Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 factors and grabbed 14 rebounds on Saturday to spark the Milwaukee Bucks into the NBA Cup remaining with a 110-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Greek massive man additionally added 9 assists, 4 blocks and a steal whereas taking pictures 10-of-15 from the ground and 12-of-18 from the free throw line.
Milwaukee will play for the title on Tuesday in Las Vegas in opposition to Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, which beat the Houston Rockets 111-96.
“We acquired stops. That was a very powerful factor,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “They had been feeling comfy, attending to their spots. We had been in a position to disrupt their offence.
“We had been shifting the ball, taking part in crew basketball, attending to our spots, pulling down a number of pictures down the stretch. That’s why we had been in a position to get the win.”
The Bucks additionally had 25 factors from Damian Lillard and 16 extra from Brook Lopez, whereas Trae Younger led Atlanta with 35 factors, 10 assists and 7 rebounds.
The Bucks, who made an unbeaten run to final 12 months’s inaugural semifinals of the in-season event earlier than dropping to Indiana, had been the one crew to make a return journey to this 12 months’s final 4.
They had been impressed by NBA scoring chief Antetokounmpo and his starvation after final 12 months’s Cup close to miss.
“Benefit from the recreation, take it a possession at a time and win the sport. That’s it,” Antetokounmpo mentioned on what he informed his teammates. “If we compete, we’ll win the sport.”
After a 2-8 begin to the marketing campaign, the Bucks have gone 12-3 since.
“We belief each other. We play collectively. There’s no extra hero ball,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “At first of the season, we tried to do it by ourselves. It had a nasty impact on the crew. We found out we’ve got to compete as a crew, transfer the ball as a crew, and compete collectively.
“We’ve modified our season round, however we’ve acquired to maintain going. The job isn’t completed up to now. We’ve acquired to maintain taking part in collectively and hope we get higher.”
Two Jalen Johnson dunks late within the third quarter gave the Hawks an 83-82 lead coming into the fourth. Younger scored 14 factors within the third quarter, and Lillard netted 11.
The sport stayed on a knife’s edge into the ultimate minutes, however Antetokounmpo had six factors in a 7-1 Bucks run for a 103-96 lead with 3:13 to play.
Younger answered with two free throws and a jumper, however Brook Lopez scored to provide Milwaukee a 105-100 edge, and Lillard sank a driving floater from the free throw line for a 107-100 lead with 23 seconds remaining.
The Bucks drained free throws down the stretch to safe the victory.
Massive runs early
Antetokounmpo scored two fast-break layups in a 7-0 Bucks run to start out the competition, however the Hawks answered with the following seven as a part of a 21-9 run to grab the lead.
The Bucks started the second quarter with a 12-0 run for a 38-28 edge and led 55-49 at half-time.
Lillard scored 10 factors within the second quarter, whereas Antetokounmpo had 14 factors, eight rebounds and 5 assists within the first half, and Younger had 12 factors, seven rebounds and 7 assists for the Hawks within the first half.