Home sweet home as the Milwaukee Bucks evened up heading into game 5

The pressure was on, the Milwaukee Bucks fans both inside and outside their arena were at their loudest, and at times, it appeared like the game’s referees had their minds elsewhere in what was a poorly officiated, sloppy game 5 of the National Basketball Association finals.

It ended with another win for the home team, this time it was Milwaukee coming out on top, 109-103, Wednesday night to even the best-of-seven series at 2-2, with the next stop Saturday night in Phoenix.

The Suns came in as the 2nd-seed, the Bucks as No. 3. Phoenix is seeking its initial NBA championship, Milwaukee its second since winning way back in 1961, and with four members of that team in attendance.

It began as a track meet relay where the batons kept being dropped by both teams. Up the court they would come, throwing up air balls or shots way off target. There were constant turnovers and the usual barking at the officials. The Suns shot 28 percent from the field, the Bucks 23 percent, and it was Phoenix up 23-20 after one wild quarter.

Both teams settled down some in the next quarter with Khris Middleton getting the hot hand for Milwaukee and winding up with the team-high 40 points on 15-of-30 attempts from the floor and 7-of-8 free throws.

In all, the Bucks converted 24 of 29 charity tosses, and the Suns 16 of 19. From the field, the shooting was way off, especially with Milwaukee throwing up 97 shots and making 39, while Phoenix fired up 78 tries and made 40.

At the half, the Bucks had tied it at 52-all.

It became the closest contest of the series, but plenty of confusion. Phoenix’ starting guard, Devin Booker, who had a poor night in game 3, came away with a game-high 42 points this time, but somehow the officials had problems with his personal foul numbers that became five early in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix head coach Monty Williams went to send him to the sideline, but Booker waved him off. A few plays later, Booker was called for a pushing foul on Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, but as he left the court in dismay, the call was reversed, except Williams kept him sidelined.

Not long after and back on the court, Booker, usually the quiet man, protested an out of bounds call against him, and when he got down court, this, too, was reversed and the turnover was given to Middleton. Then, when Milwaukee called for the sixth foul on an apparent block by Booker, the officials called time and reviewed it. Again, Booker was spared until he finally fouled out in the final minute.

Neither teams shot well from beyond the 3-point arch, the Bucks good on 7 of 29 attempts, the Suns going a little better on 7 for 23. Turnovers, well six of them came from 16-year veteran point guard Chris Paul of Phoenix, who was in quest of his initial NBA championship.

Paul, who had only two points after one quarter and two more at the intermission, finishing with only 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting and handing out seven assists, made numerous turnovers at the wrong times. Three came in the final quarter when Paul slipped on one play and lost the ball, another on a walking call, and another on an errand pass.

This was not Paul at his best. Credit Milwaukee with aggressive defense when ever he had the ball, and he was out sized by the bigger Bucks’ guards. No doubt Paul was upset each time, but to Milwaukee it was a gift to keep him from scoring and engineering the offense.

Phoenix held a 92-86 lead heading into the last quarter, with Booker by far its only pure shooting as he tossed in six 3s and shot 17 of 28 from the field. Otherwise, Jae Crowder added 15 points and 12 rebounds, but the Bucks still out boarded it 48-40, with Antetokounmpo taking down 13 to go with 26 points, but he did miss 4 of 8 freebies.

The Suns led by six with 3:28 remaining, but Middleton continued to find his range by scoring back-to-back 3, as well as blocking a shot only a play after Antetokounmpo did the same on a layup intended by Crowder. Brook Lopez, a former (New York) Nets center contributed 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a Milwaukee uniform.

When the Bucks lead became 106-98 with 1:37 left, the 16,917 home crowd voiced its approval as did the thousands jammed in outside the venue.

Now the home court goes back to Phoenix. One team will then be up 3-2 as game 6 returns to the brew city, and if necessary, game 7 will be back in Phoenix.

Oscar Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of that Milwaukee 1961 championship team sat next to each other and received ovations when shown during the first half. Bob Dandridge and Jon McGlocklin were the other members of that team who attended the game. Back then, Abdul-Jabbar was still Lew Alcindor.