By Eric Nehm, Rebecca Tauber, Tobias Bass, Anthony Slater and Fred Katz
The Atlanta Hawks joined the Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks in advancing to the NBA Cup semifinals, beating the New York Knicks, 108-100, on Wednesday night.
A day earlier, the Thunder knocked off the Dallas Mavericks, 118-104, while the Bucks topped the Orlando Magic, 114-109.
The semifinals will take place Saturday in Las Vegas. Here’s the latest and why each remaining team has a chance.
Hawks 108, Knicks 100
The Knicks led at the half but Atlanta outscored New York 34-18 in third to take a nine-point lead into the fourth. The Hawks held onto the lead thanks to star guard Trae Young, who led all scorers with 22 points to go with 11 assists and five rebounds. This was Young’s 18th double-double this season, tied for fourth in the NBA with Denver’s Nikola Jokić.
Rising star Jalen Johnson also finished with a double-double for Atlanta, chipping in 21 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
The Hawks will head to Las Vegas to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
How Hawks could win the NBA Cup
Why couldn’t the Hawks keep winning?
They’ve won seven of their past eight. Five of those victories are against winning teams. Two of them came over the league’s top squad, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Another came over the group they are set to face in the semifinal of the NBA Cup, a 119-104 slaughtering of the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Especially when the Hawks play how they have lately, this roster makes sense. Young hasn’t hit shots all season, but he’s transformed his shot profile and has been one of the game’s best passers. The role players around him can either shoot or defend — or do both. Dyson Daniels has emerged as one of the world’s scariest defenders. He consumed Jalen Brunson during the NBA Cup quarterfinal Wednesday night, when the Hawks downed the Knicks, 108-100.
Their long wings and forwards line the perimeter. It’s not just Daniels. There’s Jalen Johnson, who’s a better creator than ever, and De’Andre Hunter, who’s having a career year. There’s No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, who doesn’t yet hit 3s but is already a long, active defender.
The Hawks play fast. They hunt lobs. At times, the offense is not as high-powered as it should be. Their greatest flaw is they get ripped from beyond the 3-point arc. Especially because Young isn’t hitting jumpers this season, the Hawks offense can go stale when he does. On the other side, they allow far too many easy 3s.
But this version of the Hawks is on a heater, and it’s hoping to win its guys some money in the process. — Fred Katz, national NBA writer
Thunder 118, Mavericks 104
In Oklahoma City on Tuesday, all five starters for the Thunder scored 10-plus points, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-high 39 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Mavericks’ stars had quiet nights; Luka Dončić finished with 16 points and Kyrie Irving 17. Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall led Dallas in scoring with 19 each.
There was a moment midway through the fourth quarter when Dallas scored 12 consecutive points to cut it to eight, but OKC’s defense and role players finished the job.
The Thunder will face the winner of Wednesday night’s Houston Rockets–Golden State Warriors quarterfinal, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET.
How Thunder could win the NBA Cup
Midway through the Cup semifinals, the Thunder should be considered the slight favorite to win it all in Las Vegas next week. Of the six remaining teams, OKC, at 19-5, is having the best season. The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are already eliminated out East, and the Thunder just dismantled a Mavericks team that entered as the hottest team in the NBA, snapping a seven-game win streak.
The stat lines for the star guards: Gilgeous-Alexander finished with those 39 points on 15-of-23 shooting. Dončić had his 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. The Thunder are loaded with defensive options to throw at Dončić, starting with Lu Dort as the primary pitbull and continuing with the newly acquired Alex Caruso off the bench. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault also doubled Dončić a ton, and Isaiah Hartenstein added an extra layer of rim protection on the back end even without the injured Chet Holmgren, who watched from the sidelines with crutches while rehabbing a fractured hip.
It won’t be a simple path for the Thunder. The Warriors and Rockets delivered OKC two of its five losses this season. The Rockets have a stronger wave of athletic defenders to throw at Gilgeous-Alexander, and the Warriors employ Steph Curry, who has delivered a handful of heartbreaking shots to the Thunder franchise in his storied career. — Anthony Slater, senior NBA writer
Bucks 114, Magic 109
In Milwaukee, the Bucks and Magic traded the lead in the fourth quarter, with the game coming down to the final minute. Damian Lillard hit a 3-pointer, tying it 106-106. A layup brought the Bucks ahead, and an Orlando challenge gave Milwaukee possession of the ball; it went on to hit a series of free throws.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 37 points and had four blocks and seven rebounds. Lillard scored 28, and Bobby Portis Jr. added 22.
The Magic pushed the Bucks all game, with Jalen Suggs scoring a career-high 32. It’s worth remembering that Orlando is missing two of its best players with injuries: Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
But the Bucks will head to Las Vegas to play the Atlanta Hawks.
How Milwaukee could win the NBA Cup
Despite their rough start to the season, the Bucks are a good team. Since Nov. 1, a date that removes their terrible first five games, the Bucks are eighth in offensive rating and 16th in defensive rating, according to Cleaning the Glass.
They have the league’s top scoring duo in Antetokounmpo and Lillard. On a clunky night, Antetokounmpo still put up 37 points and seven rebounds. He is averaging a league-leading 32.7 points per game and 11.4 rebounds and six assists per game. Lillard made two clutch buckets to lead the Bucks past the Magic and is averaging 25.8 points and 7.6 assists per game. On top of that, they added Khris Middleton three games ago; he has had an instant impact in just 20 minutes per game off the bench.
But they aren’t perfect. They have already lost by double digits to both teams they could face in the semifinals, and the Hawks and Knicks have the guard play that can best stress the Milwaukee defense. Trae Young and Jalen Brunson are capable of having big nights and sending the Bucks home early. — Eric Nehm, Bucks senior writer
Required reading
- Who will win the NBA Cup? Predicting the knockout rounds and beyond
- What to know about NBA Cup 2024: Format, start dates, favorites and more
(Photo of Trae Young: Elsa / Imagn Images)
