The NBA Emirates Cup Semifinal began today in Las Vegas, where the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks faced off for a chance at history. The Bucks, with the help of their stars, won the game down the stretch (110-102) but it did not come easy and the work is far from over.
By the end of the first half, the Bucks were feeling good about a 7-point lead but it wasn’t long before the Hawks came storming back. Led by a 14-point explosion from Trae Young, the Hawks took a narrow 83-82 advantage over the Bucks going into the fourth quarter. Of course, in the end, the Hawks had no answers for the Bucks’ star duo (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard), who impressed the fans tonight with their coordinated effort.
“Giannis not having to touch the ball down the stretch of (MOST) games because he has Dame and Middleton is such a luxury,” wrote ‘Swipa’ on X. “I personally love the fit. Giannis dominates for most of the game and then Dame takes over the last five minutes.”
Giannis was the leading scorer for the Bucks with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 blocks on 66.7% shooting. His co-star Damian Lillard contributed 25 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds on 38.1% shooting. They had some help from Bobby Portis, who scored 10 points off the bench, but the game was primarily about Giannis and Lillard, who combined to score over half of the team’s points.
“Giannis and Dame Lillard since mid-November,” wrote one fan over a photo of Jerry West and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Of course, another storyline to follow is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s simmering MVP campaign. With averages of 32.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game on 61.2% shooting this season he is making a strong push to win the award for the third time in his career.
“NBA has tried to change Giannis from being the face of the league,” wrote a die-hard Bucks fan on X. “But numbers don’t lie.”
For the Hawks, things got pretty ugly online as fans noticed selfish play from the team. Trae Young was able to stuff the stat sheet with 35 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds on 9-18 shooting but it wasn’t enough to win the game. De’Andre Hunter also had a good individual performance with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists on 31.3% shooting. Overall, however, it was a disjointed performance and Hawks fans and the mood was pretty sour after the loss.
“Trae Young terrible 4th qtr vs the Bucks – brick city and no ball movement,” posted an angry Hawks fan on X. “Why are you passing to Capela in the lane the last 2 possessions when we need quick 3s? Selfish and looking for assists? I wish our young team had a leader that knew how to lead and win.”
It remains to be seen who will be crowned as the winner of the NBA Emirates Cup this year but the Bucks have a chance to make history now by winning their first in-season tournament championship just a few years after winning the franchise’s second Larry O’Brien trophy. They don’t intend to waste that opportunity.
While tonight’s game did not count toward the NBA regular-season standings, it’s still a good way for the Bucks to rally together after a rough start to the season. Of course, they didn’t come all this way to lose now and the job isn’t finished quite yet.
The second part of tonight’s double-header will determine their opponent in the Emirates Cup final on Tuesday (December 17th) but it will be a tough matchup either way and it will take a nearly flawless effort to get the win.
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