Oklahoma
Milwaukee vs. Oklahoma City LIVE: Will youth crush experience in NBA Cup finale? | Marca
The stage is set for an epic clash in the Emirates NBA Cup final as the veteran Milwaukee Bucks face off against the rising Oklahoma City Thunder. This Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena, it’s experience versus exuberance, championship pedigree against youthful hunger, with a trophy and serious cash on the line.
The Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, bring a wealth of experience to the table, boasting All-Stars and NBA championship rings. However, the Thunder, spearheaded by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are a force to be reckoned with, on pace for a second consecutive Western Conference No. 1 seed.
While some might frame this as a battle of old versus young, both teams are dismissing the narrative. “It just comes down to one game and that’s it,” Lillard stated. “I don’t think nobody, at least with us, is looking at it like, ‘Oh, we old and all that and they young.’”
Gilgeous-Alexander echoed this sentiment, stating his focus is on dominating every opponent, regardless of their experience. “To be completely honest with you, I don’t differentiate games on who I play against,” he said. “If we play the worst team in the league, the best team in the league, I’m trying to take their head off.”
Oklahoma City’s run in the Cup
Both teams enter the final as two of the league’s hottest, boasting 12-3 records in their last 15 games. This high-stakes matchup not only offers a hefty payday–$205,988 per player for the losers and a whopping $514,971 for the winners–but also a crucial test of their mettle.
The Thunder’s Cup run has mirrored their regular season success. They dominated their group, overcoming the Lakers, Jazz, and a weakened Suns. They continued their impressive form in the knockout rounds with wins over Dallas and Houston, demonstrating resilience even in the absence of Chet Holmgren. They are 12-3 without Holmgren after going 8-2 with him.
Milwaukee’s run in the Cup
The Cup has been a turning point for the Bucks, who used the tournament to reignite their season after a rocky 2-8 start. Improved shooting and more aggressive defense have propelled them to impressive rankings in offensive and defensive efficiency during Cup play. The return of Khris Middleton adds another layer of intrigue.
With both Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander in contention for both the Kia MVP and the tournament MVP, this final is poised to be an instant classic. Who will emerge victorious? Will experience prevail, or will youth reign supreme?
Bucks vs. Thunder showdown: First-time NBA Cup clash too close to call
The highly anticipated Emirates NBA Cup final is finally here, and predicting the winner is proving impossible. For the first time this season, the veteran Milwaukee Bucks will square off against the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
This is the teams’ first meeting of the season, with their two regular-season games scheduled for February 3 in OKC and March 16 in Milwaukee. Last season, the teams split their two matchups, with the most recent coming on April 12, when the Bucks fell to OKC while missing their superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
Despite the Bucks’ pedigree, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault believes a loss earlier in 2023 proved pivotal for his rising team.
Reflecting on their March 24 defeat in Milwaukee, Daigneault said, “They really took it to us, and it was a great game for us. It was like water in the face for us. … It really informed us [of] the level of physicality, focus, everything you need to win against a good team.”
Lillard is the Bucks’ X factor
Both squads enter the final riding hot streaks. The Bucks have been closing out tight games behind their superstar duo of Antetokounmpo and Lillard, while the Thunder are firing on all cylinders with breakout performances from their young core.
Lillard remains Milwaukee’s X-factor, capable of dominating the scoreboard, while OKC’s forward Jalen Williams has drawn comparisons to a young Scottie Pippen for his versatility and clutch play.
Milwaukee dominates the deep game
One key stat could tip the scales: Milwaukee thrives from behind the arc, boasting a deadly 38.9% three-point shooting percentage. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City allows opponents to take 44.6% of their shots from deep — a troubling sign if the Bucks get hot from long range.
Oddsmakers give OKC a slight edge as 4.5-point favorites, but in a matchup this close, it could all come down to who catches fire on the night. One thing’s for sure — this NBA Cup final is shaping up to be a thriller.
Kamden Mantooth caps wild week by leading Mustang to 6A baseball title
It was a wild week for Kamden Mantooth, who helped Mustang beat Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 for the 6A baseball title. After being forced to sit in the semifinals due to an ejection in the quarterfinals, he pitched 5 2/3 innings Saturday.
Joe Patterson was hoping it would be different this time.
The Mustang baseball coach is no stranger to state championship games.
But as Mustang headed into its Class 6A title matchup against Edmond Santa Fe in May, a state championship victory remained a goal that hadn’t been fulfilled for Patterson as a player or head coach.
“That was all together — playing and coaching — my (sixth) state championship game, and I was 0-5,” Patterson said.
Patterson can now revise that record to 1-5 as the Broncos beat defending champion Edmond Santa Fe 5-4 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
An unforgettable day for Patterson.
An unforgettable season.
After leading Mustang to its third title and a 39-6 record while playing a brutally difficult schedule, Patterson is The Oklahoman’s 2026 All-State Coach of the Year.
“It was one of those years where it felt like I wasn’t working the whole year,” Patterson said. “Just a special group and everybody involved did such an amazing job and the players got along and the senior leadership was just unbelievable.”
A year after going 19-16 and falling at regionals, this season was vastly different for Patterson as Mustang dominated from beginning to end.
The Broncos won 11 of their first 12 games and ended the season the exact same way, claiming victories in 11 of their last 12 matchups.
They thrived in tight games, going 12-3 in matchups decided by two or fewer runs.
“We lost a bunch of close games last year,” Patterson said. “We didn’t have as great a season as we wanted, so we talked about trying to change the team morale and change the culture just a little bit in the fall, and we really focused on that. Just trying to make the place a more positive place for the kids and emphasize them having a little bit more fun but still working.”
Born and raised in Duncan, Patterson’s love of baseball and sports in general go back to those days.
His dad, Bill, was Duncan’s head football coach from 1997-2003 before accepting an assistant position at Owasso and serving as the Rams’ head coach from 2007-2016.
A standout in football and baseball in high school, Joe Patterson was at Duncan as a freshman and sophomore before spending his final two years at Owasso and then playing college baseball from 2007-2010. He went to Oral Roberts for one year, Seminole State for a season and Texas A&M for his final two.
Patterson was named the national junior college player of the year at Seminole State and had a successful stint at Texas A&M, hitting .362 with 21 homers and 100 RBIs with the Aggies.
He’s been at Mustang since the summer of 2019 after coaching at Westmoore.
Former OU shortstop Brandon Zaragoza played for Patterson during his senior year at Westmoore and was a Mustang assistant for the last four seasons before recently being named Westmoore’s new head coach.
Patterson has had a huge impact on Zaragoza, who will take what he’s learned from his former coach into his new gig.
“He just brought pure joy to the game for me, especially with just his ability to, one, obviously coach the game, but two, to allow his players to go out there and perform,” Zaragoza said. “The coolest thing about Pat was his ability to just pick up on player knowledge. Just kind of knowing what he has in terms of personnel and then of course his ability to just game plan, strategize, just get his guys ready to play.”
Patterson always wanted to coach at a one-high school town like Mustang.
He has his wish now, and Zaragoza says it’s a well-oiled machine.
“That’s kind of how I describe it a lot to people,” Zaragoza said. “Just a well-oiled machine in terms of just the coaches that are over there and the attention to detail and the preparation. There’s no loose ends at Mustang. And given how big the school is, you can always get kind of lost in personnel or all that stuff, but just the way that Mustang operates, it’s top tier.”
Mustang didn’t necessarily have big names this season like some teams in the state, but the Broncos had several guys who shined.
Outfielder and Northern Oklahoma College-Enid signee Nate Sutton hit .449 with 15 homers and 70 RBIs.
Fellow senior Kamden Mantooth was second on the team with a .442 batting average. A shortstop, Mantooth started at pitcher in the title game and held Edmond Santa Fe to eight hits and four runs — three earned — over 5 2/3 innings.
“It means everything for us,” Mantooth said after the championship win. “We’ve been working for this since we were in seventh grade. We’ve been working for this, and we finally achieved our goal that we wanted.”
For Patterson, it’ll forever be a special moment as he had his 6-year-old son with him in the dugout and his dad watching from the stands.
Patterson had lost two title games as a player at Owasso and three as a head coach — two at Westmoore and one at Mustang.
The outcome was different this time, and it was well worth the wait.
“It was just a feeling of relief and happiness,” Patterson said.
Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @nicksardis. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
Crews responded to a fireworks stand after it caught fire in Broken Arrow Saturday night.
Authorities urged people to avoid E. Kanosha Street near S. 236th E. Avenue as the road is closed and fireworks could spread in the area due to the fire.
Broken Arrow Fire Department released a statement confirming no injuries were sustained as a result of the explosions or fire.
Fire crews quickly controlled the fire in about 20 minutes according to Broken Arrow Fire Department.
The initial cause of the fire is under investigation.
Viewer Leslie Maxey, who lives close to the fireworks stand, sent in video of the ongoing fire.
“We were putting our daughter to bed with a book when we heard an explosion that was gradually getting louder and louder,” Maxey said.
This is a developing story.
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
-
Arkansas5 minutes agoWashington isn’t watching Arkansas? Pete Buttigieg says it should be.
-
California12 minutes agoIs California home insurance cheap, considering the risks?
-
Colorado15 minutes ago1 injured in shooting outside Colorado Springs nightclub; suspect sought
-
Connecticut20 minutes agoStrong Storm Emerges For Northern Connecticut: Here’s When, What To Know
-
Delaware27 minutes agoModest Delaware Home Boasts Incredible Connections to American History Over 250 Years
-
Florida30 minutes ago8 Best Small Towns On Florida’s Emerald Coast For A Crowd-Free Summer
-
Idaho35 minutes agoRenewing a Sanctuary for Salmon and People
-
Georgia35 minutes agoGeorgia football trying to flip Grayson CB recruit
