Milwaukee Bucks beat Atlanta Hawks to reach NBA Cup final against Oklahoma City Thunder
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Giannis Antetokounmpo (right) of the Milwaukee Bucks drives against Jalen Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks in the first half at T-Mobile Arena on Dec 14.
PHOTO: AFP
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LAS VEGAS – Giannis Antetokounmpo hailed “team basketball” as his dominating performance on Dec 14 led the Milwaukee Bucks into the NBA Cup final, where they will face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the title.
The Greek star scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 110-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks, while Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 32 points to lead the Thunder over Houston 111-96 in the semi-finals in Las Vegas.
The Bucks and the Thunder will meet for the crown on Dec 17.
“I just wanted to be aggressive through all the ups and downs, highs and lows, and it paid off,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Hopefully we can do the same thing on Tuesday.
“If we play defence, we give ourselves a chance every night. We just have to play hard, play together and have fun.”
National Basketball Association scoring leader Antetokounmpo also added nine assists, four blocks and a steal, while shooting 10 of 15 from the floor and 12 of 18 from the free-throw line.
“We got stops. That was the most important thing,” he said. “They were feeling comfortable, getting to their spots. But we were able to disrupt their offence.
“We were moving the ball, playing team basketball, getting to our spots, knocking down a few shots down the stretch. That’s why we were able to get the win.”
The Bucks also had 25 points from Damian Lillard and 16 more from Brook Lopez, while Trae Young led Atlanta with 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
“I didn’t force it because Giannis was getting downhill early,” Lillard said.
“I was moving the ball, they were giving me a lot of attention and guys were getting open looks. I knew eventually I’d get opportunities and they would go in, and they did.”
The Bucks, who had an unbeaten run to the semi-finals of the inaugural in-season tournament before losing to the Indiana Pacers, were the only team to make a return trip to the last four this term.
“This was a big game. Redeem ourselves for last year against this great Atlanta team,” Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton said.
“It was a back-and-forth game. To get a win after a tough tournament and close it out the way we did was great.”
They were inspired by Antetokounmpo and his hunger after the heartbreak in 2023.
“Enjoy the game, take it a possession at a time and win the game. That’s it,” Antetokounmpo said on what he told his teammates. “If we compete, we’ll win the game.”
He added: “We trust one another. We play together. There’s no more hero ball.
“In the beginning of the season we tried to do it by ourselves. It had a bad effect on the team. We figured out we have to compete as a team, move the ball as a team, compete together.
“We’ve changed our season around, but we’ve got to keep going. The job is not done so far. We’ve got to keep playing together and hope we get better.”
Two Jalen Johnson dunks late in the third quarter gave the Hawks an 83-82 lead entering the fourth.
The game stayed on a knife’s edge until Antetokounmpo had six points in a 7-1 Bucks run for a 103-96 lead with 3min 13sec to play.
Young answered with two free throws and a jumper, but Lopez scored to give Milwaukee a 105-100 edge and Lillard’s floater from the free-throw line sealed Atlanta’s fate.
In the other game, Gilgeous-Alexander shot eight of 21 from the floor, two of six from three-point range, sank 14 of 15 free throws and added eight rebounds, six assists and five steals to spark Oklahoma City in their win over the Rockets.
“We stayed with our principles,” he said. “We knew we would be able to get enough shots and kick it. We focused on that the whole night to give ourselves a chance and that’s what happened.” AFP
