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Monday, July 12, 2021 SECTION B Paul Farmer . Sports Editor . 427.6926

Bucks shred Suns to keep title hopes alive

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Sweet home Milwaukee.

It was a different team and a different Finals in Game 3 for the Bucks, who bulldozed the Suns 120-100 behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance and kept alive their title hopes.

The Bucks now trail 2-1 to Phoenix, a much more comfortable position than their insurmountable alternative heading into Sunday.

They also have a healthy Antetokounmpo, who imposed his will and performed up to his MVP status while collecting 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Bucks led throughout and broke it open in the third quarter with a 22-point advantage.

We have ourselves a series.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Antetokounmpo said.

The Suns were playing catchup all night and were running with iron boots. They were miserable from beyond the arc, especially Devin Booker, who missed six of his seven treys and shot 3-of-14 overall. He sat the entire fourth quarter, and Chris Paul (19 points, nine assists) couldn’t carry the visitors by himself.

Milwaukee’s greatest improvement from its Game 2 dud was Antetokounmpo’s free throws.

The Greek Freak was cozier at Fiserv Forum while hitting 13 of his 17 foul shots, avoiding his usual misadventures at the line. The friendly crowd kept quiet during his lengthy free throw routine, a stark contrast to the distracting chants in Phoenix.

“Just try to focus on myself, focus on my technique, focus on my body,” Antetokounmpo said. “Once you see a few go in, you get more confidence.”

Overall, Antetokounmpo shot 14 for 23 from the field. He joined Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James as the only players to score 40 points with 10 rebounds in consecutive Finals games.

Sunday represented Milwaukee’s first Finals win in nearly 50 years, or the first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson were Bucks teammates. There were concerns it wouldn’t happen in these Finals. Milwaukee was beaten rather soundly in the opening two games, leaving them in their mustwin position of Sunday. They gained confidence, however, from their second-round series against the Nets, when Milwaukee recovered from a 2-0 deficit (and a 39-point defeat in Game 2) to advance in 7.

“Game 2 (against the Nets) we got smacked, embarrassed. A lot of people thought our season was done,” said Khris Middleton, who scored 19 points in 41 minutes Sunday. “We still believed in ourselves. We came back and had an ugly grind-it-out game that we found a way to win. Sometimes it’s not going to be

See Bucks, Page B8

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the trophy after winning his Wimbledon men’s Singles Final match against Matteo Berrettini of Italy at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Sunday, in London, England.

Djokovic beats Berrettini at Wimbledon, ties 20-slams mark

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Novak Djokovic overcame some jitters as he beat Matteo Berrettini 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final on Sunday to claim a record-equalling 20th title at the majors and remain on course for an ultra-rare calendar year grand slam.

World number one Djokovic blew a 5-2 lead and a set point as he lost the opening set, flirted with similar disaster in the second but eventually prevailed on third match point after 3 hours 24 minutes over ninthranked Berrettini, who was the first Italian player in the London final.

Djokovic, 34, sunk to the ground in delight as he drew level with longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 titles at the majors and can fulfil his long dream by surpassing them at the US Open later this year.

A success in New York would make him first man in 52 years to achieve a calendar year grand slam, and the third overall, following American Donald Budge in 1938 and Australia’s Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969.

He is the first since Laver to win the first three slams of a year after his earlier 2021 success at the Australian and French Open.

A Golden Slam is also possible for Djokovic if he adds Olympic gold in Tokyo, a feat only achieved once, on the women’s side, by German Steffi Graf in 1988.

“I have to pay a great tribute to Rafa and Roger. They are legends of our sport. The two most important players I ever faced,” Djokovic said on court after receiving the trophy, adding with a smile: “It means none of us three will stop.

“They are the reason I am where I am today. They made me realize what I had to do to improve. The last 10 years has been an incredible journey and it is not stopping here.”

Looking at the possible grand slam, he said: “I could definitely envisage that happening. I’m going to give it a shot. I’m playing well and playing my best tennis at grand slams is my priority.”

Federer was among the first to respond, saying: “Congrats Novak on your 20th major. I’m proud to have the opportunity to play in a special era of tennis champions. Wonderful performance, well done!”

Djokovic appeared aware of what was at stake when he started with a double fault and had two more in his first service games where he also needed to fend off a break point under the eyes of Croatia’s Marija Cicak, the first female umpire of the men’s final.

Recent Queen’s winner Berrettini was however the first to crumble in his maiden final at the majors, hitting some extraordinary errors as Djokovic went 5-2 up.

But the Italian

See Djokovic, Page B8

AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL

Expos push across final four runs to outlast Napa Valley, 11-8

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FAIRFIELD — With Wimbledon being contested “across the pond,” the Fairfield Expos American Legion baseball team and their Area 1 rivals from Napa Valley engaged in a tennis match of their own at Yountville’s Cleve Borman Field, Saturday.

In a game that featured two ties and four lead changes, the Expos scored the final four runs to escape with an 11-8 victory.

The Expos took advantage of three Napa Valley errors to push across three runs in the top of the second with Gavin Arpaia and Reilly Ramirez delivering RBI singles.

Napa Valley countered with four in the bottom of the third, only to have the Expos respond with three in the top of the fourth to take a 6-4 lead. Ramirez doubled in two runs with Kaden Wilde driving in another on a ground out.

Napa Valley tied the score with two runs in the fourth inning and retook the lead at 7-6 with a run in the fifth. After the Expos tied it a run in the seventh on an Eli Blurton ground out, Napa Valley grabbed its final lead of the night with a run in the bottom of the inning.

The Expos took the lead for good in the top of the eighth when DJ Scott doubled in David Abilez, Blake Bozzini drove in Wilde with a sacrifice fly and Scott scored on a passed ball.

Fairfield added an insurance run in the ninth when Grant Kerr scored on an Aaron Strong ground out.

Reilly finished the game 3-for6, while Bozzini and Gavin Arpaia each went 2-for-4.

Trevor Morse picked up the victory with three innings of work in relief, while Cy Dempsay and Blurton each tossed a scoreless inning to close things out.

Giants win to wrap first half with MLB’s best record

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SAN FRANCISCO — Playoff tickets aren’t punched in July and World Series trophies aren’t hoisted until the fall, but with the first half in the books, the Giants and their fans can start thinking about October baseball.

A playoff berth that once seemed like a farfetched dream for a club playing in a stacked National League West is now well within reach as Gabe Kapler’s club wrapped up the first half of the season with a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals to notch their major-league best 57th win and 30th at Oracle Park.

After dropping the first two games of a sixgame homestand, the Giants reeled off four consecutive wins and added to their lead over the Dodgers and Padres with dominant pitching performances and clutch contributions from several different hitters.

The Giants credit much of their success leading into the AllStar break to a starter in Kevin Gausman who departed after another brilliant start on Sunday to participate in Midsummer Classic festivities in Denver. The Colorado native has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and earned his ninth win of the season with help from catcher Curt Casali, who blasted a three-run home run in the second inning against Nationals righthander Erick Fedde.

Gausman finished a sensational first half by tossing six innings of one-run ball against a Nationals team that knocked him out after four innings in their matchup in June. The right-hander held Washington to four hits, including three that didn’t leave the infield, and struck out nine batters by mixing a midto-high 90s fastball with his devastating splitter.

Gausman’s splitter has been one of the best

See Giants, Page B8

Chris Bassitt, homers help A’s hit All-Star break on an up note

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The A’s first half undulated like the wave they adopted as a slogan. An 0-6 start gave way to a 13-game winning streak. June swelled, then subsided. Their record crested at 17 games above .500 on June 18. They lost 13 of their last 21 before the AllStar break.

A 4-1 win over the Rangers on Sunday sent the A’s into the break on a positive note. It secured their first series win in their past seven. They spent the final 20 days of the first half in second place, 60 of 61 before that in first. At 12 games over .500, they own the AL’s fifth-best record.

“Overall, I think we underachieved almost the whole first half,” said right-hander Chris Bassitt, the winning pitcher Sunday. “I thought our hitting was spotty, our pitching at times was spotty. Obviously our record is pretty good, but I think we can do a whole heck of a lot better.”

Bassitt held the Rangers to one run over seven innings and departed afterward for Denver with fellow All-Star selection Matt Olson, who hit two solo home runs in the win. Bassitt became the second AL pitcher this season (joining Cleveland’s Aaron Civale) to double-digit wins. He is leading a rotation that has been the A’s steadiest group. A’s starters lead the majors in innings and rank third in the AL in ERA.

Bassitt had allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings to a potent Astros lineup