Milwaukee advances to the NBA Cup championship game after exacting revenge on Atlanta
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Atlanta Hawks, 110-102, to advance to the championship game of the NBA Cup! Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 32 points and 14 rebounds, while Damian Lillard added 25 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Let’s go win this thing, eh?
Game Recap
The Bucks got off to a blinding 7-0 start. Two attacks to the rack by Giannis, and a nice corner three from TP. Then Milwaukee went cold for a few minutes, Atlanta tied it right back up, and then the two teams went back and forth for the rest of the period. The Bucks had some great looks from three, but like the last game against the Hawks, couldn’t make many (just 3/14 in the quarter). The quarter ended with Atlanta up two, 28-26.
Lillard broke his personal seal for the game, scoring the opening four points of the second, followed by two AJ Green threes in transition to force an Atlanta timeout with Milwaukee up 36-28. Atlanta responded with a 9-3 run due to a lack of offensive smarts and a bad turnover from Milwaukee. Then Khris Middleton responded with a vintage connection to Brook Lopez on the ally-oop, and the Bucks stabilised behind a Dame three and some free throws from Giannis (although he left quite a few at the line). The half ended with the Bucks up 55-49.
It was a slow start for the Bucks due to some sloppy possessions on offence. But then a nice response from Andre Jackson Jr., diming up his teammates and hitting a short floater (along with a Prince three in transition), forced the Atlanta TO. An undisciplined steal attempt from AJax then allowed Trae Young an easy layup off a score, followed by a Dyson Daniels prayer and another Young layup, making Doc Rivers call a timeout with the Bucks up 70-68. Some frustrating plays from Milwaukee to let Atlanta back in the game to close, and the Hawks ended up the third up 83-82.
Lopez opened with a pick-and-pop three, but it was a back-and-forth game for the next few minutes. Some questionable foul calls gave Atlanta free throws, but Milwaukee was doing just enough to keep their noses in front. Giannis then made a massive play diving on the floor for a loose ball and drawing a loose-ball foul. An intercepted lob from Khris to Giannis caused a Hawks transition two, but Middleton redeemed himself with a transition pass leading to a Giannis dunk a few plays later. Giannis had one of his gigantic blocks on a Capela dunk attempt, along with an excellent contest on a Young isolation. Then the Bucks gave the game another twist by not being able to inbound the ball, but the Hawks were unable to score off it. Lillard then responded with a floater after beating Jalen Johnson off the bounce to put Milwaukee up seven with 23 seconds remaining. From there, it was a game of free throws, and the Bucks pulled it out.
UNREAL BLOCK BY GIANNIS! pic.twitter.com/Uw4StJjRqu
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 14, 2024
Stat That Stood Out
The Bucks won this game relatively ugly. But what pulled it out was their ability to rebound the ball—an area they have sometimes struggled in. Atlanta only pulled in seven offensive rebounds and had just six second-chance points, which allowed Milwaukee to end possessions and run down the other end, besting the Hawks on fast-break points 23-15.
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