Jo Jo White led Celtics in ’76 and by the Michael Jordan vs the king of over rated Charles Barkley and the Suns in ’93. A little less vitriol will spill, as the names “Jo Jo” and “Bailey” for Joan’s family dogs evoked Jesse’s Celtics’ reference to White and Bailey Howell), who down (2-0) to “Champa” Bay are say 10 to 1 underdogs.
Chris Paul, pictured above, as a Clippers’ player.
Andy B Sports 