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Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded a triple-double as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in this season’s NBA Cup Finals.
The midseason tournament was introduced last year, with the semifinals and finals taking place in Las Vegas, and the Bucks became the runner-up winners with a 97-81 win at T-Mobile Arena.
Antetokounmpo scored 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists before being named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Damian Lillard added 23 points for the Bucks, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but shot just eight for 24 due to poor shooting from the Western Conference leaders.
Milwaukee led 51-50 at halftime and 77-64 early in the fourth period, with Brook Lopez scoring consecutive three points to extend its lead to 86-66.
“I’m so proud of the group,” said Antetokounmpo, the league’s two-time MVP. “Everyone was extremely confined.
“We came in, we were focused, we played great basketball and we were able to win. We had this goal as a team and we achieved it.”
Former champions continue turnaround
Tuesday’s win meant the Bucks continued their turnaround in form. After starting the season with a 2-8 record, the 2021 NBA champions won 13 of their last 16 games.
All NBA Cup games except the Finals will count as regular season games, with the Bucks now fifth in the Eastern Conference at 14-11.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a complete blush [the poor start] because we can’t get those games back,” Lillard said.
“But we showed that the team we started the season with is not the team we are now and that it was never what we really were.”
Jalen Williams scored 18 points for a young Thunder team that sits atop the Western Conference (20-5).
“It’s rare to have a feeling like we did in the play-offs and we’ll kind of embrace it and learn from it,” he added.
“It’s a good opportunity for any team involved in the cup, especially for us as we’re so young, to simulate living in another city for a long time and give it a bit of a play-off feel . It’s definitely good exercise.”
