Daily Times

A dominating performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo on Saturday led the Milwaukee Bucks into the NBA Cup final, where they will face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the title.

Greek star Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to spark the Bucks over the Atlanta Hawks 110-102 while Canadian guard Gilgeous-Alexander netted a game-high 32 points to lead the Thunder over Houston 111-96 in the semi-finals at Las Vegas. The Bucks and Thunder will meet for the crown on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

“I just wanted to be aggressive through all the ups and downs, highs and lows, and it paid off,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “Hopefully we can do the same thing on Tuesday. “If we play defense, we give ourselves a chance every night. We just have to play hard, play together and have fun.”

NBA scoring leader Antetokounmpo also added nine assists, four blocks and a steal while shooting 10-of-15 from the floor and 12-of-18 from the free-throw line.

“We got stops. That was the most important thing,” Antetokounmpo said. “They were feeling comfortable, getting to their spots. We were able to disrupt their offense. “We were moving the ball, playing team basketball, getting to our spots, knocking down a few shots down the stretch. That’s why we were able to get the win.”

The Bucks also had 25 points from Damian Lillard and 16 more from Brook Lopez while Trae Young led Atlanta with 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

“I didn’t force it because Giannis was getting downhill early,” Lillard said. “I was moving the ball, they were giving me a lot of attention and guys were getting open looks. I knew eventually I’d get opportunities and they would go in, and they did.”

The Bucks, who made an unbeaten run to last year’s inaugural semi-finals of the in-season tournament before losing to Indiana, were the only team to make a return trip to this year’s last four.

“This was a big game. Redeem ourselves for last year against this great Atlanta team,” Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton said. “It was great. It was a back and forth game but to get a win after a tough tournament and close it out the way we did was great.”