Poor OKC Shooting Performance Fuels Blowout Loss to Milwaukee in NBA Cup Final

The Thunder faced a rough shooting night at an unfortunate time, paired with the inability to stop the Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

Dec 17, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) passes against Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and guard Alex Caruso (9) during the 1st quarter of the Emirates NBA Cup championship game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

There is no doubt that the championship game of the NBA Cup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks had a big game feel. Not much went right for the Thunder in this championship battle and Oklahoma City would eventually lose 97-81 in the final of the in-season tournament.

From the start, it was clear that both teams were going to set the tone on the defensive end. For Milwaukee, shutting down OKC guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a clear emphasis. They stuck defensive guard Andre Jackson Jr. on Gilgeous-Alexander all night, who followed him everywhere he went, making it hard to get him the ball in half-court situations.

Stopping dominant Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was the challenging focus for the league-leading Thunder defense, but that didn't go as well as they would have liked.

OKC struggled from the perimeter in the first half, which was indirectly tied to the Bucks' defense. The Thunder shot 1-for-17 from three in the opening stretch of the game, equivalent to 6%. The one made shot to 17 attempts was the least three-point field goals the team had made in a half so far this season. Simply put, that just wasn't very good. That being said, Oklahoma City only trailed 51-50 at the halftime break.

Center Isaiah Hartenstein had the hot hand for OKC in the first half, scoring 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting, adding in a perfect four free throw makes to equal attempts. Hartenstein had a statistically perfect half and was a key reason for the game being close. Antetokoumpo finished the half with 14 points and star guard Damian Lillard with 13 but didn't allow much scoring outside of the star pair.

Guard Jalen Williams hit a much-needed triple to start the second half, but Lillard and Taurean Prince nailed threes of their own in the two prior possessions. Outside of Williams' triple and a midrange pull-up from Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder struggled to score to start the second half. Milwaukee, however, did not. Lillard hit two triples in the third quarter and hit a pair of technical foul free throws after guard Lu Dort was frustrated with an officiating decision. Lillard finished with 23 on the night, hitting five triples in total.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams didn't have their best games, but still led the Thunder in scoring. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 21 and Williams 18, shooting a combined 14-for-41 from the field. Hartenstein played an important role, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Oklahoma City's deficit quickly spiraled to 12 points with 5:56 left in the quarter, all thanks to the dominance of Antetokounmpo. He did everything he could, and then some for Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo finished with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists, just barely securing a triple-double. By the quarter's end, the Thunder trailed 77-64, the largest deficit of the game.

Milwaukee came out swinging to start the final quarter, seemingly unable to miss. Center Brook Lopez drilled two triples in the opening minutes and bench guard Gary Trent Jr. scored five points of his own.

The Bucks didn't have to do much to prevent the Thunder from putting points on the board, attempting three after three while seeing miss after miss. By the game's end, Oklahoma City shot 5-for-32 from the perimeter. Gilgeous-Alexander and company tried to lead an offensive surge to narrow the amount they trailed by, but shots never fell. It got to the point where OKC was missing ones it would normally make, making for a generally poor shooting night. They shot 29-for-86 from the field in total.

OKC's next matchup is on the road against the Orlando Magic at 6:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Dec. 19.

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