NBA Cup Quarterfinals: Bucks and Thunder set for Vegas showdown, plus 2 more matchups tonight

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5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION

Dec. 11, 2024

Bucks Edge Magic: Giannis did work early and Dame closed to send Bucks to Emirates NBA Cup semis

Thunder Top Mavs: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and elite defense key to OKC advancing

Giannis & Shai: Two of the NBA’s elite scorers head to the Vegas spotlight

Knicks vs. Hawks: A new chapter to a growing rivalry goes down in The Garden

Rockets vs. Warriors: Two West top-five teams battle, in first elimination duel since ‘18

BUT FIRST … ⏰

The quarterfinals wrap up tonight…

Two tickets to the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals in Vegas have been punched. Two more follow tonight as the quarterfinals wrap with the Knicks hosting the Hawks (7 ET, ESPN) and the Warriors visiting the Rockets (9:30 ET, TNT).

The Emirates NBA Cup champion will be crowned in Las Vegas, following the semifinals and championship on Dec. 14 and 17, respectively. And you can be there to witness it live. Don’t miss your shot — tap here to secure your tickets now!

1. BUCKS SOLVE MAGIC LATE TO RETURN TO CUP SEMIFINALS

The Milwaukee Bucks are headed back to Las Vegas.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 65 points as the Bucks defeated the Magic 114-109 on Tuesday to become the first team to reach the NBA Cup semifinals in consecutive years. | Recap | Watch The Final 3:31

Giannis went to work early – scoring 32 of his game-high 37 points in the first three quarters, as Milwaukee built a 10-point lead.

The NBA’s leading scorer posted his 15th 30+ point game and eight 35+ point game – both top marks in the league

Giannis added seven boards, four blocks and two steals, while Bobby Portis came up big (22 pts, 10 reb) off the bench

Dame took over late, scoring 15 of his 28 points in the 4th as the Bucks eliminated a feisty Magic squad that battled to the end despite being shorthanded.

Clutch Buckets: Lillard hit a stepback 3 to tie the game with 40.6 seconds left, then threw down the go-ahead dunk with 32.6 remaining to put the Bucks up for good

Analyst Dame: Watch Lillard break down what he saw on his two clutch plays

A Big Month: Tuesday’s win was the latest moment of a remarkable season turnaround for the Bucks.

On Nov. 10, the Bucks fell to 2-8 to open the season, their worst start in over a decade, and sat in 14th place in the East

On Dec. 10, the Bucks have now gone 11-3 in their last 14 games, including 5-0 in NBA Cup play, to rise to 6th in the conference

Meanwhile, Orlando’s NBA Cup run comes to an end after another gritty performance.

The Magic made no excuses when they lost Paolo Banchero at the end of October

What did they do? They went 13-7 over the next 20 games to climb to third in the East

When Franz Wagner joined Banchero on the injured list, that resilient attitude did not change, as they went toe-to-toe with the Bucks until the final buzzer on Tuesday

Jalen Suggs followed his 26 points against Phoenix with a career-high 32 against Milwaukee, including 18 in the 4th as the Magic took a three-point lead with 1:13 before Dame took over

2. OKC BRINGING THUNDER TO VEGAS AFTER OUSTING MAVS

In May, the Mavericks ended the Thunder’s run in the NBA Playoffs.

On Tuesday, the Thunder ended the Mavs’ run in the Emirates NBA Cup.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 39 points as part of an all-around performance to lead the Thunder to a 118-104 win to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas. | Recap

SGA single-handedly outscored the Mavs’ star duo of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving (a combined 33 points) while adding eight boards, five assists, five 3s and three steals

All five OKC starters finished in double figures with Jalen Williams scoring 18 points, while Isaiah Hartenstein dropped a double-double (10 pts, 13 reb)

The Turning Point: OKC led by three at the half before outscoring Dallas 33-19 in the 3rd quarter behind SGA’s 16 points and capped off by Isaiah Joe’s buzzer-beater (see it below).

Winning With Defense: The Thunder entered Tuesday allowing the second-fewest points per game (103.8) in the NBA and finished as close to that mark as possible.

Dallas’ 104 points were the second-fewest the Mavs have scored all season

Luka and Kyrie’s 33 combined points are the second-fewest they have scored as a duo when both playing 40 minutes in a game

Who held them to fewer? OKC held the Dallas stars to a combined 27 in Game 4 of the West Semis on May 13

Steals > Turnovers: OKC posted its league-leading 13th game this season with more steals (14) than turnovers (13)

Feasting On Errors: The Thunder scored 36 points on the Mavs’ 18 turnovers – OKC’s fourth-most points off turnovers this season

SGA On Effort Plays: “Going to crash the glass offensively, boxing out, diving on loose balls…those little things you can control every night and they give you a little bit of an edge.”

Thunder Rain Down 3s: OKC made a season-high 20 3s on 50 attempts (40%). OKC is now 13-1 when shooting 36% or better from deep.

Up Next: The Thunder await the winner of tonight’s Warriors at Rockets quarterfinal to find out their opponent in the semifinals on Dec. 14. OKC is 1-1 against both teams this season.

3. ELITE SCORERS HEADED TO VEGAS SPOTLIGHT

The Emirates NBA Cup not only brings a Playoff-like intensity to regular season games early in the season. It also brings the spotlight.

With the basketball world’s attention on them, two of the game’s elite scorers delivered on Tuesday, moving two wins away from the Cup title.

Giannis Antetokounmpo: 37 points on 62.5% shooting (15-of-24)

“We have unfinished business … We are going there to win games,” said Giannis

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 39 points on 65.2% shooting (15-of-23) from the field and 55.6% (5-of-9) from three

“[The] goal is to win the tournament, we’re one step closer,” said SGA

By the end of the night, Giannis had increased his league-leading scoring average to 32.7 ppg, while SGA joined him as one of four players averaging 30+ this season at 30.2 ppg.

Scoring Paths: Giannis and Shai both sit above the rare 30+ ppg echelon, but get there in different ways.

Drives: SGA leads the NBA in points off drives at 15.5 per game – 3.1 more than any other player. Giannis ranks 10th at 10.0 ppg

Isolations: Both SGA (8.0) and Giannis (5.4) rank in the top six in isolation scoring with Giannis leading the way in FG% (54.5%) among players with 25+ attempts

At The Rim: Giannis scores more points inside the restricted area (19 ppg) than any other player does in the entire paint, including SGA, who ranks fourth in PITP (13.4)

Transition: Giannis with the ball in the open court is a scary situation for any opponent as he leads the NBA in transition points at 8.5 — on 70.8% shooting

Clutch: With the game on the line, Shai is able to create and make shots for himself, ranking fourth in clutch scoring at 4.4 ppg in seven games. Giannis ranks 19th at 3.4 ppg in 10 games

Game Recognize Game: Luka had high praise for Shai after their latest battle on Tuesday.

“He’s a great scorer, he gets his teammates involved, and a lot of times it’s hard to stop him. At some point you have to send two or three players. I mean it’s amazing to play against a guy like this.”

4. KNICKS, HAWKS ADD NBA CUP CLASH TO GROWING RIVALRY

Showdown at MSG: The No. 2 Knicks host the No. 3 Hawks tonight (7 ET, ESPN) at The Garden for a chance to reach the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.

Knicks’ Road to the Quarterfinals

Clean Sweep: The Knicks defeated the Magic in the Group Play finale to clinch East Group A at 4-0

Balance: Jalen Brunson (26.8 ppg) leads six Knicks averaging 13+ ppg in Group Play

Hawks’ Road to the Quarterfinals

Taking Down Giants: The Hawks defeated the top two teams in the East – Cleveland (21-4) and Boston (19-5) – to clinch East Group C

Dropping Dimes: Trae Young leads all players in assists during the regular season (12.2 apg) and in the NBA Cup (11.0)

3 Things to Watch

PG Battle at MSG: Young has some memorable moments at The Garden, from a pair of 40+ point games to his famous bow to the crowd during the 2021 Playoffs.

NY’s Star: Brunson quickly became a crowd favorite with clutch Playoff performances over back-to-back runs to the East Semifinals

The 3-Point Line: The Knicks rank second in 3-point shooting (39.9%), while the Hawks allow the highest 3-point percentage (38.7%) this year.

That said, the Knicks made a season-high 22 3s against Atlanta on Nov. 6, but suffered their only loss of the season when making 18+ 3s (7-1) 

Strength vs. Strength: The Hawks rank in the top six in both 2nd chance points (16.1) and fast break points (17.6).

However, the Knicks rank in the top five at limiting both of those scoring opportunities

5. ROCKETS, WARRIORS ADD TO HISTORY OF HIGH-STAKES MATCHUPS

Renewed Rivalry: During their run of five straight Finals from 2015-19, Golden State defeated Houston in the Playoffs four times, including twice in the West Finals (2015, 2018) before going on to win the title.

Fast forward to today and the Rockets (16-8, 3rd in West) have an entire new squad and coaching staff, while the Warriors (14-9, 5th) remain centered around Steph Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr. 

Thanks to the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals (9:30 ET, TNT) we see these teams in a win-or-go-home game against one another for the first time since Game 7 of the 2018 West Finals.

Rockets’ Road to the Quarterfinals

Clinched In 3: The Rockets secured their spot in the Knockouts by opening West Group A play with wins over the Clippers, Blazers and Timberwolves

2nd Place Finish: The Rockets’ loss to the Kings in the group finale dropped their point differential to +40, allowing OKC (+45) to take the No. 1 seed

Warriors’ Road to the Quarterfinals

First Ticket Punched: The Warriors were the first of the eight teams to clinch a spot in the Knockouts as they opened West Group C with wins over Dallas, Memphis and New Orleans

3rd Place Finish: The Warriors lost to the Nuggets in the group finale to drop their point differential to +8, putting them on the road in the quarterfinals

3 Things to Watch

Warriors Win Streak: Golden State has won 15 straight games over Houston – the longest active head-to-head win streak in the league.

Can the Rockets get their first win over the Warriors since Feb 20, 2020?

Or will the Warriors clinch their fifth straight season series over the Rockets tonight?

No Splash Zone? The Rockets allow the second fewest 3-pointers made (11.8 per game) and attempted (34.4), while the Warriors rank seventh in makes (15.2) and fourth in attempts (41.2).

How Even Is This Matchup? Both teams enter tonight tied in offensive rating (112.4) and both rank in the top four in defensive rating – Rockets 2nd at 105.4, Warriors 4th at 107.6.