One Duke Basketball Pro Reaches NBA Cup Final, Two Others Eliminated

Gary Trent Jr. is set to become the second Duke basketball representative in as many years of the league's in-season title clash.

Former Duke basketball guard Gary Trent Jr. versus the Atlanta Hawks / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Duke basketball product Gary Trent Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks advanced to the second edition of the NBA Cup championship game by notching a 110-102 semifinal win over the Atlanta Hawks in Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. Granted, the 25-year-old guard, averaging single-digit points for the first time since his second season as a pro in 2019-20, was far from prolific.

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Trent finished with one point across his 22 minutes off the bench, shooting 0-for-5 from the field, including an 0-for-4 clip from deep, and 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. And the 2017-18 Blue Devil one-and-done grabbed only one rebound against the Hawks, recording no other stats except for two fouls.

Even so, the former second-round draft pick, now in his first campaign with the Bucks, managed to post a bench-high +8 plus/minus.

Milwaukee (14-11) has won 12 of 15 following its concerning 2-8 start.

As for the Hawks (14-13), with 2020-21 Duke basketball one-and-done forward Jalen Johnson now budding as a full-time starter under third-year Atlanta head coach and 58-year-old Blue Devil alum Quin Snyder, they had won six of eight. Now, they check in one spot below the Bucks at No. 7 in the Eastern Conference standings.

Johnson, taking his game to new heights this season as a double-double machine producing a career-high 19.6 points and 10.1 boards per contest, chipped in 15 and 10, along with four assists and one steal, across his 39 minutes in the loss.

Gary Trent Jr. and the Milwaukee Bucks will battle the Oklahoma City Thunder (20-5) for the NBA Cup in Vegas at 8:30 p.m. ET Tuesday (ABC).

In the inaugural NBA Cup last December, 2018-19 Duke basketball one-and-done forward Cam Reddish was in the starting lineup for the victorious Los Angeles Lakers, chipping in nine points, three rebounds, and one assist in the 123-109 win over the Indiana Pacers in T-Mobile Arena.

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