THUNDER WIRE - In a game without consequence, OKC relearned the same painful lesson it was introduced to at the pinnacle of the sport in last year’s playoffs — its offense struggled to score against a battle-tested squad with serious size.

The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a 97-81 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2024 NBA Cup finals. The 83rd game doesn’t count towards the standings, but the former missed out on a $515K grand prize for each player.

“I thought we got some decent looks. I could’ve done a better job shaking us free in some situations,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “We have 70% of the season left so it’s important we zoom out of this one. We played three relatively stakes games this week with Dallas, Houston and tonight, which is a valuable experience for us.”

It looked good early on for the Thunder. Isaiah Hartenstein dominated with six quick points. They held a 28-27 lead after the first quarter. Everything ran smoothly on offense. Two hours later, that turned out to be OKC’s best stretch.

The Thunder scored 22 points in the second frame and were in a 51-50 halftime hole. They shot a miserable 1-of-17 from 3. But considering they were only down a point, that surely will get better in the second half, right? Nope.

The Thunder offense only got worse from that point on. They scored 14 points in the third quarter and faced a 77-64 deficit. The fourth quarter was much the same. OKC only tallied 17 points. 31 second-half points is about as bad as it gets.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his worst game of the year. Jalen Williams couldn’t get anything going. Hartenstein’s scoring magic ran out. Points were difficult to produce, to say the least. The Thunder scored 28 points in the first quarter and 31 points in the second half.

The Thunder shot 34% from the field and went 5-of-32 (15.6%) from 3. They went 18-of-22 from the free-throw line. They had 13 assists on 29 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 21 points on 24 shots. Williams had 18 points on 20 shots. Hartenstein finished with a 16-point double-double. Everybody else couldn’t muster enough baskets. Since Chet Holmgren went out, this was the loudest game where his absence was felt. He could’ve helped on both sides of the floor. At the very least, he’d be an obstacle to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s freight train night.

Meanwhile, the Bucks shot 42% from the field and went 17-of-40 (42.5%) from 3. They went 12-of-18 from the free-throw line. They had 25 assists on 34 baskets. Four Bucks players scored double-digit points.

Antetokounmpo won this round of MVP candidates matchup. He finished with 26 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists and three blocks. He took over in the second half and avalanched Milwaukee’s run. OKC had no answer against the two-time MVP. He was named the NBA Cup MVP.

Damian Lillard also helped with 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting. He single-handily matched OKC’s total from deep with a 5-of-10 night. Brook Lopez had 13 points and nine rebounds. Andre Jackson Jr. played stellar defense against Gilgeous-Alexander.

“They’re like the Lakers, they’re like Dallas. There’s a size element to them,” Daigneault said about the Bucks. “They’re a team you really have to try to move around. It’s hard to do that. They’re really good at not doing that. There’s a blunt force on offense. Similar to those teams. They pump fastballs against you, and you got to be able to hit 98. It’s not just one but these are informative games.”

While the result didn’t matter, it’s concerning the same offensive struggles resurface on the national stage. Watching this NBA Cup game and last year’s playoff games against the Dallas Mavericks were essential carbon copies. The Thunder’s offense has been inconsistent this year and a bad night from the outside showed the ugly side of that.

When Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams struggle to score, nobody else on OKC sans Holmgren can hunt their own basket. The Bucks have always given OKC fits in recent years. This is the latest example. If both teams match up in the NBA Finals, the Thunder must change their approach to avoid this outcome in high-stake games.

“It’s closer to an elevated regular season than the playoffs in my opinion,” Daigneault said about the NBA Cup. “Time of year has to do with that. The nature of a series vs. a one-anddone has to do with that. Playing elevated opponents, good opponents with some elevated stakes, elevates distractions is a good experience in December for our team.”

X