Following Saturday’s Emirates NBA Cup semifinal matchup between the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s been made clear there’s a new dynamic duo in the NBA.
Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard put together a masterclass two-man game late in the stretch to come up with a huge 110-102 win to compete for the title on Tuesday. This is great news for Bucks fans, especially after the rocky 2-8 start Milwaukee underwent at the beginning of the season.
Both players carried the Bucks to victory with Antetokounmpo finishing with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists against the Hawks, Lillard finished the game equally as important with 25 points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
There have now been a number of instances where both Lillard and Antetokounmpo both come up big late in the stretch, and it’s working for this team.
Following the Bucks win on Saturday, Lillard broke down the ins and outs of the offensive game plan between himself and backcourt mate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“They are one of the fastest teams in the league. A lot of times, teams that play at that pace offensively, they struggle to get back when the ball is going the other way. That is why we found success pushing the ball the other way,” Lillard said regarding the Hawks’ first-half pace. “As the game went on, it becomes a game where execution matters. You don’t want to be rushing through possessions. You want to make them defend to where it works in your favor.
“That is what we did. We went to that two-man game with me and Giannis on the clear side, so we had space, and there were no extra defenders there. We had Brook [Lopez] in the paint, so when they rotated to Giannis early, we had that high-low working.”
The Hawks struggled late in the fourth quarter to pick apart Lillard and Antetokounmpo’s two-man game. In fact, the final 16 points from Milwaukee resulted from some form of a pick-and-roll at the top of the key. Either Lillard and Antetokounmpo scored or took a trip to the free throw line, or they found an open Brook Lopez while the Hawks were out of position on defense. Textbook offense.
Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo says all around the team just looks and feels more comfortable right now. As the chemistry on the Bucks continues to develop, they could ideally continue climbing the ranks in the East.
More Bucks: Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo Reveals Biggest Reason For Season Turnaround
Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)
MILWAUKEE – Three people were injured in separate shootings in Milwaukee early Sunday morning, Dec. 15.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, just after midnight, two people were shot.
The 63-year-old and the 38year-old were taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
At about 3:08 a.m., a 17-year-old was shot and went to the hospital for treatment of injuries.
Anyone with information on any of these shootings is asked to contact Milwaukee Police at 414-935-7360 or to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-Tips or use the P3 Tips app.
It will be the Milwaukee Bucks against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup championship game.
The top seeds from the East and West both enjoyed semifinal wins on Saturday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the Bucks to a win over the Atlanta Hawks and the Thunder outlasting the Houston Rockets in a clash of defensive-minded squads.
The championship is scheduled for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Las Vegas, with a prize pool of more than $500,000 per player up for grabs. The game will not count for regular season standings or stats.
The No. 1 NBA team in defensive rating is the Thunder. The No. 2 NBA team in defensive rating is the Rockets.
They certainly looked the part at T-Mobile Arena. It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Thunder will take it after outlasting Houston in a 111-96 win.
The first half was slow in particular, which ended with the Rockets up 42-41 and both teams shooting below 33% from the field. It was OKC that woke up first, taking a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and eventually expanding it to 15 points.
The defensive intensity didn’t stop Shai Gilegous-Alexander from hitting 32 points, his 13th 30-point game of the season, plus eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Jalen Williams also contributed at least 19 points each, with Hartenstein getting the better of Rockets standout big man Alperen Şengün (13 points on 6-of-16 shooting, four turnovers, five fouls).
Antetokounmpo finished just shy of a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the win. He shot 10-of-15 from the field, too. Damian Lillard wasn’t far behind with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, though he went just 5-of-14 from behind the arc.
Trae Young did everything possible to keep the Hawks in it in the third quarter after a tight opening half in Las Vegas. He shot 6-of-7 from the field in the period and put the Hawks in the lead entering the final period.
Finally, though, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks surged ahead down the stretch. They mounted a quick 7-1 run late in the fourth quarter, powered by three short buckets from Antetokounmpo, to finally separate from the Hawks. Antetokounmpo sealed the deal in the final minutes, too, with a wild block on Clint Capela at the rim to break up an alley-oop.
Young led the Hawks with a near-triple-double of his own. He finished with 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Atlanta, which dropped to 14-13 on the season with the loss. Jalen Johnson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and De’Andre Hunter added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Here’s how it all went down at Yahoo Sports:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER55 updates
Among concerns the league has a competition problem, the veteran coach made his stance known after the Bucks advanced past the Hawks to the NBA Cup final: “There’s nothing wrong with saying you want to win something.”
The Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks are getting set to tip off in Las Vegas for their NBA Cup Semifinal game and both teams just revealed their starting lineups for the game.
Hawks:
G- Trae Young
G – Dyson Daniels
F – Zaccharie Risacher
F – Jalen Johnson
C – Clint Capela
Bucks
G-Damian Lillard
G- Andre Jackson Jr
F- Taurean Prince
F- Giannis Antetokounmpo
C- Brook Lopez
The Atlanta Hawks are the talk of the NBA right now. They have won seven of their last eight games, which have included two wins over the Knicks, one being in the NBA Cup Quarterfinal on Wednesday, a road win in Boston, two wins over the Cavaliers, and a win over the Lakers. They face the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow afternoon in the biggest game of their season and with a win they would clinch a spot in the NBA Cup Finals on Tuesday against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Houston Rockets. This is a young team that is playing team basketball right now and they are catching the eye of everyone around the NBA, including a lot of national media. If they win today, that will continue.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Hawks are 8th in the NBA in PPG, 18in FG%, 19th in 3PA, 24th in 3P%, 6th in FTA, 23rd in turnovers, and 4th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 16th in points per 100 possessions, 21st in effective field goal percentage, 20th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 14th in free throw rate.
Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 19th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in three-point attempts allowed, and 30th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 14th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 25th in effective field goal percentage allowed. The Hawks’ defense was fantastic against the Knicks on Wednesday, but they will certainly have a tough time tonight against Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Hawks don’t have a real answer for Giannis and and that could be the biggest mismatch in the game.
Milwaukee is currently 13th in PPG, 7th in FG%, 16th in 3PA, 3rd in 3P%, 10th in FTA, 22nd in rebounding, and 12th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Bucks are 10th in points per 100 possessions, 3rd in effective field goal percentage, 9th in turnover percentage, 30th in offensive rebounding percentage, and12th in free throw rate.
Defensively, the Bucks rank 13th in PPG allowed, 6th in FG% allowed, 20th in 3PA allowed, and 16th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Milwaukee is 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 8th in effective field goal percentage.
Trae Young has stepped up whenever the lights are brightest and the Hawks will need him today. He only had 17 points and seven assists in the last game, but lower scoring games have been common for him this season. Milwaukee does not have an elite defense and Young can find mismatches against them.
Dyson Daniels only had nine points in the last game vs the Bucks, but he could be the most inmportant player on the floor for Atlanta. Daniels is going to be tasked with guarding Damian Lillard and he will have to prevent him from getting hot scoring the basketball. Giannis is tough enough to deal with, but if Lillard gets going as well, they are tough to beat.
Zaccharie Risacher had a pretty solid game against Milwaukee 12 days ago, scoring 12 points and hittiing 2-4 three point attempts. His length and versatility is going to be valuable in helping guard Giannis in this game and Risacher can be disruptive.
Jalen Johnson has been introducing himself on the big stage this year and Wednesday was no exception. Johnson was awesome against the Knicks and continued to play at an All-Star level. He was able to score 23 points and grab 13 rebounds in the last game vs Milwaukee and I think he is ready for another big performance.
The Bucks are not a great rebounding team and that could mean big games from Clint Capela, who is in the midst of a nice season. Capela had 17 rebounds in the last game vs Milwaukee, but he was not the only center that had a nice game. Onyeka Okongwu had 13 points and six rebounds, but played some great defense against Giannis. He has had good defensive performances vs Antetokounmpo before and that is something to monitor.
The Hawks bench is one of the best in the NBA and they hold a massive advantage over the Bucks. De’Andre Hunter is playing at a high level right now and Bogdan Bogdaovic was 3-5 from three in the last meeting. Hunter, Bogdanovic, and Okongwu are a great trio off the bench, but who will be the 9th man? Lately it has been VIt Krejci and that is what I expect tonight.
One thing Milwaukee is likely to have in this game that they didn’t last time is Khris Middleton. Hawks fans don’t need to be reminded of what Middleton can do when healthy and he could make a big impact in the game.
The keys to the game are similar to the last time these two teams played. Don’t let MIlwaukee get hot from three (they are 3rd in 3p%), don’t let Giannis dominate and dictate the game, win the turnover battle (Bucks had 18 turnovers to Atlanta’s 11 last time), and dominate the glass. Do those things and an NBA Cup Finals appearance will likely be on the way.
Hawks vs Bucks: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Today’s NBA Cup Game
Knicks Superstar Responds To Trae Young’s Dice Rolling Celebration On New York’s Logo
Trae Young’s Viral Celebration At End Of Hawks Upset Win Over the Knicks Had The NBA World Buzzing
Struggling to hear TV dialogue? Try these simple fixes
OpenAI's controversial Sora is finally launching today. Will it truly disrupt Hollywood?
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25782636/247422_ChatGPT_anniversary_CVirginia.jpg "Inside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT")
Inside the launch — and future — of ChatGPT
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25789444/1258459915.jpg "OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change")
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
Conservative group debuts major ad buy in key senators' states as 'soft appeal' for Hegseth, Gabbard, Patel
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25546252/STK169_Mark_Zuckerburg_CVIRGINIA_D.jpg "Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit")
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
