Daily Times

Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says the young team’s run to Tuesday’s NBA Cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas is a welcome chance to gain big-game experience.

“Obviously the added stakes in the game gives it a little bit of a different feel,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s good prep for postseason.

“It’s obviously heightened stakes than a regular season, 82-game season, and it’s good to get reps in games that mean a little bit more and have stakes to it.”

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points with eight rebounds and six assists as the Thunder beat the Houston Rockets in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Bucks over the Atlanta Hawks in the semis.

For the Bucks, the run to the final has been part of a resurgence in the wake of a stuttering start to the season.

They have won 10 of their last 12 games and climbed to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Tuesday’s final is the only Cup game that doesn’t count toward the regular season, but Antetokounmpo said it’s important to keep the momentum going.

“I think we are competing more,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like everybody understands in order for us to be in a game or to win a game, we’ve got to compete more.

“Early this season, I felt like we had this mindset, just because we have great talent within the team, that things don’t just happen.

“We were 2-8, and I think we came together, watched a lot of film. Had a lot of conversations, and we said, we’ve got to compete with every game we play. Win or lose we’ve got to compete. It’s got to be a close game.

“We have a lot of work to do,” he added. “We’re not at our best yet. Got to keep on improving. It’s good that we’ve played well the last couple of games but we have a lot of work to keep on doing.”