Bucks Down Thunder to Win NBA Cup

The Milwaukee Bucks pulled away from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a low-scoring affair to win the second annual Emirates NBA Cup, 97-81, in Las Vegas Tuesday night.

The Bucks were led by their star duo of forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and former Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard. Antetokounmpo dropped a 26-point, 19-rebound, 10-assist triple-double to claim Cup MVP. Lillard produced 23 points, five 3s and four assists, as the Bucks made 17 3s as a team.

That production was more than enough to topple OKC, who didn’t score over 20 points in either quarter in the second half. The Thunder’s undoing came in a pivotal third quarter that saw the Bucks outscore OKC, 26-14. MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the only OKC player to break 20 points for the game, scoring 21 on 24 shots.

This is all to say, another storybook chapter of The Cup is in the books. The prestigious trophy and that cold-hard prize money is headed to Wisconsin. Stay tuned next year, for the next edition of this annual NBA experiment, better known as, Will People Care About This Thing? Results May Vary.