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Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks silenced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half and won the second edition of the NBA Cup with a 97-81 win on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo delivered a triple-double with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists along with two steals and three blocked shots for the Bucks, who made 17 three-pointers to end an undefeated run and follow in the footsteps of the Los Angeles Lakers as tournament winners of the season.
Damian Lillard scored 23 points for the Bucks, who held the potentially explosive Thunder offense to 31 points in the second half.
“This is who we are,” Antetokounmpo said of the Bucks’ second-half dominance that saw them extend their lead from one point to as many as 20 at halftime.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but connected on just eight of his 24 field shots, two of nine from three-point range.
The triumph was satisfaction for the Bucks, who lost to the Indiana Pacers in the Cup semifinals last year.
They were the only team from last season’s semifinals to make it back to the Final Four in Vegas, defeating the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals and defeating Atlanta in the semifinals.
Their cup success was part of a huge turnaround after a dismal 2-8 start to the season.
They have now won 13 of their last 16 games and Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title, indicated he viewed it as just a stepping stone.
“It’s great for our team,” said Antetokounmpo, who was named tournament MVP. “The last 15 games we played, we competed. We played team basketball.”
“I’m so proud of this group,” he added. “After halftime we know we still have 24 minutes left. We came out in the third quarter and set the tone. We played great team basketball.”
– ‘Not Done’ –
The Bucks held the Thunder to just 14 points in the third quarter – their lowest point total in any period this season.
“The most important thing is that we are competitive defensively,” Antetokounmpo said. “This is us. We will continue to be – and the work is not done yet.”
Unlike the other cup games, the final does not count towards the regular season balance sheet, and the players’ performances do not count towards their career statistics.
However, the trophy also comes with a financial reward, as each player on the winning team stands to pocket more than $514,971 – a significant chunk of money for the younger players and smaller players on the team.
Thunder players will each receive $205,988 for second place. But they return to Oklahoma City disappointed after posting one of their worst shooting performances of the season.
The Western Conference leaders, which finished 3-1 in group play before beating Dallas in the quarterfinals and Houston in the semifinals, hit just 33.7 percent of their field shots and made just five of 32 – 15.6 percent — from beyond the arc Three-point range.
They emerged from a fast-paced first quarter with a 28-27 lead.
The nip-and-tuck continued in the second quarter and the tension was evident as Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr. and Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein received equal technical points after a heated exchange.
After a first half with nine lead changes, the Bucks led 51-50, but Milwaukee opened the third period with consecutive three-pointers from Taurean Prince and Lillard and got rolling.
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