Bucks and Thunder, to the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas

The two teams that will star have already been defined the end of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas: Milwaukee Buckswho defeated 110-102 Atlanta Hawksand Oklahoma City Thunderwho beat 111-96 against Houston Rockets.

The Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo, with a double-double of 32 points and 13 rebounds, led the Milwaukee Bucks this Saturday to a difficult 110-102 victory against the Atlanta Hawks at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and sent his team to the NBA Cup final.

In the first semifinal of the NBA Cup, the Bucks needed to work until the end to knock down the in-form Hawks, who gave up despite Trae Young’s 35 points and 10 assists.

Doc Rivers’ team, which last year had lost against the Indiana Pacers at this point in the tournament, could also count on 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists from Damian Lillard.

Antetokounmpo almost reached the triple-double, adding 9 assists to his 32 points and 13 rebounds, with 10 of 15 shooting from the field. The Greek also managed 4 blocks in his great game.

The Hawks, who had eliminated the New York Knicks in the quarterfinals, fell with honor to the Bucks.

Young finished the game with 35 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists. His great performance, together with that of Jalen Johnson, with 15 points and 10 rebounds, excited the Hawks and allowed them to take advantage into the final period.

Everything was decided in the last 12 minutes and at that moment the Bucks’ superior experience emerged. Although Young continued scoring at a high pace, Antetokounmpo scored 10 points and captured 5 key rebounds for Milwaukee to step on the accelerator.

A wonderful jumper with 3 minutes left made it 103-96 and brought the Bucks closer to victory. Dame Lillard, with another great personal play with 23 seconds left, put the virtual sentence and sent the Bucks to the final.

Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Houston Rockets 111-96 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to fly to the NBA Cup final, where they will face the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Thunder broke down the wall of the Rockets, one of the most defensively aggressive franchises in the NBA, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, protagonist with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.

Gilgeous-Alexander managed to leave his mark on the game despite the fierce defense of Dillon Brooks, who tried his best to limit his movements.

For the Thunder, who are still without an injured Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort shone with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 key three-pointers for OKC to step on the accelerator in the second half.

The Rockets said goodbye to the NBA Cup on a night in which they did not exceed 36.5% shooting from the field. Amen Thompson was their leading scorer with 19 points.

Six players from the Texans, coached by Ime Udoka, finished in double figures, but that was not enough to contain the Thunder’s talent.

The Turkish Alperen Sengun, despite his double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, failed to be dominant as he had shown in his recent performances: 9 of his 13 points came in the fourth quarter.

Dillon Brooks scored 14 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and hit 4 triples.