Bucks News: NBA Cup Opponents Revealed for Tuesday Championship Game

The Thunder and Rockets faced each other in the West semifinals Saturday.

Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) controls the ball against Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) during the third quarter in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets faced each other in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup's Western Conference semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The two top West squads were squaring off for the right to play the Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday's NBA Cup championship game.

Led by All-NBA point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexader, the Thunder blew out the Rockets by double digits, 111-96.

The MVP candidate, who will prove to be a tough cover for whichever Bucks point-of-attack defender Doc Rivers sics on him (presumably starting shooting guard Andre Jackson Jr.), led all scorers with 32 points on a fairly inefficient 8-of-21 shooting line (2-of-6 from deep) and 14-of-15 shooting from the foul line, along with eight boards, six dimes, a whopping five steals and a block.

Three other Thunder starters all scored 19 or more points: starting center Isaiah Hartenstein (21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line), power forward Jalen Williams (20 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field, 2-of-2 shooting from the free throw line), and small forward Luguentz Dort (19 points and nine rebounds).

Despited a more balanced scoring attack from Houston (six players scored in double figures), the Rockets were no match for the West's No. 1 seed. With the win, the Thunder improve to a 20-5 record on the season, while dropping the No. 3-seeded Rockets to 17-9.

Earlier in the day, Milwaukee hung on to vanquish its own semifinal opponent, the 14-13 Atlanta Hawks, in a nervy 110-102 win that saw the Bucks advance to their first championship game during the league's mid-season tournament. Eight-time All-NBA Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the batch with a game-high 32 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 12-of-18 shooting from the charity stripe, 14 rebounds, nine assists, four blocks and a steal.

Read More: Bucks Advance to NBA Cup Final After Thrilling Win Over Hawks

Bucks All-Star point guard Damian Lillard notched 25 points while shooting 8-of-21 from the field (5-of-14 from long range) and 4-of-5 from the foul line. He also chipped in seven dimes, six boards and three steals. Former three-time All-Star small forward Khris Middleton, playing just his fourth game this season off the bench, nabbed just six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the floor (1-of-5 from beyond the arc). Across 21.3 minutes a night, the 6-foot-7 Texas A&M product is averaging a scant 7.0 points on .259/.250/.917 shooting splits, 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per.

The action will tip off on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET this Tuesday, December 17.

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