Giannis Antetokounmpo hauls in-form Bucks past Thunder to NBA Cup title
Everyone has a lucky number in Las Vegas. For the Milwaukee Bucks there were three.
And the NBA Cup was their prize.
Tournament MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points along with 19 rebounds and 10 assists, Damian Lillard added 23 points and the Bucks connected on 17 three-pointers en route to defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the NBA Cup title game Tuesday night.
Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr each scored 13 for the Bucks, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the sole champions of the two-year event. A 19-5 Milwaukee run in the second half turned a five-point game early in the fourth into a 19-point game, and the Bucks remained in control the rest of the game.
“It’s great, it’s great for our team,” Antetokounmpo said. “We are doing better and better. … We know we’re leaving Vegas a better team. I am so proud of this group. Man, I’m so proud of this group.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 and Jalen Williams added 18 for the Thunder, who had scored at least 99 points in every game this season. But they sputtered in all kinds of ways on Tuesday, being outscored 51-15 from beyond the arc and shooting just 34%.
Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which was held to 31 points after halftime.
“We’ve done some good things. We outscored them in the paint, so obviously we did it defensively on that end,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “But it’s obviously a tough night, offensively, for us. Especially in the second half we didn’t score nearly enough points to give ourselves a chance to win. But we can learn from it and move forward from here.”
It’s a game that only counted for tournament purposes. There was about $300,000 in additional bonus money for Bucks players — they got $514,971 each, while Thunder players got $205,988 each — but the win, loss and game stats don’t count toward the regular season.
The Bucks have landed at the bottom of the NBA after a 2-8 start and have been on a tear since. This was their 13th win in their last 16 matches, although it will not be part of the official record.
No matter: When the Bucks emptied their bench with 1:37 left, Antetokounmpo pumped his fists like it was a real championship moment.
He’s won bigger games — after all, he and the Bucks captured the 2021 NBA title. But they said from the start of this tournament that the NBA Cup was a priority.
And in the end, they left no doubt about it.
“We struggled out of the gate,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “No one here doubted what we can be and who we can be, and we just hung there. We stuck together and this is the byproduct of a team that sticks together. But we still have work to do.”
Antetokounmpo was even more succinct: “The job is not done yet,” he said.
His point was clear: there is still a title to chase. But this was still a trophy moment to celebrate.