BBNBA: Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Thunder come up short in Emirates NBA Cup Final

There was only one NBA game in session on Tuesday, but it was the biggest game of the season up until this point. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder would square off against the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas in the Emirates NBA Cup Final. Unfortunately for the former Cat, it was Giannis Antetokunmpo’s squad that would walk away with the 97-81 victory.

Other than a better-looking record and bragging rights, all that really means is that each player on the Thunder got $200,000 instead of the $500,000 the Bucks players got for winning the tournament. So, at least Gilgeous-Alexander and Cason Wallace got some money as a consolation prize.

The half a million dollars will mean a lot to Chris Livingston, considering that his average yearly salary is just under $2 million. Livingston made over 25% of his average yearly salary to play for all of 97 seconds in the Final. Hard to beat that.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a team-high 21 points against the Bucks, though he shot just 8-24 (2-9 3PT) from the field. He also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals on the night. Wallace had five points, two steals and one impressive block out on the perimeter.

Cas🚫n said n🚫 pic.twitter.com/prNNVLfnZx

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 18, 2024

The Thunder will look to bounce back against the Miami Heat on Friday after coming into Tuesday night’s game on a five-game winning streak — what was the longest winning streak in the NBA.

BBNBA Statistics for 12/17/24

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	97-81 L vs MIL	21	8-24 (2-9)	4	2	2	0	3	-17	36
Cason Wallace (OKC)	97-81 L vs MIL	5	2-2 (0-0)	1	1	2	1	1	-11	23
Chris Livington (MIL)	97-81 W vs OKC	0	0-0 (0-0)	1	0	0	0	0	-4	2