Milwaukee Bucks Secure NBA Cup Title, Antetokounmpo Named MVP

The Milwaukee Bucks secured victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in this season’s NBA Cup final, with Giannis Antetokounmpo recording a triple-double. Damian Lillard, who joined Antetokounmpo at the Milwaukee Bucks in September 2023, was also part of the winning team. This mid-season tournament, which debuted last year, held its semi-finals and final rounds in Las Vegas. The Bucks emerged as the second champions of the event, securing a 97-81 win at the T-Mobile Arena. Antetokounmpo’s performance included 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists, leading to him being recognized as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Damian Lillard contributed 23 points for the Bucks. For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was their top scorer with 21 points, though he had a challenging shooting night, making only eight of 24 attempts, for the Western Conference-leading team. Milwaukee held a narrow lead of 51-50 at halftime and extended it to 77-64 by the start of the fourth period. Brook Lopez further widened their advantage to 86-66 with two consecutive three-point jumpers. Antetokounmpo, a two-time league MVP, expressed his satisfaction, stating, “I’m so proud of the group. Everybody was extremely locked in. We came in, we were focused, played great basketball, and we were able to win. We had this goal as a team, and we accomplished it.” The win on Tuesday marked a continuation of the Bucks’ improved performance. The 2021 NBA champions, who began the season with a 2-8 record, have now secured 13 victories in their last 16 contests. With all NBA Cup games, excluding the final, contributing to the regular-season standings, the Bucks currently hold the fifth position in the Eastern Conference with a 14-11 record. Lillard commented on their early season struggles, saying, “I wouldn’t say it completely flushes [the poor start] because we can’t get those games back. But we’ve shown the team we started the season as is not the team that we are now, and it was never who we truly were.” Jalen Williams contributed 18 points for the young Thunder squad, which leads the Western Conference with a 20-5 record. Williams further remarked, “It’s rare to have a feeling like this where it feels like the play-offs, and we’ll kind of take it and learn from it. It’s a good opportunity for every team that’s in the cup, especially us being as young as we are, to simulate being in a different city for however long and kind of having a play-off feel to it. It’s definitely good practice.”