Bucks and Thunder to vie for NBA Cup championship following semifinal victories

By Jacob Lev and Homero De la Fuente, CNN

(CNN) — The second edition of the NBA Cup championship game will pit the Milwaukee Bucks versus the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday after both teams emerged from the in-season tournament semifinals on Saturday.

One of the league’s hottest teams, the Bucks edged the Atlanta Hawks 110-102 in the first of two semifinal Cup games on Saturday. Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way in a dazzling performance, finishing with a near triple-double, scoring 32 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing nine assists. He added four blocks, including a crucial, late stuff in the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard added 25 points.

The 14-11 Bucks’ start to the season has not been smooth, and that trend continued through the first three quarters as both teams went back and forth.

Despite the six-point deficit at half for Atlanta, it always felt closer than the box score indicated.

Late in the third quarter, Atlanta tied the game up at 78-78 following an Onyeka Okungwu three-pointer. Hawks forward Jalen Johnson then threw down a monster dunk on Bucks forward Bobby Portis to give Atlanta their first lead since the first quarter.

The game continued to be a tightly contested duel between the two Eastern Conference foes until the 30-year-old Greek superstar took over and gave Milwaukee a lead the Hawks could not surmount.

Holding onto a 103-98 lead, Antetokounmpo’s emphatic block of Hawks center Clint Capela shut the door on any potential comeback as the Bucks will now extend their business trip in Las Vegas an extra few days.

Hawks star guard Trae Young did his best to keep the team afloat, scoring 35 points while adding 10 assists and seven rebounds.

Antetokounmpo emphasized the team’s defense as the reason for being able to close out the game despite it being a tug-o-war between both squads.

“We got stops. We got stops,” Antetokounmpo told the TNT broadcast after the game. “That was the most important thing down the stretch.”

The Bucks improved to 11-1 all-time in NBA Cup games, with their only loss coming in the semifinal last year.

The team has won 10 of their last 12 games.

Antetokoumnpo had a simple message to get that “bad taste” out of the Bucks’ mouth following last year.

“Just have fun,” he said. “Enjoy the game. Take it a possession at a time and win the game. Thats it. If we compete, we are going to win the game.”

Thunder clinch berth in Cup final

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a slow start to lead Oklahoma City past the Houston Rockets, 111-96, in the NBA Cup semifinal on Saturday.

Scoring was at a premium as two of the best defensive teams in the league battled it out.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals as the Thunder extended their win streak to five straight. The 26-year-old struggled to find his stroke early, shooting 3-of-12 from the field at halftime.

However, the two-time All-Star turned it on after the break, helping the Thunder outscore the Rockets 70-54 the rest of the way to secure a spot in the final.

“We stayed to our principles. We knew that we’d be able to kick in enough shots if we stayed with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the game.

“We just focused on getting stops the whole night, we knew if we did that at a high level, we’d give ourselves a chance and that’s what happened.”

Despite facing off against one of the premier defenses in the NBA, Houston couldn’t escape its shooting woes, with the starters combining to shoot 22-of-70 from the field.

Milwaukee and Oklahoma City will look to become the second-ever NBA Cup champions following LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ title win last season. The Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers, and James was awarded the MVP award for the inaugural in-season tournament for his strong tournament-wide performances after the game.

The NBA Cup championship is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 17.

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