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LAS VEGAS — The Milwaukee Bucks got off to a rough start this season with a 2-8 record, ...
LAS VEGAS — The Milwaukee Bucks got off to a rough start this season with a 2-8 record, prompting questions and concerns from fans and analysts alike. Speculation arose about potential issues within the team, including rumors of star player Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially seeking a trade. Criticism was directed towards both the Bucks organization and head coach Doc Rivers, with pundits and social media users weighing in on the team's struggles.
"Listen, outside Milwaukee, I think a lot of people was, 'What's going on?'" Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't think one person inside thought that at all. We just believed that it was going to click, it was going to happen — I would make a point of saying we assumed that. Now it is."
Now it is to the point the Bucks will be playing in the NBA Cup championship game on Tuesday.
Milwaukee won its 10th game in its last 12, knocking off the Atlanta Hawks 110-102 behind some clutch play from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was diving on the floor, hitting a key turnaround jumper, and joining Brook Lopez in a block that changed the vibe of the game.
This angle of the Giannis CLUTCH block ❌ https://t.co/p46b6N2rYP pic.twitter.com/hzGUy9tzHu
— NBA (@NBA) December 15, 2024
"You can see on that play both me and Brook went up and tried to get that block," Antetokounmpo said. "We both fell down, and that's winning plays."
Milwaukee had enough winning plays to advance to the NBA Cup championship game Tuesday in Las Vegas against the Oklahoma City vs. Houston winner.
“The job’s not done,” Antetokounmpo said.
The Hawks will head home but with lessons learned.
"I think what we have done in this Cup was really, really special, really good. I think we've really found the way we want to play and figured out the tempo we want to play at and things like that," said Trae Young, who finished with a game-high 35 points, plus 10 assists.
The Hawks didn't just struggle missing a few shots in the clutch, it was an issue all night against an improved Bucks defense. Atlanta trailed 55-49 at the half, which was closer than it should have been considering the Hawks shot 34.1% in the first half — their starters shot 7-of-24 (29.2%). Trae Young was 1-of-5 in the first half, but got to the line 11 times to cover for it.
Young turned it around in the third quarter, hitting 6-of-7 — plus he blocked a shot (yes, you read that right) — but the game remained tight, and it was 83-82 Hawks entering the fourth.
That's when the Bucks executed better. Atlanta shot 5-of-16 in the fourth quarter, while Milwaukee played not just like a team whose core has a championship ring, but also a team who was in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup final four a year ago.
"It just felt familiar," Damian Lillard said of returning to Las Vegas for the Cup. "Didn't feel like a random new thing. So I think that that would be the only thing I would say, it just felt familiar with us coming back for a second time."
Lillard finished with 25 points and, after starting 0-of-5, found his shot when it mattered. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 32 points, plus 14 rebounds and nine assists.
It all felt so much different than the opening weeks of the season.
"I think we definitely had as a team a little bit more urgency, we had to fix some things," Antetokounmpo said at the Bucks practice Wednesday of the turnaround for Milwaukee. "We had to play more team basketball. We had to compete at a higher level. We had to play, we had to create better circumstances for our teammates for them to be great."
They are doing all that and playing with a real team effort, and because of that, the Bucks will spend a couple more days in Las Vegas before playing for the NBA Cup on Tuesday.
