Darvin Ham and Taurean Prince are now undefeated in the NBA Cup.
Seven and nada, two times over.
From the bench, the former Los Angeles Lakers coach (now an assistant to Doc Rivers) and the reserve gunner helped the Milwaukee Bucks stop the Oklahoma City Thunder, as Wisconsin won its first Emirates trophy.
A year after the Lake Show won an NBA title in the Bubble, the Bucks won a championship. Now, following the Purple and Gold’s first win of what was then called the In-Season Tournament, Cream City lifts the cup like a WNBA commissioner.
Steered by a monster performance from big Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks banked more gold for their trophy room. The Greek Freak led his side like Rudolph’s sleigh this Christmas. His terrific triple-double of 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists was joined by the absolute dominance of three huge blocks.
Strapping his watch back on, his super sidekick Damian Lillard clocked “Dame Time” once more by hitting half of his shots and netting five game-changing threes (with logo-like difficulty) for 23 points and his first piece of league jewelry. Not to mention the $500K that the whole team gets to deposit into their accounts.
It looks like Giannis and Dame are finally getting their act together as the best Bucks double act since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson. Back when, ‘Cap went by the name Lew Alcindor… that’s a long time ago.
Add a third option, Khris Middleton, Sixth Man Bobby Portis, and glue guys like Brook Lopez (Milwaukee’s very own Al Horford), and the Celtics have another contender to deal with.
Perhaps it’s time to fear the deer again.
Especially with a seven-game undefeated streak, complemented by a 97‑81 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the game was held at the T-Mobile Arena, complete with its cool NBA Cup–designed court.
Time to treat this in-season tournament seriously. It’s more than the money, although that sure makes a sweet down-payment.
Winning the first official NBA Cup title, Milwaukee man-handled a Thunder team that was weathering the loss of their own big on the block, Chet Holmgren. Canadian superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shot Kobe jerseys (8 for 24), but OKC will be OK. Their future is as bright as their orange jerseys. That’s glaringly obvious.
Until then, the NBA has a new annual tradition to tide you over ’till those Christmas Day games.
‘Tis the season.
