The Milwaukee Bucks played against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a much-anticipated NBA Cup Finals matchup on Tuesday. Interestingly, the Bucks came out victorious in this matchup against an in-form Thunder side. Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard starred for their side. However, OKC star player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander suffered a harsh night in Las Vegas.
Antetokounmpo destroyed OKC for 26/19/10 and 5 blocks and Lillard went 5-10 from beyond the arc. Only two Thunder players (Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace) shot more than 50% that evening. Rarely, SGA (21 points) had trouble going to the line (3-4 FTA) and from the field (8-24), while Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, and Isaiah Joe went 2-16 from three.
This left the fans disappointed, especially the Thunder fans to be particular. One fan wrote on X, “Free throw merchant” about SGA’s performance. With fast breaks, the Thunder swiftly dominated the scoring and took an 18–11 lead in the first quarter. But with their outstanding long-range shooting, the Bucks were able to penetrate the Thunder’s strong defensive unit inside the paint.
Free throw merchant
— Sophia (@Sophieskyblu) December 18, 2024
The match is not recognized as a regular-season loss for the Thunder, but they do lose out on the $500,000 prize money. The good times have ended. Now, what lies next for the Thunder is a piled-up fixture list. The OKC may have lost the momentum for now. However, the performance of SGA remains ridiculed online.
Fans left disappointed after witnessing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s disaster-class in NBA Cup Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder lost out on some early success this 2024-25 NBA season. Winning the NBA Cup was on the cards of the Thunder franchise as well as their star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder advanced after defeating the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets in the elimination round to take first place in Group B of the Western Conference.
However, they crumbled on the biggest stage against the Milwaukee Bucks. Fans were left disappointed with their star, Shai Gilgeous Alexander’s performance against the Bucks. One fan wrote on X, “NO FREE THROWS NO PARTY.” Many fans even trolled SGA for his poor shooting in the NBA Cup finals against the Bucks. Check out some of the reactions below:
NO FREE THROWS NO PARTY pic.twitter.com/eptPnhSygl
— BXLL (@BXLLfortune) December 18, 2024
Meet Mr. Low Leverage Man!
— TatumsWrld (@wrldoftatum) December 18, 2024
Not even in Jayson Tatum’s League
— Per Sources (@PerSources) December 18, 2024
SGA with no free throws pic.twitter.com/BGEhjgJIVC
— Derick Angelo (@jeazous) December 18, 2024
Big game dropper
— KlawedUP🦇 (@KlawedUP) December 18, 2024
Lmao typical SGA night
— Red Raider Man🌵 (@redraiderman1) December 18, 2024
Lights too bright
— Big Rome (@LONDO87540615) December 18, 2024
As for the Bucks, they have had a marvelous turnaround to their 2024-25 NBA season. After having a disastrous 2-8 start to the season, they have won the NBA Cup in style. Not only that, they sit fifth on the table in the Eastern Conference. Nevertheless, the season is far from over.
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