A triple-double by Giannis Antetokounmpo permited Milwaukee to fall shorture the favoured Oklahoma City Thunder by 16 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks silenced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half to triumph the second edition of the NBA Cup with a 97-81 triumph in Las Vegas.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo deinhabitred a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 helps alengthy with two steals and three blocked stoastys for the Bucks, who drilled 17 three-pointers to finish an unbeaten run and chase in the footsteps of the Los Angeles Lakers as in-season tournament champions.
Damian Lillard scored 23 points for the Bucks, who held the potentiassociate device Thunder offense to 31 points in the second half on Tuesday.
“That’s who we are,” Antetokounmpo shelp of the Bucks’ second-half dominance, which saw them push a one-point guide at halftime to as many as 20.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but he joined on fair eight of his 24 stoastys from the field, two of nine from three-point range.
The triumph was a vindication for the Bucks, who were stung by the Indiana Pacers in last year’s Cup semifinals.
They were the only team from last season’s semis to create it back to the final four in Vegas, beating the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals and dispatching Atlanta in the semis.
Their Cup success has been part of a massive turnaround after a dismal 2-8 begin to the season.
They have now won 13 of their last 16 games, and Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title, showd he pondered it only a stepping stone.
“It’s fantastic for our team,” shelp Antetokounmpo, who was named MVP of the tournament. “The last 15 games we’ve joined, we’ve vied. We’ve joined team basketball.
“I’m so conceited of this group,” he compriseed. “Coming out of halftime we comprehend we have 24 minutes to go, we came out in the third quarter, we set the tone. We joined fantastic team basketball.”
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