Background

Devin Booker fielded a perfectly placed lob to Deandre Ayton.

Deandre Ayton lifted up and graciously pulled it down.

I like that commercial that McDonald’s used to run.

It goes “Mama I can not lie, I really do want an Apple Pie“.

On Giannis that translates to, “I really will rather not have Ayton finish well“.

 

Videos

Game Clips

Twitter

1. “This is one of the great recovery plays you’ll ever see.”
   Channel:- NBA
   Date Published:- 2021-July-14th
   Link
2. CLUTCH BLOCK BY GIANNIS
   Channel:- Sports Center
   Date Published:- 2021-July-14th
   Link

YouTube

1. This Giannis Block On Deandre Ayton Had NBA Twitter Going WILD
   Channel:- Bleacher Report
   Date Published:- 2021-July-14th
   Link

Game Commentary

YouTube

1. Yahoo Sports
   • Giannis Antetokounmpo on Game 4 saving block: ‘I thought I was going to get dunked on’
     • Videos
       • Video #1
         Channel:- Yahoo Sports
         Date Published:- 2021-July-14th
         Link
2. ESPN
   • Game 4 highlights and analysis: Perk calls Giannis’ block on Deandre Ayton ‘mind-boggling’ | Get Up
     • Profile
       • Game 4 highlights and analysis: Perk calls Giannis’ block on Deandre Ayton ‘mind-boggling’ | Get Up Tim Legler and Kendrick Perkins discuss their takeaways from Game 4 of the 2021 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks.
     •  Videos
       • Video #1
         Channel:- ESPN
         Date Published:- 2021-July-14th
         Link

Twitter

1. Giannis
   • Bucks Nation ( @BucksNationCP ) – [ Link ]
     • Giannis on his CLUTCH block in Game 4 vs DeAndre Ayton – “I thought I was going to get dunked on, to be honest with you.”
   • “I thought I was gonna get dunked on, to be honest with you,” he admitted. “You risk it. You kind of feel it. I felt him rolling to the rim behind me, so I knew the only chance to get a stop is just jump toward the rim and try to cover that angle for him to score.”
2. Yaron Weitzman – Bleacher Report ( @YaronWeitzman ) [ Link ]
   • If he was any smaller, if he was any slower, if his brain wasn’t able to process the action with such speed and savvy, Ayton dunks the ball.
3. Sam Vecenie – The Athletic – ( @Sam_Vecenie ) [ Link ]
   • That Giannis block is one of the most incredible defensive plays I think I’ve ever seen? The judgment in help, the rotation, the power of the man he met at the top of his jump, the timing, the strength to stop Ayton from throwing it down on him.
     That’s just absolutely unreal.
   • This is one of the most incredible recovery blocks. Ball is in the air. Giannis baited him with the cat-and-mouse game, for sure. And still had the recovery length/speed/strength to get there and meet one of the strongest 7-footers with a 7-foot-5 wingspan at the top of his jump.
   • I just can’t get over this block. He had to turn, and go off of one foot and was still moving laterally, made no contact with Ayton to foul him, and made perfect contact with the ball. The hand-eye coordination here is like, impossible at this speed at this height. I’m blown away
   • Ayton catches the ball above the freaking square! It’s just not human that Giannis somehow did all of this stuff in the span of like one second.
     This is Giannis’ great NBA play. If they go on and win the title, it’s the one he’s remembered for in history, IMO.
4. Darren Rovell ( @darrenrovell ) [ Link ]
   • All these wide-angle shots of Giannis’ block do a disservice to how amazing the block was.
     Look at closeup.
     At the crazy speed they play, in the moment where fouls are especially precious, he stuck his hands THROUGH Ayton’s for the block.
5. Damian Lillard ( @Dame_Lillard ) [ Link ]
   • That block by Giannis might have won them the game

 

Video Comments

1. This Giannis Block On Deandre Ayton Had NBA Twitter Going WILD ( Link )
   • Zelgaro
     • I think the craziest part is how he avoided fouling him
   •  skizzler
     • And I would say that’s the most important part of recovery is getting over that mental block that something bad would happen if they did the same movements again at full strength especially but it seems he has a tough mamba mindset and he was able to overcome that part of his injury
   • Gregory Smith
     • What’s crazy is that everyone is going crazy over this play and I still think people aren’t fully aware of how impossible this was. He literally defended both plays. He fully committed and stop D-Book from rolling and getting an easy jump shot and then within the amount of time it took for Booker to pass the ball, Giannas turned around and got back to block the lob in the paint…. WTF the amount of ground he covered
   • Oaklee cummings
     • I love how ayton didn’t complain to the refs great sportsmanship love both teams don’t want one to team to lose lol
   • Michael Malcolm
     • The most insane part of it all is him being fearless enough to contest and block the dunk the very same way he attempted to contest Capela’s alley-oop dunk when he injured his knee. This is why he is great.

Quick Take

A series earlier you sat out the last few games due to an overextended knee.

The circumstances look similar.

And, yet you still go back out there and risk banging knees.

Glory to God for allowing us to give hard!

 

Dedicate

Dedicating to those destined for greatness, but unfortunately, their body did not hold.

The Grant Hills.

 

Referenced Work

1. Yahoo
   • Yahoo Sports
     • Vincent Goodwill
       • With one block, Giannis Antetokounmpo defined the NBA Finals, and possibly his career
         Link
2. ESPN
   • FunHunting
     • “Suns in 6” – Chris Broussard reacts to Bucks beat Suns in NBA Finals Game 4
       Link
3. Milwaukee Bucks
   • “Giannis Makes All Of Us Fall In Love With Milwaukee.” Candace Parker Exclusive Interview
     • Profile
       • Zora Stephenson speaks with two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Candace Parker during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
     • Videos
       • Video #1
         Channel:- Milwaukee Bucks
         Date Published:- 2021-June-10th
         Date Added:- 2021-July-17th
         Link

 

Addendum

Friday 2021-July-16th

ESPN

Giannis Antetokounmpo still awed by block, but ready to shift focus to Game 5 of NBA Finals

Link

“It’s incredible what your body is [able] to do,” Antetokounmpo said Friday. “When you think about winning, you go to the extreme.

“I cannot explain the play. But, at the end of the day, that’s in the past. When you talk about the past, that’s your ego talking. It’s in the past. It’s over with.

“I got to move on. I got to keep making winning plays. I got to keep competing. I got to keep finding ways to help my team be great. Great moment. I appreciate the moment. Great moment. [But] we got to move on.”