Milwaukee wins the NBA Cup behind Giannis masterclass
The Milwaukee Bucks put the entire NBA on notice tonight in a dominant win, 97-81, over the Oklahoma City Thunder without Khris Middleton to win the NBA Cup! Giannis was utterly brilliant on both ends of the floor, with a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists. Damian Lillard added 23 points and four assists, while Gary Trent Jr. and Brook Lopez combined for 26 points on 6/12 from deep. Let’s go!
Game Recap
The Thunder got out to an early lead primarily behind Isaiah Hartenstein and his trademark push shot, forcing an early timeout from Doc, OKC up 16-9. Giannis kept the Bucks in it early, and then Milwaukee responded by going on an 8-0 run behind some Portis and Lillard buckets to force the OKC timeout. AJ Green nailed a NICE isolation three over Hartenstein. Then to end the quarter, Alex Caruso hit a three to end the quarter, but it was denied upon the review, Thunder up 28-27.
Dame nailed an insane corner step-back three to start the second and got fouled on another three on the next possession. Then Lillard hit AJ Automatic for another triple. The Thunder fired back with Ajay Mitchell and Jalen Williams buckets at the rim. The game got pretty sloppy for a few minutes with Giannis out, but luckily, OKC didn’t pull away too much. Giannis then really got going with a bunch of consecutive buckets, some working out of isolation at the elbow, and catching two lobs from Prince and Lopez. Then Hartenstein and Jackson got into a brawl (?) because… Jackson touched SGA? Seemed like a whole bunch of nothing to me. Anyway, Milwaukee led 51-50 at half.
Taurean Prince nailed a three to open the third off an excellent Giannis pass, and then a transition three from Dame put the Bucks up seven. Jalen Willaims responded with a three of his own, but the Bucks’ defence was really solid in the opening possessions, and another Giannis transition bucket forced an OKC timeout with the Bucks up 59-53. Next, things got really weird: the ball was on the ground and Giannis dove on top of Lu Dort (and probably fouled him, if we’re honest). It was called a jump ball, and Dort got a tech, along with Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. A Lillard three off a pick and roll, a Giannis bucket, and some free throws. and out of nowhere, the Bucks were up 10. Giannis was just in another zone this entire quarter, playing so tired but maintaining the effort. The defensive efforts were insane from The Greek Freak. When Giannis was subbed off, the team somehow extended the lead with an 8-0 run to end the quarter, giving the Bucks their highest lead of the game at 13 points, up 77-64, giving up just 14 to the Thunder in the period. WOW.
Trent nailed another three to start the fourth, and Lopez nailed a DEEP triple to put the Bucks up 17. ANOTHER three from Lopez put them up 20. The momentum took a slight turn when Bobby Portis accidentally elbowed Isaiah Joe in the face, earning himself a flagrant one. But the Bucks defence just remained unbelievably solid, and they kept hitting timely threes, while OKC missed basically every shot they took from deep (and other locations). The Bucks just whittled away the clock in a stunning takedown of one of the top teams in the NBA, becoming NBA Cup champions this season!
Stat That Stood Out
This wasn’t complicated. OKC just could not hit a three to save themselves, going 5/32 (15.6%) on the night. On the other hand, Milwaukee shot 17/40 (42.5%). That stat tells the story of the game. Make or miss league, folks.
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