The Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder matched up for the NBA Emirates Cup crown for the day’s lone game in the Association. Behind the scenes, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made a couple of important announcements.
Here is a recap:
Bucks Beat Thunder, Win NBA Emirates Cup Title
From struggling early in the season to champions—NBA Emirates Cup champions, that is.
The Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday completed a most improbable turnaround, buckling a 2-8 start to the season to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder, 97-81, to win the NBA Emirates Cup at Las Vegas.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in another MVP-type performance. Damian Lillard added 23 points, while Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. each had 13.
The game was nip-and-talk in the first half, with the two teams trading leads and failing to get any separation. Milwaukee ultimately took a one-point halftime lead, 51-50, after a grueling defensive battle in the first 24 minutes.
Come the third quarter, though, the Bucks began building a more comfortable advantage, at one point unleashing a 19-5 run to build the game’s first double-digit lead. Milwaukee never looked back, holding the young Thunder to 31 measly points in the second half.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 21 points but was only 8-for-24 from the field. Isaiah Hartenstein added 16 points and 12 rebounds as he continued his strong play for the Thunder.
With the win, the Bucks net the $500,000 cash prize and become the second champ of the midseason tourney introduced in the 2023–24 NBA season.
Adam Silver Announces Change to All-Star Game
Prior to the Bucks-Thunder championship tussle, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced a seismic shift in the league’s annual All-Star Game. Instead of the usual team vs. team format, All-Star Sunday will instead be a mini-tournament featuring four teams.
The change will take effect this February at Chase Center, where this season’s All-Star festivities will take place.
Under the new format, four teams will play tourney-style, with each game a winner-take-all. The four teams will be made up of three eight-man squads (comprising the 24 All-Stars) and the winning team from the Rising Stars Challenge (the annual showcase of players in their first three years in the NBA).
This change, arguably the most drastic so far, is the league’s bid to make the All-Star Game more interesting and more competitive.
Silver Vows to Look into Increase in Three-Point Shooting
Silver also told reporters that the Association will be studying the league-wide trend of NBA teams taking more triples as well as other matters.
“The answer is yes, [we are having] many discussions about the style of basketball [being played],” Silver told reporters on the eve of Bucks-Thunder. “I would not reduce it to a so-called three-point shooting issue. I think we look more holistically at the skill level on the floor, the diversity of offense, the fan reception to the game, all of the above.
The Boston Celtics embody this three-point trend, shooting 51.1 triples a game.
However, Silver clarified that no drastic changes, like moving the three-point line, are in store at the moment.
