It will be the Milwaukee Bucks against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup championship game.
The top seeds from the East and West both enjoyed semifinal wins on Saturday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the Bucks to a win over the Atlanta Hawks and the Thunder outlasting the Houston Rockets in a clash of defensive-minded squads.
The championship is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, with a prize pool of more than $500,000 per player up for grabs. The game will not count for regular season standings or stats.
Shai Gilegous-Alexander goes off while Thunder grind down Rockets
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 the part at T-Mobile Arena. It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Thunder will take it after outlasting Houston in a 111-96 win.
The first half was slow in particular, which ended with the Rockets up 42-41 and both teams shooting below 33% from the field. It was OKC that woke up first, taking a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and eventually expanding it to 15 points.
The defensive intensity didn’t stop Shai Gilegous-Alexander from hitting 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 getting the better of Rockets standout big man Alperen Şengün (13 points on 6-of-16 shooting, four turnovers, five fouls).
Giannis Antetokounmpo overwhelm the Hawks
Antetokounmpo finished just shy of a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the win. He shot 10-of-15 from the field, too. Damian Lillard wasn’t far behind with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, though he went just 5-of-14 from behind the arc.
Trae Young did everything possible to keep the Hawks in it in the third quarter after a tight opening half in Las Vegas. He shot 6-of-7 from the field in the period and put the Hawks in the lead entering the final period.
Finally, though, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks surged ahead down the stretch. They mounted a quick 7-1 run late in the fourth quarter, powered by three short buckets from Antetokounmpo, to finally separate from the Hawks. Antetokounmpo sealed the deal in the final minutes, too, with a wild block on Clint Capela at the rim to break up an alley-oop.
Young led the Hawks with a near-triple-double of his own. He finished with 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which dropped to 14-13 on the season with the loss. Jalen Johnson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and De’Andre Hunter added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
How to watch NBA Cup championship game in Las Vegas
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Here’s how it all went down at Yahoo Sports:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER55 updates
‘I want us to put our names on it’
Among concerns the league has a competition problem, the veteran coach made his stance known after the Bucks advanced past the Hawks to the NBA Cup final: “There’s nothing wrong with saying you want to win something.”
Click the photo to read more about the Bucks’ win to advance them into the NBA Cup championship. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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’ll take on the Bucks on Tuesday night.
We had a brief “tussle” between Sengun and Wallace, who got into a brief shoving match, but it ended without much happening. Double technicals have been handed out after a review, and we carry on.
That’s a 10-3 run from the Thunder, and their lead is suddenly up to 13 at the midway point of the fourth quarter. They’re just six minutes away from securing a spot in the title game against the Bucks.
We talk a lot about Jabari Smith not filling those early expectations but man, that kid plays hard and goes after it on defense. I’m taking stock on anyone who’s selling.
If there is one critique of SGA, and there won’t be many, sometimes he’s looking for the foul more than the bucket,
The shooting hasn’t improved, with Houston at 34% and OKC at 41%. Super competitive game in terms of feel.
End of 3: Thunder 75, Rockets 69
Both teams finally seem to have settled in. SGA is up to 24 points to lead the Thunder, and Amen Thompson has 15 for Houston off the bench. Alperen Sengun is still at just four points for the Rockets while shooting 2-of-10 from the field.
Steven Adams is headed to the locker room now after an awkward fall under the rim.
That’s an 11-0 run for Oklahoma City over the last 90 seconds or so, and it looks like we finally have some movement. SGA, Dort and Williams all hit 3-pointers for the Thunder.
Hartenstein tipped in a bucket for the Thunder, and the third quarter is officially underway. We’ll see if the offense picks up across the board here soon.
HALF: Rockets 42, Thunder 41
Amen Thompson leads all scorers with 13 points off the Rockets’ bench, and SGA has 12 points to lead the Thunder. He’s shot 3-of-12 from the field.
Both teams have combined for six 3-pointers, and neither team is shooting better than 33%. This is also the fewest points that the Thunder have put up in a half all season.
SGA is still struggling to get anything to fall. He just missed a layup, but drew a pretty weak foul to get to the line. He then split his free throws.
It’s a rough night for him. He’s just 1-of-9 from the field now with seven points.
Jalen Williams with the perfect finish:
J-Dub hits a jumper and falls after a contest. An animated Floyd Mayweather yells at a ref, “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’s bench. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went 1-of-8 from the field, too.
The game is not for the faint of heart. Competitive but not high on aesthetics.
Well, we’re off to a slow start. Both teams have shot a combined 3-of-17 and 2-of-8 from the field to start this one.
