Tension marks Bucks’ ‘Cup’ win
LAS VEGAS—Tuesday night’s championship game between Milwaukee and Oklahoma City didn’t quite have the intensity of a playoff game, but the high energy that has typified the second version of the NBA Cup was ratcheted up.
With a trophy—and a significant amount of money on the line—it was clear this was no normal mid-December game.
Even for one that doesn’t count in the standings.
“It’s closer to elevated regular season than the playoffs, in my opinion,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after his team’s 97-81 loss to the Bucks. “Time of year has to do with that. The nature of a series versus a one-and-done situation has to do with that. Playing elevated opponents with some elevated stakes, elevated distractions, is a good experience in December for our team.”
Four technical fouls were called by early in the third quarter, though none after that as the Bucks began to pull away.
The tensions began late in the first half when the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein and the Bucks’ Andre Jackson Jr. got into a minor scuffle, each drawing a technical. Hartenstein took exception to Jackson hitting teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while he was shooting.
But the most significant moment occurred early in the third quarter when Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort and Daigneault were hit with technical fouls after a scrum for a loose ball. Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard made both free throws and then a 30-foot three-pointer for five points in four seconds of game time for a 64-53 lead.
The Thunder didn’t really challenge after that.
