NBA Cup: Thunder face Bucks in championship game after big night in Las Vegas
News

NBA Cup: Thunder face Bucks in championship game after big night in Las Vegas

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

The Milwaukee Bucks face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup championship game.

The top seeds from the East and West both celebrated semifinal victories on Saturday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the Bucks to a win over the Atlanta Hawks and the Thunder topping the Houston Rockets in a clash of defensive-minded teams.

The championship takes place on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas and has a prize pool of more than $500,000 per player up for grabs. The game does not count toward regular season standings or statistics.

The No. 1 NBA team in defensive rating is the Thunder. The No. 2 NBA team in defensive rating is the Rockets.

They certainly looked good at T-Mobile Arena. It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Thunder will get through it after defeating Houston with a 111-96 victory.

The first half in particular was slow, ending with the Rockets leading 42:41 and both teams shooting less than 33%. It was OKC that woke up first, taking a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and eventually extending it to 15 points.

The defensive intensity didn’t stop Shai Gilegous-Alexander from scoring 32 points, his 13th 30-point game of the season, plus eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams also contributed at least 19 points each, with Hartenstein edging out Rockets standout Alperen Şengün (13 points on 6 of 16 shooting, four turnovers, five fouls).

Antetokounmpo came close to a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. He also shot 10 of 15 from the field. Damian Lillard wasn’t far behind with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, although he only managed 5 of 14 points from behind the arc.

Trae Young did everything he could to keep the Hawks in control in the third quarter after a close first half in Las Vegas. He shot 6 of 7 from the field in the quarter and gave the Hawks the lead heading into the final half.

Eventually, however, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks stormed forward down the stretch. Late in the fourth quarter, they went on a quick 7-1 run, fueled by three short balls from Antetokounmpo, and eventually separated themselves from the Hawks. Antetokounmpo also sealed the deal in the final minutes with a wild block on Clint Capela at the rim to complete an alley-oop.

Young led the Hawks with a near triple-double of his own. He finished the game with 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which fell to 14-13 on the season with the loss. Jalen Johnson finished the game with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and De’Andre Hunter added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Channel: ABC

Here’s how it went at Yahoo Sports:

The live broadcast has ended55 updates

  • “I want us to write our names on it.”

    Addressing concerns that the league has a competitive problem, the veteran coach expressed his stance after the Bucks advanced past the Hawks to the NBA Cup Final: “There’s nothing wrong with saying you want to win something. “

    LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 14: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Milwaukee Bucks gestures during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup semifinal game against the Atlanta Hawks at T-Mobile Arena on December 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bucks defeated the Hawks 110-102. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is agreeing to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 14: Head coach Doc Rivers of the Milwaukee Bucks gestures during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup semifinal game against the Atlanta Hawks at T-Mobile Arena on December 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bucks defeated the Hawks 110-102. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is agreeing to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

    Click on the photo to read more about the Bucks’ win that advances them to the NBA Cup Championship. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

  • Next up: Bucks vs. Thunder

  • West semifinal stats

    Thunder: 111

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 32 points (8-21 FG), 8 rebounds, 6 assists

    Isaiah Hartenstein: 21 points, 8 rebounds

    Jalen Williams: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

    Missiles: 96

    Amen Thompson: 19 points, 7 rebounds

    Jabari Smith Jr.: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists

    Dillon Brooks: 14 points, 5 rebounds

  • FINAL: Thunder 111, Rockets 96

    The Thunder are headed to the NBA Cup championship game. They will face the Bucks on Tuesday night.

  • There was a brief “tussle” between Sengun and Wallace, which turned into a brief scrum but ended without much happening. After verification, duplicate technical documents were handed over and we are moving forward.

  • That’s a 10-3 run by the Thunder, and their lead is suddenly 13 midway through the fourth quarter. They’re just six minutes away from clinching a spot in the title game against the Bucks.

  • We talk a lot about Jabari Smith not living up to those early expectations, but man, this kid plays hard and gets after it on defense. I vet everyone who sells.

  • If there’s one criticism of SGA, and there won’t be many, it’s that he sometimes looks for the foul more than the basket.

  • Shooting hasn’t improved, with Houston at 34% and OKC at 41%. Feels like a super competitive game.

  • End 3: Thunder 75, Rockets 69

    Both teams seem to have finally settled in. SGA was up to 24 points to lead the Thunder and Amen Thompson had 15 off the bench for Houston. Alperen Sengun still only has four points for the Rockets while shooting 2 of 10 from the field.

  • Steven Adams is now on his way to the locker room after falling awkwardly under the rim.

  • This is an 11-0 run for Oklahoma City in the last 90 seconds or so, and it looks like we finally have some movement. SGA, Dort and Williams all scored 3 points for the Thunder.

  • Hartenstein threw a bucket for the Thunder and the third quarter is officially underway. We will see whether the offensive here will soon increase across the board.

  • HALF: Rockets 42, Thunder 41

    Amen Thompson led all scorers with 13 points off the Rockets’ bench, and SGA had 12 points to lead the Thunder. He shot 3 of 12 from the field.

    Both teams combined for six 3-pointers, and neither team shot better than 33%. These are also the fewest points the Thunder have scored in a half all season.

  • SGA is still struggling to get anything to fall. He narrowly missed a layup but picked up a pretty weak foul trying to get to the line. He then split his free throws.

    It’s a hard night for him. With seven points, he is now just 1 of 9 from the field.

  • Jalen Williams with the perfect finish:

  • J-Dub hits a jumper and falls after a competition. An animated Floyd Mayweather screams at a referee: “Call the foul!”

    This is Vegas after all…

  • End 1: Rockets 20, Thunder 18

    Kenrich Williams leads all scorers with seven points off the Thunder bench. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also went 1 of 8 from the field.

  • The game is not for the faint of heart. Competitive, but not particularly aesthetic.

  • Well, we’re off to a slow start. Both teams shot a combined 3 of 17 and 2 of 8 from the field entering this game.

    The Rockets lead early 6-5.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *