NBA Cup Final Showdown: Thunder vs. Bucks —Can Giannis and the Bucks Keep Their Hot Streak Alive?
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
The Oklahoma City Thunder will face off with the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Final Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET. Oklahoma City has been made the betting favorite at 4.5 points. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will win, of course.
History does not favor the Bucks in this case. Since 1995, the team favored by 4.5 points has won 64.8% of the time (928-505); the Oklahoma City Thunder are listed at sportsbooks as 4.5-point favorites.
But that number does not account for home-court advantage. Milwaukee may have something on its side that could level the playing field—momentum.
Milwaukee Bucks – and Giannis Antetokounmpo -- Are Coming In Hot
Milwaukee is one of two teams that made it out of the group stage undefeated, the other being the New York Knicks (who lost in the quarterfinals). But since these games are played on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout November, a winning streak can hardly be considered momentum.
However, when you factor in the Bucks’ Sunday win over the Brooklyn Nets, the Bucks have won three games in a row, heading into Tuesday’s NBA Cup Final. But any perceived momentum Milwaukee has may not be nearly as important as that of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo had arguably one of the most impressive performances of the season in Saturday night’s semifinal game against the Atlanta Hawks. He finished the night an assist short of a triple-double with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists, along with four blocks and a steal.
Antetokounmpo had this to say after the game (ESPN):
"I'll do whatever it takes to win a game. I'm happy that I did, because I feel like it translated to the whole team. You got to do whatever is necessary to close this one out. I'm just proud of my teammates. The way we started the game, we kind of set the tone that we were here to compete."
However, he isn’t just riding the momentum of one solid game into the Final. Antetokounmpo had 37 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, along with four blocks and a pair of steals in Milwaukee’s quarterfinal win over Orlando.
That game was preceded by a pair of double-doubles, one each against Brooklyn (34 points, 11 rebounds) and Boston (30 points, 11 rebounds).
NBA Cup Final: Whose Momentum is More Important?
The win is Oklahoma City’s ninth in their last ten games and fifth in a row. But can their win streak be considered momentum for one of the NBA’s best teams since the season got underway? Saturday’s win improved the Thunder to 20-5 on the season.
However, Milwaukee’s third win in a row does not put the Bucks’ momentum into its proper perspective. The win Saturday not only gives them three in a row but 12 in their last 15 since a disastrous 2-8 start to the season.
“Listen, outside Milwaukee, I think a lot of people was, ‘What’s going on?'” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said (NBC). “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, but we still got a long way to go.”
If history is any indication, the Bucks may be playing the right team. While the Thunder won the last game against the Bucks (April 12, 2024, 125-107), Milwaukee has won six of the last seven vs. Oklahoma City and eight of the last ten.
Of course, a win over the West-leading Thunder would go a long way toward proving that the Bucks’ momentum is more than just—well, momentum. It’s Milwaukee turning the corner and becoming the contender they were expected to be when the season got underway. It's all on the table tonight.
