When the Dallas Mavericks qualified last week for the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, Luka Dončić said that he liked the tournament, that he had good memories of that single-game knockout format from when he played for Real Madrid. What he will not have good memories of is his team’s elimination this Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder (118-104), in a black night for the Slovenian player. In the other quarterfinal matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks eliminated the Orlando Magic (114-109) in a game that kept the excitement going until the end. This Wednesday they will know who their rivals are in the semifinals.
Oklahoma City avenged its elimination last year in the playoffs of the NBA, when those from Dallas gave the surprise. This Tuesday, and despite not having the inches of Chet Holmgren, the home team dominated the game from the first quarter. Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his particular duel with Dončić. Both are among the best scorers in the league and are candidates for individual awards, but in Tuesday’s game the Oklahoma City player had a stellar performance and the Dallas player had a night to forget.
The Slovenian was especially bad in the first half of the game, in which not only did he not see the basket (one basket out of seven attempts, only two points), but he also lost four balls due to risking too much in the pass or getting lost. The rebounds and assists saved his face, but without his points, the Mavericks have little to do. This time they actually played better when Dončić was on the bench.
The locals escaped 32-24 in the first quarter and the Mavericks somewhat closed the gap at halftime, which was reached at 57-54, but Dallas’ collapse occurred in the third. Dončić still did not score and his scoring drought, only alleviated at the end of the quarter, allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to give their rivals a run of 33-19 that almost sealed the tie.
The Mavericks heroically tried to reduce the 17-point difference they had entering the final stretch of the game. They came within 8 points of the difference, but a streak of triples by the locals prevented there from even being any excitement. At the end of the game, Dončić made up his numbers and left with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, but a good part of the responsibility for the elimination corresponds to his bad night. He only made two of the eight three-pointers he attempted. Up front, Gilgeous-Alexander added 39 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. He hit 15 of his 23 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 three-pointers. It made a difference.
The Bucks return to Las Vegas
The Bucks are the only team that will repeat as a semifinalist with respect to the first edition of the NBA Cup, since neither the Thunder nor any of those playing this Wednesday were in Las Vegas, where the Cup is decided. Last year, those of Milwaukee fell to the Indiana Pacers; This time, they will play to reach the final against the winner of the game between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks this Wednesday.
In the duel between the Bucks and the Magic, the locals suffered until the end, even though those from Orlando went to Milwaukee without Paolo Banchero, Jonathan Isaac or Franz Wagner. The duel was resolved in the last minute, in which Damian Lillard scored no less than 9 of his 28 points. He made a three-pointer, a two-pointer and added four free throws when the Magic made desperate fouls to try for a miracle.
The one who kept the scoring pulse for Milwaukee throughout the game was their other star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek closed the game with 39 points despite not making any of the two three-pointers he attempted. Milwaukee’s other great prop was Bobby Portis, especially in the first half, while Lillard was still off. The power forward made his first seven baskets and scored 16 points in the first half. It was key to erasing the 11-point difference (25-36) that Orlando had left at the beginning of the second quarter.
The best of the visitors was Jalen Suggs, with 32 points and nine rebounds, but he left with a bad taste in his mouth after missing two triples in the last 12 seconds of the game. Orlando’s team partly paid for the poor offensive play of the third quarter, in which they scored only 13 points, but above all, they failed at the moment of truth. The match entered the last minute with an advantage in their favor (103-106), but in the final exchange of blows, they were knocked out.
This Wednesday the other two places for Saturday’s semifinals in Las Vegas are at stake. The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks. Although New York are favorites, their rivals left out the two most in-form teams of the season in the group stage: the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The winner will face the Bucks in the East final. For their part, the Houston Rockets, one of the revelation teams of the league’s start, host Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors.
