Camille Naredo

Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks walks on the court during a break in the fourth quarter of the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena on December 17, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller, Getty Images/AFP 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 17: Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks walks on the court during a break in the fourth quarter of the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena on December 17, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bucks defeated the Thunder 97-81. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.   Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Ethan Miller / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

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Milwaukee Bucks v Oklahoma City Thunder: Championship - Emirates NBA Cup 2024

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1734507807628AFP__20241218__2190483487__v1__HighRes__MilwaukeeBucksVOklahomaCityThunderChampionsh.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks walks on the court during a break in the fourth quarter of the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena on December 17, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller, Getty Images/AFP "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks walks on the court during a break in the fourth quarter of the championship game of the Emirates NBA Cup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at T-Mobile Arena on December 17, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. <em>Ethan Miller, Getty Images/AFP </em></span></span></span></div><p>LOS ANGELES -- Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks silenced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half to win the second edition of the NBA Cup with a 97-81 victory in Las Vegas on Tuesday.</p><p>Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo delivered a triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists along with two steals and three blocked shots for the Bucks, who drilled 17 three-pointers to complete an unbeaten run and follow in the footsteps of the Los Angeles Lakers as in-season tournament champions.</p><p>Damian Lillard scored 23 points for the Bucks, who held the potentially explosive Thunder offense to 31 points in the second half.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s who we are,&quot; Antetokounmpo said of the Bucks&#x27; second-half dominance, which saw them push a one-point lead at halftime to as many as 20.</p><p>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points, but he connected on just eight of his 24 shots from the field, two of nine from three-point range.</p><p>The triumph was a vindication for the Bucks, who were stung by the Indiana Pacers in last year&#x27;s Cup semi-finals.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2024/12/17/thunders-gilgeous-alexander-relishes-shot-at-bucks-in-nba-cup-final-1540">READ: Thunder&#x27;s Gilgeous-Alexander relishes shot at Bucks in NBA Cup final</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2024/12/15/bucks-beat-hawks-to-reach-nba-cup-final-against-thunder-1505">READ: Bucks beat Hawks to reach NBA Cup final against Thunder</a></div><p>They were the only team from last season&#x27;s semis to make it back to the final four in Vegas, beating the Orlando Magic in the quarter-finals and dispatching Atlanta in the semis.</p><p>Their Cup success has been part of a massive turnaround after a dismal 2-8 start to the season.</p><p>They have now won 13 of their last 16 games, and Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title, indicated he considered it only a stepping stone.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s great for our team,&quot; said Antetokounmpo, who was named MVP of the tournament. &quot;The last 15 games we&#x27;ve played, we&#x27;ve competed. We&#x27;ve played team basketball.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m so proud of this group,&quot; he added. &quot;Coming out of halftime we know we have 24 minutes to go, we came out in the third quarter, we set the tone. We played great team basketball.&quot;</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Not done&#x27; -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V888zY0NNf4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span>The Bucks held the Thunder to just 14 points in the third quarter -- their lowest points total in a period this season.</div><p>&quot;Most importantly we are competing defensively,&quot; Antetokounmpo said. &quot;That&#x27;s who we are. That&#x27;s who we&#x27;re going to continue to be -- and the job&#x27;s not done.&quot;</p><p>Unlike the rest of the Cup matches, the final does not count toward the regular-season record, nor do the players&#x27; performances count in their career stats.</p><p>But the trophy does come with a financial reward with each player on the winning team set to pocket more than $514,971 -- a significant chunk of money for the younger players and lesser lights on the team.</p><p>Thunder players will take home $205,988 apiece for the runner-up finish. But they will head back to Oklahoma City disappointed with one of their worst shooting performances of the season.</p><p>&quot;We didn&#x27;t shoot it well tonight,&quot; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &quot;It&#x27;s not really an excuse. There was definitely controllables tonight we could have taken care of and we didn&#x27;t do so, and that&#x27;s why the score looked the way it does.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ve shot bad and won games before.&quot;</p><p>The Western Conference leaders -- who went 3-1 in group play before beating Dallas in the quarter-finals and Houston in the semis -- connected on just 33.7 percent of their shots from the field and made just five of 32 -- 15.6 percent -- from three-point range.</p><p>They had emerged from a fast-paced first quarter with a 28-27 lead.</p><p>The nip-and-tuck continued in the second quarter and the tension was evident when Milwaukee&#x27;s Andre Jackson Jr and Oklahoma City&#x27;s Isaiah Hartenstein received matching technicals after a heated exchange.</p><p>After a first half that featured nine lead changes the Bucks led 51-50, but Milwaukee opened the third with back-to-back three-pointers from Taurean Prince and Lillard and began to roll.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dFhB2-xP1QM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks silenced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half to win the second edition of the NBA Cup with a 97-81 victory in Las Vegas on Tuesday.</p>

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks silenced the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half to win the second edition of the NBA Cup with a 97-81 victory in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Giannis stars as Bucks beat Thunder to win NBA Cup

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Giannis stars as Bucks beat Thunder to win NBA Cup

Agence France-Presse

Published Dec 18, 2024 03:44 PM PHT

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