The Milwaukee Bucks blew past the Oklahoma City Thunder with a commanding second-half performance to claim the 2024 NBA Cup following a 97-81 win at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Afrosport reports.
After an evenly contested first half, which saw the Bucks head into the break with a one-point lead, the Eastern Conference giants proved to be a much more dominant force coming out of the locker room as they held the Thunder to just 31 points in the second half.
Much of Milwaukee’s production came from their star duo, as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 49 points. Antetokounmpo, who was named the tournament’s MVP, recorded a triple-double in the championship game, with the “Greek Freak” finishing with 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Lillard, who made five 3-pointers, ended with 23 points and dished out four assists.
“It’s great, it’s great for our team,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’re getting better. … We know we’re leaving Vegas as a better team. I’m so proud of this group. Man, I’m so proud of this group.”
The Bucks shot 17 3s as a team to clinch the trophy for the first time and earn additional income as they finished the 2024 NBA Cup undefeated with a 7-0 record. Each player will receive the new bonus prize money of $514,971 after the NBA raised the prize money from the $500,000 that was paid out in the inaugural edition.
7-0 in the #EmiratesNBACup 💯 https://t.co/NLDAaHrNnR pic.twitter.com/1wtEO4ahwb
— NBA (@NBA) December 18, 2024
The Thunder, however, were for a large part of the game a bit unrecognisable as the Western Conference leaders failed to score over 20 points in either quarter in the second half. They missed about 85% of their 3-point attempts, having gone 5-for-32 from beyond the arc and made just one three in the first half.
OKC was led by last season’s league MVP candidate, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with the 26-year-old the only Thunder player that eclipsed the 20-point mark, finishing with 21 points and four rebounds. Jaylen Williams added 18 points, and centre Isaiah Hartenstein poured in 16 points and grabbed 12 boards.
Milwaukee entered the NBA Cup Championship game having won 12 of their last 15 contests, a huge contrast from the way they started the season and the win against a well-oiled Thunder team, even though without center Chet Holmgren, proved to be eye-catching, confirming their hot form and their return to top gear.
“We struggled coming out of the gates,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “No one here doubted what we can be and who we can be and we just hung in there. We stuck together and this is the byproduct of a team sticking together. But we still have work to do.”
The Milwaukee Bucks will be in action next on Friday to take on the East-leading Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in a game that will count for the regular season. OKC heads to Orlando to take on the Magic at Kia Centre.
