Giannis Antetokounmpo carries Bucks past Thunder in NBA Cup final

As Giannis Antetokounmpo walked off the floor to roaring "MVP" chants with the NBA Cup firmly in the Milwaukee Bucks' grasp, there was a sense of accomplishment for a player who has already reached the pinnacle of professional basketball.

Antetokounmpo scored 26 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and dished 10 assists and to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA Cup title with a 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

"All those feelings leading up to the game, it's what makes the win even better," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm so proud of the group. Everybody was extremely locked in. We came in, we were focused, played great basketball, and we were able to win this game. We had this goal as a team, and we accomplished it."

Damian Lillard added 23 points for the Bucks.

Milwaukee become the second winner of the Cup, following the Los Angeles Lakers' championship in the inaugural tournament last season. The Tuesday victory punctuates a drastic turnaround for the Bucks, who have won 13 of their past 16 games after starting the season 2-8. The NBA Cup final doesn't count as a win in the league standings, though.

"I wouldn't say it completely flushes (the slow start) because we can't get those games back," Lillard said. "That's why it's important to not take games for granted, because you look back at the schedule and you look back at four or five games we feel like we should have won.

"I don't think you can flush it, but we've shown the team we started the season as is not the team that we are now, and it was never who we truly were."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 21 points but shot just 8-for-24 from the field, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Jalen Williams added 18 points on 8-of-20 shooting, while Isaiah Hartenstein added 16.

It was an uncharacteristically bad offensive night for Oklahoma City, defined by abysmal shooting from beyond the arc. The Thunder went 1-for-17 from 3-point range in the first half and followed that by only scoring 31 points in the second half.

"We didn't shoot it well tonight," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It's not really an excuse. There was definitely controllables tonight we could have taken care of and we didn't do so, and that's why the score looked the way it does. We've shot bad and won games before, so it's not an excuse.

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