Tuesday night’s championship game between Milwaukee and Oklahoma City didn’t have the same intensity as a playoff game, but it had more energy than usual for the second edition of the NBA Cup.
With a trophy and a lot of money at stake, it was clear this wasn’t just another regular-season game in mid-December.
Even though it didn’t count in the standings, the game still had added significance.
“It’s closer to an elevated regular season than the playoffs, in my opinion,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after his team lost 97-81 to the Bucks.
“The time of year has to do with that. The nature of a series versus a one-and-done situation has to do with that. Playing against better teams with higher stakes and more distractions is a good experience in December for our team.”
Four technical fouls were called by early in the third quarter, but none were called after that as the Bucks started to take control and settle the game.
The tension increased late in the first half when the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein and the Bucks’ Andre Jackson Jr. had a minor scuffle, each receiving a technical foul. Hartenstein didn’t like Jackson hitting teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander below the waist while he was shooting.
Hartenstein walked toward Jackson and pointed at his face with his right index finger. Jackson slapped it away, and others stepped in to prevent things from getting worse.
“If it would’ve happened to any other teammate, I would’ve done the same thing,” Hartenstein said. “The refs didn’t call it, so I had to take it into my own hands. Maybe they didn’t see it, but I saw it.”
The most important moment came early in the third quarter when Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort and Daigneault were both called for technical fouls after a scramble for a loose ball. Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard made both free throws and then hit a 30-foot 3-pointer in just four seconds to put the Bucks up 64-53.
The Thunder didn’t really put up much of a challenge after that.
“I made my point (to the officials),” Daigneault said. “I’m not going to get too far into it. I like those guys. They did a good job. They didn’t lose it for us.”
The Bucks did plenty on their own to win, and Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said his team brought extra intensity, especially on defense.
Oklahoma City was held to its lowest point total of the season, and it wasn’t even close. The Thunder’s previous lowest point total was 83 in a win against the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 15. They entered this game averaging 115.6 points per game.
“One of the guys said yesterday all they heard was the defense of the other team,” Rivers said. “That’s all they heard for two days, and I think that bothered guys. They were very focused on keeping them to a low number.”
This is the second year the Cup has been played, and last year’s first edition, which was called the NBA In-Season Tournament, was a learning experience for many teams because the event was new.
This year, there was more intensity, which was clear not only in the final but throughout the group play and knockout stages.
“I feel that teams cared about it a little bit more,” Lillard said. “I think teams played with more pride about trying to reach Vegas and having a chance to win at the end.”
