Let's take a look at what happened on Tuesday in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Here’s the NBA Daily Recap for Dec. 10, 2024, where we had only two matchups. It was a day for the NBA Cup quarterfinals, and two teams have booked their tickets to Las Vegas. Both games had a cracking finish, and we witnessed clutch-time magic from the stars. Both wild-card teams faced elimination in the quarterfinals, and we now have group winners in the NBA Cup.
Let’s walk through around the key highlights from the NBA action on Tuesday night.
Milwaukee Bucks are Las Vegas bound for the second straight year after beating Orlando Magic 114-109 in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. 2-time MVP holder Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points and six rebounds, while Damian Lillard added 28 points. Booby Portis Jr had 22 points and ten rebounds off the bench.
Bucks are 9-2 in the last 11 games after improving from 5-9 in the regular season. Jelen Suggs led the Magic with a career-high 32 points and 9 rebounds but missed a game-tying shot which proved to be decisive. Anthony Black and Mortiz Wagner chipped in double figures off the bench.
Magic were off to a great start with a 33-25 lead in the first quarter but the Bucks responded with a 35-26 score in the second quarter. Both teams had an intense game in the third. Orlando had a 7-0 run to take a 6-point edge, but Antetokounmpo’s dunk broke the lead with 5 minutes to play. A 10-2 run helped the Bucks to take an 8-point lead heading into the final stanza.
The final quarter was more intense, and it showed a great game of basketball. Jalen Sugges’s three-pointer with three minutes in the game helped Magic to break the lead. With 52 seconds to play, both teams were tied on 106 points. Lillard’s two free throws in the last two seconds helped the Bucks to gain a crucial 5-point lead, and the Bucks earned the ticket of Vegas.
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Oklahoma City Thunder handed a shock to the Dallas Mavericks, who entered as a wild-card team i this game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 39 points while Isaiah Hartenstein added a double-double with 10 points and 13 assists. Jalen Williams chipped in 18 points while Luguentz Dort and Wallace had 11 points apiece.
With this win, Thunder avenged last year’s Western Conference Semifinal defeat. Dallas Mavericks also snapped a 7-game winning streak with an NBA Cup exit. Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall each scored 19 points for the Mavericks. Kyle Irving added 17 points while Luka Donic had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Thunder made a solid start with an 8-point lead in the opening quarter, but Dallas reduced the lead to 57-54 at half-time. The third quarter spoiled everything for the Mavericks, who managed only 19 points in reply to 33. Thunder had a 16-4 run in the third and controlled the game with a 90-73 lead heading into the final quarter.
Dallas pulled off a comeback with a 19-10 run to cut the deficit to 8 points. Thunder replied back with an 11-0 run, and Klay Thompson controlled it by adding six straight points. The Mavericks made errors in their offence, and the lead reached 12 through Luguentz Dort’s three-point jumper with one minute left.
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