The Milwaukee Bucks have won the second edition of the Emirates NBA Cup with a 97-81 win over the OKC Thunder in the Final held in Las Vegas. This is proof that the Bucks have re-established themselves as contenders in the NBA after a slow start to the season, with their veteran star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard dominating in this game.
Giannis put up a monstrous triple-double with 26 points (10-19 FG), 19 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and three blocks while Lillard put up 23 points (6-12 FG). Only two other Bucks scored in double-digits with both Brook Lopez (5-12 FG) and Gary Trent Jr. (5-9 FG) ending the night with 13 points.
Fans were excited about the Bucks’ win and Giannis’ MVP-level play.
“That OKC love gonna slow down or nah? I thought they would win this and the Bucks were just beating bad/ ok teams in streak… but not so. OKC loved by everyone with no acknowledgement still gotta get their scars. Ps – they are soft. And SGA just missed another shot,” said Chris Vernon after the game.
“Giannis and Dame doing this to the best defense in the league btw,” pointed out a fan about OKC’s supposedly stifling defense.
“If you don’t entertain Giannis being in the conversation for best in the world, I fear I cannot talk basketball with you,” said one fan wanting Giannis to get his overdue respect.
“Giannis looking like both the DPOY and MVP,” said a fan endorsing Giannis for two major awards.
“Please appreciate Giannis. This a top 25 player ever, idc. He’s quickly approaching the top 20 too,” said one fan amazed at Giannis’ production.
“Giannis has a level that only Jokic and Luka can reach,” said another fan equating Giannis taking over games at the level of Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
“Shai is closer to Tatum than he is to Jokic, Giannis, and Luka team is deep asl but he isn’t a force that will just carry games when shots aren’t falling like them,” said one fan critical of Shai’s performance tonight.
OKC’s electric offense and stifling defense disappeared tonight, as the team put up a season-low 81 points in a game whose stats aren’t tracked for the regular season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander disappeared, putting up just 21 points (8-24 FG) while Jalen Williams was also inefficient in his 20-point outing (8-20 FG). Isaiah Hartenstein had a great game with 16 points (6-11 FG) and 12 rebounds, with no other OKC player cracking 10 points in the loss.
This game had no impact on the regular season standings of either team as it is untracked, so their battles for seeding will be unaffected by this win. But this will be a massive morale boost for the Bucks, who have last season’s NBA Cup-winning duo of Darvin Ham and Taurean Prince on the franchise as well, who improve to 14-0 in NBA Cup games with tonight’s win.
The Bucks are primed for a push up the East and are in in-line to be one of the major contenders in the Conference. The Thunder’s position in the West is unaffected by this loss, but it adds another chink in the young team’s armor after being eliminated by a lower seed in last year’s Playoff despite having the best record in the Conference.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
