Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and was one assist away from a triple-double, Damian Lillard added 25 and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 110-102 on Saturday to earn a spot in the NBA Cup championship game.
Antetokounmpo finished with 14 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks for the Bucks, who improved to 11-1 all-time in NBA Cup play — the only loss coming in last year’s semifinals.
Brook Lopez scored 16 for Milwaukee.
Trae Young had 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Hawks, who got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Jalen Johnson and 15 points from De’Andre Hunter.
Young committed 11 errors in the game, a season high. He made ten errors in two other games this season; the Hawks won both. Since joining the NBA, Young has committed at least 10 fouls in a game 52 times. Every other Hawk, combined, has done it once in that period.
Antetokounmpo was brilliant, shooting 10 of 15 from the field and 12 of 18 from the foul line. And Bobby Portis provided his usual boost off the bench with 10 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes.
Antetokounmpo blocked an alley-oop dunk try from Capela at the rim with 2:35 left, preserving the five-point Bucks lead.
Looking back at last season, including the playoffs, Milwaukee had lost 20 straight games entering the fourth quarter trailing. The Bucks trailed 83-82 entering the fourth on Saturday.
The Bucks will play the Thunder or Rockets in the championship game on Tuesday before returning to the regular season at the Cavaliers on Friday. The Hawks return to the regular season on Thursday at the Spurs.