The Bucks dismissed Atlanta (110-102) last night while the Thunder did the same at the expense of Houston (111-96).
The Milwaukee Bucks and the Oklahoma City Thunder qualified for the NBA Cup final, respectively beating the Hawks of French rookie Zaccharie Risacher and the Houston Rockets on Saturday in Las Vegas. The Bucks won 110-102, while the Thunder dominated the Rockets 111-96. The two teams will meet in the final on Tuesday in the city of the game, where the last four of this competition created last year is being contested.
Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), both cheered by the crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with chants of «MVP»each scored 32 points to bring their respective franchises to victory. Antetokounmpo, top scorer in the league (32.7 points per game on average), has a fifth game in a row with at least 30 points, while Gilgeous-Alexander signs his 13th game this season with at least 30 points on the clock. .
Gilgeous-Alexander also grabbed 8 rebounds, offered 6 assists and made 5 steals. He was well helped by Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams, who scored at least 19 points each, despite the Rockets’ aggressive defense. Houston thus falls to third place in the Western Conference (17 wins, 9 losses), while OKC confirms its place at the top of the ranking (20 wins, 5 losses).
The “Greek Freak” continues
On the Bucks side, the «Greek Freak» also grabbed 14 rebounds, offered 9 assists and made no less than 4 blocks, including a decisive one on Clint Capela at the end of the match. “We turned our season around, but we must continue, because our job is not finished”reacted Antetokounmpo, whose team had won only two of its first ten matches this season before moving up to sixth place (14 wins, 11 losses). With 57 matches remaining in the season, “we have to continue playing together and we hope we can continue to improve”added the Greek, MVP (best player) in 2019 and 2020.
“I find that last year, a lot of teams said to themselves: Yes, I don’t know (about the Cup). This year, I like it, because more teams are saying: We want to win it (…) I want us to write our name on this trophy”also insisted Bucks coach Doc Rivers. The Hawks fought well, like Trae Young on fire (35 pts, 10 assists, 7 rebounds), and only really collapsed at the very end of the match against the Bucks’ offense. Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher, number 1 in the last draft, did not shine, scoring only two points (1 of 3 shooting) in 17 minutes of play. All NBA Cup matches also count for the regular season, except the finale. Each player on the champion team will receive a reward of 514,971 dollars (approximately 490,226 euros).
