NBA Finals: Giannis Antetokounmpo is dominating, but Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday need to step up

The Bucks are plus-4 with Giannis on the court vs. Phoenix and minus-27 without him

I've never understood the adage that an NBA playoff series "doesn't start until the road team wins a game." It's nonsense. It doesn't start because, over 82 percent of the time, it's already over once the higher seed goes up 2-0. Only four times in history has a team lost the first two games of an NBA Finals and come back to win: The 2016 Cavaliers, 2006 Heat, 1977 Blazers and 1969 Celtics.  So, if you're the Milwaukee Bucks, now down 0-2 to the Phoenix Suns after a 118-108 defeat on Thursday, do not look to historical precedent in search of a silver lining. It does not bode well for your chances.  Instead, look to the Game 2 dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who put up 42 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks on Tuesday. He shot 15-for-22 from the field, including 14-for-17 on 2-pointers 11-for-18 from the free-throw line. He started aggressive and never took his foot off the gas. He muscled and spun his way to the rim in the half-court. He steamrolled in transition. He hit one-foot foul-line fallaways and turnaround baseline jumpers. His 20 points in the third quarter are the most in a single NBA Finals quarter since Michael Jordan scored 22 in the second quarter of Game 2 of the 1993 Finals against, oddly enough, the Suns.