Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says the young team’s run to Tuesday’s NBA Cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas is a welcome chance to gain big-game experience.
“Obviously the added stakes in the game gives it a little bit of a different feel,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s good prep for postseason.
“It’s obviously heightened stakes than a regular season, 82-game season, and it’s good to get reps in games that mean a little bit more and have stakes to it.”
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points with eight rebounds and six assists as the Thunder beat the Houston Rockets in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points with 14 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Bucks over the Atlanta Hawks in the semis.
For the Bucks, the run to the final has been part of a resurgence in the wake of a stuttering start to the season.
They have won 10 of their last 12 games and climbed to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.
Tuesday’s final is the only Cup game that doesn’t count toward the regular season, but Antetokounmpo said it’s important to keep the momentum going.
“I think we are competing more,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like everybody understands in order for us to be in a game or to win a game, we’ve got to compete more.
“Early this season, I felt like we had this mindset, just because we have great talent within the team, that things don’t just happen.
“We were 2-8, and I think we came together, watched a lot of film. Had a lot of conversations, and we said, we’ve got to compete with every game we play. Win or lose we’ve got to compete. It’s got to be a close game.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he added. “We’re not at our best yet. Got to keep on improving. It’s good that we’ve played well the last couple of games but we have a lot of work to keep on doing.”
– ‘March Madness feel’ –
Gilgeous-Alexander said the key to success will be sticking to the same things that have carried the Thunder to the top of the Western Conference standings.
“We, at the end of the night, have to be who we are and have to take the fight to them,” he said. I think if we do that, we’ll be all right.”
The Bucks are the only team that returned to the semi-finals after making it to the last four last year — when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers walked off with the inaugural Cup crown.
Players and coaches are still trying to work out exactly how the competition fits into the greater scheme of the regular season, with Bucks coach Doc Rivers already worrying about how to get his players focus quickly back on their regular-season task.
“Emotionally you get on a high and you get thrown right back into it,” Rivers said. “I think we have a day off, and then we have a back-to-back.
“But I love it,” Rivers added. “I love the format, I like that people want to win this thing, and it’s good.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said the neutral venue for the semi-finals and final gave the proceedings “a little bit of like a March Madness feel”.
“But at the end of the night, the better team will win,” he said. “It’s about focusing on being that.
bb/nf
