NBA Cup Final Game Lines: Milwaukee vs. Oklahoma City with Expert Pick and Prediction

The only game on the NBA schedule Tuesday night is the NBA Cup championship game from Las Vegas (meaning it doesn’t count in the regular-season standings)

And it could be a Finals preview of this summer as well as the Milwaukee Bucks face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are favored on the NBA Cup Final Game Lines.

How to Bet NBA Cup Final Game Lines

Moneylines: Thunder -212 vs Bucks +170
When: Tuesday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+

Milwaukee Bucks Analysis

The Bucks won their third game in a row and 12th in the past 15 on Saturday, 110-102 over Atlanta in the NBA Cup semifinals. Milwaukee led by as many as 10 points, but neither team really took control at any point in a foul-marred, poor-shooting afternoon. A Giannis Antetokounmpo jumper gave the Bucks a 103-96 advantage, which was needed as the Hawks managed to work it down to 103-100 with 2:16 left. Damian Lillard dropped in a backbreaking floater with 23.2 seconds left to give the Bucks a 107-100 lead.

Last season, the Bucks lost in the NBA Cup semifinals to Indiana and they have used that as motivation this year to improve to 11-1 all-time in the competition.

Doc Rivers

“It’s a competition, man, and you want your team to be competitive,” Bucks head coach Rivers said “You want them to – I’m not going to get on a soapbox, but I just think I’m not going to go generation. I’m trying not to. Accept the challenge, that’s all I’ve been talking about. I think we run from challenges a lot, and we talked about it; let’s accept it. Let’s put our name out there. We’re going to try to win it, and if we don’t win it, we don’t win it. But there’s nothing wrong with saying you want to win something, and if you win it, great, and if you don’t, at least you went for it.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokounmpo ended Saturday’s win with 32 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks. Despite regularly appearing on the injury report, Antetokounmpo has had a relatively healthy start to the season as he’s averaging a career-high 32.7 points and 6.1 assists. He has 23 straight games of scoring at least 20 points on 50% shooting, a career-high streak and two games shy of the NBA record. Saturday was also Giannis’ NBA-best 10th game this season with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Injury Report – Dec. 17 vs. Oklahoma City

Questionable:
Liam Robbins (Left Ankle Sprain)

Probable:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Right Patella Tendinopathy)
Damian Lillard (Right Calf Contusion)
Khris Middleton (Non-Covid Illness)

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) December 16, 2024

Damian Lillard

Lillard had 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win and has scored 25 points or more in eight of his last nine outings. Giannis and Lillard lead all NBA duos in scoring at 58.4 ppg with Giannis leading the league at 32.7 PPG. Khris Middleton was quiet with six points, four assists and three rebounds in 22 minutes. He has now played four games since returning from a lengthy injury absence, averaging 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 21.3 minutes per game.

Khris Middleton

Middleton has played no more than 23:08 in his four games but all four have been within five in the last five and he’s been on the floor down the stretch every time. The Bucks have been at their best with reserves on the floor over those four games. Middleton already has more assists to Antetokounmpo (15) in just 81 minutes together than everybody on the team except Lillard (52).

The Stats

During this run of winning 12 of 15, the Bucks rank just ninth in point differential per 100 possessions (plus-5.7), over that stretch. But 10 of the 15 games have been within five points in the last five minutes and they’ve won eight of those 10, having held their opponents to just 84 points on 95 clutch defensive possessions (88.4 per 100). Overall, Milwaukee is averaging 115.1 ppg on 48.9% shooting in the past 15 games while holding foes to 109.3 ppg on 44.3% from the field.

Oklahoma City Thunder Analysis

The Thunder advanced to the NBA Cup title game with a 111-96 win over Houston in the semifinals on Saturday, OKC’s fifth straight victory overall. Oklahoma City went on a 13-3 run to go ahead 97-82 with 4:57 left and break open what was a close game. The Thunder scored 70 points in the second half. That second-half surge enabled Oklahoma City to turn a 42-41 halftime deficit into a fairly easy victory.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 8-of-21 from the field to finish with 32 points along with eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. Gilgeous-Alexander entered averaging 30.2 points and shooting 51.5% but struggled to find his offensive game early. He found a way to get to the free throw line, making 14 of 15 to help surpass his season average. Gilgeous-Alexander is a top MVP candidate who is averaging 30.3 points on 51.0 percent shooting to go along with 5.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.0 block in 34.3 minutes of action per game.

Isaiah Hartenstein

Center Hartenstein finished with 21 points along with eight rebounds in the win. Despite missing the first month due to a hand injury, Hartenstein has been a seamless addition to the Thunder roster, providing him with the best opportunity of his young career. He has appeared in 10 games and is averaging 16.4 points on 50.5 percent shooting, including 37.8 percent from three-point range, to go along with 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.6 blocks in 26.5 minutes of action per game. He will continue to play heavy minutes with Chet Holmgren out until the New Year due to a hip injury.

Isaiah Hartenstein now with 21 points, a new career-high pic.twitter.com/vAFoQuGB5l

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2024

Jalen Williams

Williams added 20 points, five boards and five assists and is putting up career-best numbers of 21.7 points on 50.0 percent shooting, including 38.5 percent from three-point range, to go along with 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in 32.1 minutes of action per game. Williams is the only player averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game this season. The only players aged 23 or younger to do that while shooting 50% from the field for an entire season are Michael Jordan and Chris Paul.

The Possession

With the win over the Rockets, the Thunder have held their opponent under a point per possession 11 times, two more times than any other team and almost as many times as they did all of last season (13). Going back to April of 2022, the Thunder have won their last 37 games in which they’ve allowed less than a point per possession.

The Steal Stats

The Thunder are No. 1 in the NBA in net ranking (12.1) as well as tops in defensive rating (103.1). No team in NBA history has ever finished the season with more steals than turnovers. The Thunder currently sit at 304 steals and 295 turnovers. OKC also leads the NBA in steals (12.2), deflections (22.2), opponent turnovers (19.1) and points off turnovers (22.7), while ranking fourth in blocks (6.3).

OKC has three players ranking in the top 10 in steals per game: Williams (2nd, 2.0), Gilgeous-Alexander (6th, 1.9), and Cason Wallace (8th, 1.8). OKC also is making 81.0% of its attempts from the line, which ranks first in the NBA. With their wins over the Mavs and Rockets last week, the Thunder have the best record (11-4) in games played between the 17 teams currently over .500.

Bucks vs Thunder Series History

It’s the first time in the NBA Cup title game for both and marks the first of what will be three meetings this regular season, although note that Tuesday doesn’t count toward the regular season at all. Last season, they split two fairly high-scoring games with the home team winning both. But no team is truly the home club here at a neutral site in Las Vegas (technically the Thunder are the home team).

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