Bucks trample Magic, advance to NBA Cup semi-finals

MILWAUKEE: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard showed out against the Orlando Magic, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to securing a semi-final spot in the NBA Cup.

Giannis scored 27 points on a great efficiency of 62.5 per cent, hitting 15 of his 24 shots. Lillard was similarly impressive, scoring 28 points on a 53.3 per cent clip, hitting 8 of his 15 shots.

Orlando would take an early lead in the first and extend it further early in the second as Moritz Wagner hit a jump shot from beyond the arc, putting the Magic up by 11. He would score six more points in the first two minutes. But, Bobby Portis would stop the Magic from pulling too far ahead, as scoring seven points of his own in the early moments of the frame. Portis would hit two jump shots later in the second to level the score at 47 each, before Lillard would drive into the paint and score a lay-up to put the Bucks up by two.

However, the Magic’s Jalen Suggs, who ended the game with an incredible 32 points, would hit turnaround fadeaway and a three-point jump shot not long after, to regain the lead. Giannis would then take things into his own hands. He would score 10 points in the last 3:30 seconds, with the last bucket being an alley-oop dunk that Lillard assisted on. The Bucks would end the quarter leading by one.

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A jump shot from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a layup from Goga Bitadze, and a three pointer from Suggs, would put Orlando back up by six early in the third. But, the Bucks would end the quarter ahead by eight, thanks to 12 points in the quarter from Giannis.

The fourth quarter would be hotly contested. With less than four minutes left in the quarter, the Bucks would lead by three Giannis casually dunked the ball. Suggs would then hit a deep three from the top of the key to level the score 100 each. The Magic’s leading scorer would hit two more shots, while Lillard and Giannis made a few three throws.

With less than a minute left, Lillard would take over, hitting a three pointer from the left wing, followed by a driving dunk, and four free throws to help the Bucks close out the game, 114-109.

The Milwaukee Bucks will now face the winner of Wednesday night’s matchup between the New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks.

KNICKS AND HAWKS

The Bucks have faced the Knicks just once this season on November 8. Milwaukee lost by 22 points, as both Giannis and Lillard struggled to keep up with Karl Anthony Towns, who scored 32 points.

The Bucks also lost to the Hawks earlier this month by 15 points in a game that saw the two Milwaukee stars struggle to find any help from their supporting cast.

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The Bucks will be in for a tough match no matter who they face, but they may prefer to play the Hawks who are currently below them at seventh in the eastern conference, while the Knicks sit at fourth.