Giannis Antetokounmpo strengthened his MVP candidacy Saturday afternoon with 32 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists to lead his Milwaukee Bucks past the Atlanta Hawks, 110-102, in the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals.
Milwaukee has now won 12 of its past 15 games and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Tuesday’s NBA Cup Final. After starting the year 2-8, the Bucks are 14-11, sixth in the East and only 1.5 games back of the third-seeded New York Knicks. Saturday’s victory was all about crucial plays down the stretch from the two-time MVP, according to his head coach.
“Winning plays,” Doc Rivers told reporters postgame. “You can’t script any of that stuff before the game, but you just got to keep teaching that it just takes what it takes every night.”
The Bucks are the lone team to make the NBA Cup Semifinals each of the past two years and are 11-1 in NBA Cup games since its inception a year ago. Their best player appears ready for Tuesday’s championship showdown, given his mentality and execution on Saturday.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win a game,” Antetokounmpo said. “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.”
