The Milwaukee Bucks are the hottest team in the NBA.
With their NBA Cup championship – earned with a 97-81 victory Tuesday over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Cup final – the Bucks have now won 13 of their past 16 games, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard continued their stellar play.
That 2-8 start and talk of Lillard’s challenging adjustment to a new team alongside Antetokounmpo are fading in the embers of October and early November.
Antetokounmpo earned NBA Cup MVP, helping finish off the Thunder with a 26-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. He also had three blocks and two steals.
Lillard contributed 23 points.
Here are the NBA Cup winners and losers:
NBA Cup winners and losers
Winner: Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo
In six Cup games, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.8 blocks and 1.2 steals and shot 66.7% from the field.
Nikola Jokic is having a great season and almost averaging a 30-point triple-double. But no one is playing better and helping his team win right now more than the 30-year-old Antetokounmpo.
He is the NBA’s top scorer at 32.7 points per game and averages 11.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 blocks and shoots 61.4%, which would be a career high if he maintains that percentage.
A third MVP for the Bucks star is a strong possibility if he continues to play like that and the Bucks continue to win.
Loser: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s production
OKC’s MVP candidate was limited to 21 points on 8-for-24 shooting Tuesday, including 2-for-9 on 3s. The Bucks did a fantastic job, using their size to prevent Gilgeous-Alexander from controlling the game. He had just four rebounds and two assists.
“The way I felt tonight, I still got to my shot, my spot, I just didn’t make anything,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Things like that happen.”
Winner: Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo combo
They are the highest-scoring duo in the NBA at 58.4 points per game, and playing like the almost-unstoppable combination the front office anticipated when the Bucks acquired Lillard before the start of the 2023-24 season. Of Lillard’s 23 points, 15 came on 5-for-10 3-point shooting.
Lillard and Antetokounmpo playing at that level puts immense pressure on an opponent’s defense.
‘So proud of the group,’ Antetokounmpo said. ‘Everybody was extremely locked in. We came in, we were focused and played great basketball, and we were able to win this game. We had this goal as a team, and we accomplished it. … I’m so happy for Dame that we got our first trophy together. This is just the beginning. We have to keep on improving and getting better, and we will be better.’
Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks used the NBA Cup to help turn around their season after that 2-8 start. Now, can they use this success to propel them through the remainder of the season? They have moved to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings and are just 1½ games behind the New York Knicks for third place.
“I don’t think you can flush it,” Lillard said of the poor start to the season. “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. Just got off to a tough start.”
Loser: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder lost, and their offense abandoned them in the Cup final. It’s difficult to win an NBA game with 81 points. They scored just 31 points in the second half – 14 in the third quarter.
Oklahoma City is still a quality team with depth, an MVP candidate in Gilgeous-Alexander and another potential All-Star in Jalen Williams. They will get Chet Holmgren back later this season and will be a team to beat in the West playoffs.
“We didn’t score nearly enough points, especially in the second half, to give ourselves a chance to win, but we can learn from it,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We’ll move forward here.”
Winner: Milwaukee’s 3-point shooting
The Bucks were 17-for-40 on 3-pointers (42.5%) and outscored Oklahoma City 51-15 on 3s. Five Bucks made at least two 3s, and it was indicative of Milwaukee’s success from that distance this season. It is third in 3-point shooting percentage and 10th in 3s made per game this season.
Winner: Darvin Ham and Taurean Prince
Special shoutout here for Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham and Bucks reserve Taurean Prince. They are now 14-0 in NBA Cup play. Ham was 7-0 as the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach in 2023 and 7-0 as a Bucks assistant this season. Prince played for the Lakers last season and joined the Bucks for this season.
‘We brought our secret weapon,’ Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. ‘Darvin Ham is now an undefeated coach in two years in this Cup and then when I said it, TP, he was like, ‘What about me?’ ‘
Loser: Thunder’s 3-point shooting
The Thunder were a dismal 5-for-32 (15.2%): 1-for-6 in the first quarter; 0-for-11 in the second quarter; 2-for-7 in the third; and 2-for-8 in the fourth. The Thunder are an OK 3-point shooting team (19th in 3-point percentage), and that area of their game is worth monitoring. A team needs to make 3s in today’s NBA, and the Thunder are 12th in made 3s per game.
Winner: NBA Cup
Now in its second season, the NBA Cup is showing potential as a major event on the NBA calendar and momentum is building. Players want to win, and they created compelling games and matchups.
‘It’s fun playing in Vegas,’ Antetokounmpo said. ‘It’s my second year of playing in Vegas. I’ve played a couple of Summer League games, maybe 10 years ago here in Vegas. The atmosphere is incredible. I think the atmosphere in the game tonight was also very, very fun.’