The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 to win the NBA Cup in a game that few neutral observers expected. The story of the night was Giannis Antetokounmpo, who controlled the game from start to finish, posting 26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks. Damian Lillard was also very solid, despite only taking 12 shots and finishing with 23 points, four assists and a game-high +15 in 35 minutes of play. For OKC, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just couldn’t get anything going, finishing the night with 21 points on 8/24 shooting and a team-worst -17. Read our full game recap here and watch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast “Bucks In Six Minutes” below.

What have we learned?

Interestingly, OKC did not opt ​​for Isaiah Hartenstein to guard Giannis. I touched on GA’s improved patience with teams trying to wing him after the last game in Boston. Overall, his decision making was pretty good on this one, but there were still a few possessions where he didn’t think all the way through. That was perhaps the most composed game I’ve ever seen from him. OKC kept giving Antetokounmpo wings and rushing around him — stunts, late doubles, paint changes, quasi-zones — and he made the right decision almost every time. The guy just took what the defense gave him and didn’t force anything. He knew that his advantage — and, frankly, that of the entire team — lay in his size and that OKC would be giving up something because of that size. Giannis just had to be patient and wait for opportunities to arise.

And then there was Giannis’ defense. Our Morgan Ross and I noticed on the playback stream that although Giannis looked physically exhausted about two-thirds of the way through the third quarter, the guy kept shifting his feet, grabbing rebounds and changing shots at the rim. Truly just a legendary performance from Antetokounmpo on so many levels. Look at this block after playing the entire quarter: He gets a hand to block the shot, turns his hips and slides, blocks the shot without fouling, and knocks it away from Caruso. What?

Three things

Andre Jackson Jr. may have earned himself some money last night.

This game was always going to be the ultimate test for Andre. Despite his athleticism and defensive talent, we know that Jackson can sometimes lack discipline on defense (although that has happened before). much improved this season). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the smartest and smartest players in the league. And yes, he has been known to put you in a bad mood from time to time. All the signs were there that Andre should be played off the floor under the bright lights and taught a lesson. Lo and behold, Andre improved tremendously and the opposite happened. Ajax shot 1/6 and 0/4 from deep while also being one of the most important players on the field, a +12 in his 25 minutes. He simply hunted Shai without fouling him. All. Night. Long. It was beautiful. SGA couldn’t get anything going and was clearly tiring from Andre’s relentless pressure and ability to move his feet. Andre would have played more if the unit hadn’t performed as well as they did in the fourth quarter. This was the type of performance that gives Doc and the coaching staff the confidence to get him 25-30 minutes in a playoff game.

It wasn’t just luck that OKC missed a series of threes.

This was an interesting game because OKC’s defense held up. With 103.1 points per game, they have the best defensive rating in the NBA, the Bucks scored 97 points. It was their offense that faltered. As mentioned in the quick recap, the Thunder shot horribly from three yards. And yes, a significant portion of that is due to a night away from filming. But the Bucks 1) made them shoot tough shots and 2) helped the right players, I thought. Shai went 2/9 and began to quickly resort to pull-up threes due to Andre’s presence. Alex Caruso scored two; it’s at 26% this season. Kenrich Williams and Ajay Mitchell combined to shoot six three-pointers. Both players, like AJax, shoot around 40%, although at relatively low volume, making them untested shooters. Lue There, although he Is Shooting well at good volume this season isn’t what you’d call a knockdown shooter; he went 0/4. Even Isaiah Joe’s attempts were largely hard-fought and many of them were saved off the dribble; he shot 1/6. So yes, it was an outlier game to some extent, but that shouldn’t discount the Bucks’ defensive game plan and effort.

The Others reappeared in Middleton’s absence.

Although Bobby wasn’t particularly impressive, the quartet of Brook Lopez, Taurean Prince, Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green hit 11/22 with threes. You’ll never be able to completely replace Khris Middleton’s playmaking and shooting, but I think those guys, especially AJ Green, did a great job getting open and making the next play when Giannis or Dame attacked the Thunder defense took a turn. Add Lillard’s 23 points and that was enough to put it away.

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Giannis was unanimously voted NBA Cup MVP.
• Taurean Prince and Darvin Ham have never lost an NBA Cup game.
• Pat Connaughton got dusted last night. Run his trusty DHO right a few times. Pretty.
• Chet Holmgren would have been very valuable to OKC in this game if he had been able to combat the twin towers of Giannis and Brook in the paint. Oh.
• Ryan Rollins once again got no minutes, even in garbage time. That shoulder surgery could be coming soon.

Next

The Bucks will resume regular season play against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CST. Watch the game on NBA TV and FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.

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