By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Deandre Ayton’s memorable 2021 postseason run came to an end as his Phoenix Suns missed an opportunity to make franchise history in the NBA Finals.

Ayton finished with 12 points and six rebounds in the series finale and his Suns lost 105-98 to the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Bucks won the series 4-2 to claim their first NBA Championship since 1971.

In Ayton’s playoff debut he averaged 15.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. He shot 65 percent from the field and finished with 14 double doubles.

According to StatMuse, he is the first player in NBA history to average at least 15 points and 10 rebounds per game on 65 percent field goal shooting in a single playoffs (minimum of 10 games).

The Suns earned their first playoff berth since 2011 and made their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993.

“This is just the beginning,” Ayton said to reporters following the season finale.

“For a young player like me, and some of the guys on my team, we know what it takes now. I know people talk about injuries to other teams but at the end of the day we’re playing ball. I’m just really happy how the guys had a wonderful season playing together to get us where we are but at the same time we feel it. It leaves a little bad taste in your mouth at the end of the day.

“That was the first thing I told [Devin Booker] when we walked off the floor, ‘this is just the beginning’, now we know what to do and no less. We are going to keep each other accountable for the rest of our careers together. The same with the other guys on the team as well.”

In the Finals, Ayton averaged 14.7 points, 12 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game on 54 percent shooting from the field. He posted 22 points and 19 rebounds in his NBA Finals debut and followed with 10 points and 11 rebounds in game two - both wins for the Suns. He followed with 18 points and nine rebounds in a game three loss, six points and 17 rebounds in game four and finally 20 points and 10 rebounds in game five.

In 2019, the Suns were just 19-63 and improved to 34-39 in the 2020 season, the first year under current head coach Monty Williams. The Suns headed into the 2020-21 season buoyed by their 8-0 performance at the NBA Bubble and the addition of future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul.

They went on to finish the regular season with a 51-21 record. Phoenix won the Pacific Division title for the first time in 14 years and ended one of the league’s longest playoff droughts when they earned a postseason berth for the first time in 11 years. They also made their first NBA Finals appearance in 28 years.

“He taught everybody a lot,” Ayton said of Paul’s influence on the team, “Coming to play, coming to compete, and just approaching the game the right way with contingency. Approaching it in a way where there aren’t any mishaps, approaching it with perfection.”

Despite the loss, Ayton said he learned valuable lessons from the matchup against the Bucks and from his individual matchup against Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo ended one of the greatest NBA Finals ever with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots in Tuesday’s series finale. He averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 61.8 percent, the first player in finals history to reach those numbers.

“It was fun, just like any other matchup. This is the most I’ve ever seen Giannis. I love competing and I love the challenge, I just wish I could win,” Ayton said, “But it was fun . . . I learned a lot.”

Ayton appeared in 69 of the Suns’ 72 games in the regular season. He averaged a double double for the second consecutive campaign - 14.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game

“Basically everybody has to lay it on the line,” Ayton said when asked what his team has to do to take that next step and win a championship, “I tip my hat to Milwaukee because everybody that checked in played like they wanted to die on that court and that’s what I felt. That’s what it takes, everybody got to give it their all when it comes to this, especially in this last game.”