The Milwaukee Bucks Win the NBA Cup

The Milwaukee Bucks have defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas to become the 2024 NBA Cup champions. The game was evenly poised at halftime, with the Bucks holding a narrow 51-50 lead, but they ran riot as the game wore on and ultimately emerged 97-81 winners.

Having lost 119-128 to the Indiana Pacers in the inaugural NBA Cup, the Milwaukee Bucks were determined to make amends in the 2024 edition. Having emerged from their group with a 100% record, defeating the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors, the Bucks faced Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals. A 114-109 victory set a semifinal clash with the Atlanta Hawks, which they won 110-102. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the team with the best record (20-5) in the Western Conference, awaited the Bucks in the 2024 NBA Cup Final.

Thunder Fails to Live Up To The Hype

The Thunder went into the final as the favorite to win the 2024 NBA Cup due to their impressive regular-season form, but the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo had other ideas. Whether you play the best mobile basketball games for Android, are a die-hard Bucks fan, or enjoy watching the NBA, there’s no denying that Antetokounmpo is a monster of a player. The 6ft 11in, 243-pound superstar shone brightly through the tournament but arguably saved his best performance for the biggest stage.

Having scored at least 99 points in every game this season, the Thunder went into the NBA Cup FInal brimming with confidence. It was difficult to split the teams by halftime, with the Bucks enjoying a 51-50 lead. However, a 19-5 Milwaukee run in the second half turned the fixture into a 19-point game early in the fourth, and the Bucks kept control until the final buzzer. The Bucks became only the second NBA Cup champions and the first team to stifle the blistering Thunder offense.

The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 21 points in the final, admitted that his team’s shooting was poor. However, he refused to use that as the reason for the Thunder being outclassed.

“We didn’t shoot well, but that’s never an excuse. We’ve shot bad and won games before, so that’s not an excuse.”

Antetokounmpo Made All The Difference

The best basketball players always seem to find a way to drag their teams to victory, and Antetokounmpo did precisely that. “The Greek Freak” scored 26 of the Bucks’ 97 points, along with 19 rebounds and 10 assists; another triple-double for the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP). Throughout the knockout round, Antetokounmpo averaged 31.7 points per game. Unsurprisingly, he was crowned the 2024 NBA Cup MVP shortly after helping his team to a most impressive victory.

Speaking to ESPN shortly after lifting the NBA Cup Trophy, a delighted Antetokounmpo said about the win, “It’s great, it’s great for our team. We’re getting better. We know we’re leaving Las Vegas as a better team. I’m so proud of this group. Man, I’m so proud of this group.”

“We have to stay humble, keep on improving. We have a lot of basketball in front of us. We play Cleveland on Friday. Very, very good team. They are going to be waiting for us. Right now, emotion is at an all-time high. We have to bring it down and be humble. Once we leave here tomorrow, go back to the gym, lock in, and hopefully, we can go and get a win against the Cavs.

Antetokounmpo is again looking every inch an NBA suprstar. Through 23 regular season games, Antetokounmpo is averaging a career-best 32.7 points per game, 11.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks. The only negative you can lay at his giant feet is that he has only made 17.6% of his three-pointers this season compared to a career average of 28.5%.

While Antetokounmpo hasn’t had his three-point shooting boots on this season, his Bucks teammates did so in the NBA Cup Final. Bucks players made 17 of their 40 attempts (42.5), helped by Damian Lillard sinking five three-pointers on his way to amassing 23 points. Compare that to the woeful shooting from the arc by the Thunder, who made only five of 32 attempts (15.6%), and you can see why the overall points deficit was so substantial.

Resurgent Bucks Send a Message to the Rest of the NBA

The Bucks started the current regular season in poor form, losing eight of their opening ten fixtures. This left them languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. However, since that early blip, the Bucks have won 13 of their 16 games and, at times, look like a title-challenging team. Although the NBA Cup victory does not count toward the regular season numbers, it serves as a massive shot in the arm for the resurgent Bucks and sends a clear message to the other NBA franchises that the Bucks are back and should not be written off.

Next up for the Bucks is a trip to the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 20. The Cavs have been incredible this season and top the Eastern Conference (23-4) by 1.5 games. If the Bucks can get a result in the Cavs’ backyard, it will be difficult to see where they will slip up again before the end of the year.

After traveling to the Cavaliers, the Bucks host the Washington Wizards (December 21). They play the Chicago Bulls (12-15) twice in Chicago. On Boxing Day, they host the Brooklyn Nets (10-16) before a trip to the Indiana Pacers (12-15) rounds off 2024. There is every chance the Bucks will end the year with a 20-11 record, which would be some result considering their faltering start to the regular season campaign.