The NBA Finals: Spurs fend off Bucks, 112-120 (1-0).

Giannis v. Kawhi: The NBA Finals.

The NBA Finals - the final duel for the Larry O'Brien trophy kicked off tonight with San Antonio's Rudy Gay going 9-9 and scoring 24 points in the first half, a welcome spark for the home crowd. Despite the outburst, Milwaukee's weapons - including 15 points by Antetokounmpo - also came to fire so the Bucks stayed close all game long, a 56-51 lead belonging to the Spurs at the break.

Rudy Gay didn't stop, however, swiping the ball free into Kyle O'Quinn for a thrilling dunk, followed by yet another 3PT shot by Gay. The Bucks responded with a 10-2 run, but then Iman Shumpert & Skal Labissiere got hot from long range, Shump notching 20 points. Cold in the first half, Patty Mills finally hit a long shot for the Spurs as well, the score 86-82 heading into the final quarter.

The 4th Quarter began with Giannis swatting Kawhi's shot away, his playmaking crucial for the Bucks as they finally swiped the lead, if only for a moment. Leonard would redeem himself with a 3PTer, then dish the ball to Joakim Noah down low for the lay-in, and then Gay would dish it back to Kawhi for the emphatic jam at the rim.

108-111, as Khris Middleton's shot cut the lead to a single point yet again. Shumpert made a reverse layup, but missed the free throw, normally a bad result, but the ball careened out to Patty Mills on the wing, who nailed the dagger from deep, 110-116 with .30 left on the clock. Brook Lopez would try his luck from long range, but the misfire wound up in Gay's hands (who iced it at the line).

Rudy Gay finished with 32 points and 7 rebounds, shooting 10-12 on the night, including a trio of shots from the perimeter. Iman Shumpert notched 25 points on four 3PT strikes. Kawhi Leonard had just 17 points, but 9 rebounds. Patty Mills dished 9 assists to go with his 13 points and Noah had 8 rebounds. The Spurs defense was vital down the stretch, with Mills, Gay, Shumpert & Leonard gathering six steals on Milwaukee.

In the loss, Antetokounmpo had 29 monstrous points. Behind him Malcolm Brogdon had 20, Eric Bledsoe had 18 points with 8 assists, and Middleton had 14 points (as did Nikola Mirotic). Lopez scored 15 points with 7 assists. An exciting opening contest saw both teams shooting above 50%, scoring 60 points a piece in the paint.