Thunder and Bucks advance to NBA Cup final

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks will play the 2024 NBA Cup final on Tuesday in Las Vegas, where they beat the Houston Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks, respectively, in the semifinals on Saturday.

In the first round, Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 32 points, 9 assists and 14 rebounds in a 110-102 victory over Atlanta.

Antetokounmpo, 30, came into the game averaging 31.3 points, the fourth-best among top scorers in the NBA Cup.

Trae Young missed a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch of the game, the first on a one-on-one with Antetokounmpo and the second after a Bucks turnover. Those plays marked the way to victory for the Bucks.

Then Damian Lillard came up with a layup from the paint to push the lead to 7 points with 24 seconds on the clock.

Lillard, 34 years old and key in the quarterfinal win over Orlando, did not have his best game, shooting 38% from the field but showed up at the right time.

The Bucks clinch a berth in the final in their sixth consecutive NBA Cup victory. They dominated the group stage by winning all four of their games, knocked off the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals and today added the Hawks to the list.

A.J. Green, who played just 19 minutes for Milwaukee, has seven consecutive games with at least two 3-pointers.

Young, 26, starred for Atlanta with a double-double of 35 points and 10 assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander takes control

Later, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated Houston 111-96, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 32 points including 14 from the free-throw line.

Gilgeous-Alexander, 26 years old and one of the NBA's emerging stars, will have the opportunity to fight for his first team title.

This semifinal matchup pitted the two best defenses in the Western Conference, and that was reflected in the first quarter, in which both teams combined for 38 points, connecting on four of 22 long-range attempts.

Baskets by Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams gave the Thunder a 13-point lead with 6:01 to play, marking the way to their biggest win of the season.

The Rockets won the rebounding battle (64-55) but shot just 37% from the field, compared to Oklahoma City's 45%.

Fred VanVleet, one of the Rockets' top performers, had a night to forget from the 3-point line, missing 10 of his 11 attempts.

The NBA Cup final will be played Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.