PHOENIX, Arizona — In the battle on the box score between Palmetto State products, Khris Middleton was the runaway winner with a team-high 29 points compared to just two points for Torrey Craig.
But it was Craig who is one step closer to his first NBA title as Phoenix defeated Milwaukee 118-105 in game one of the NBA Finals.
A former standout at Great Falls High School, Craig played collegiately at USC Upstate under the legendary Eddie Payne. Torrey is known more as a defensive stopper and he comes off the bench so his role does not call for him to carry the load offensively. In fact, Torrey is more than content in his role with the Suns and that is indicative of the entire team’s approach. Every player knows and accepts his role whether’s to be a scorer or a distributor or both as Chris Paul demonstrated or to do the grunt work that generates little headlines but is noticed by those who matter.
Middleton, the former Porter Gaud and Texas A&M star, had seven rebounds and four assists in a nice all-around game for the Bucks who will look to even the series Thursday night in Phoenix.