Giannis, Bucks use 3-point barrage to beat Thunder 97-81 for NBA Cup title

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Everyone has a lucky number in Las Vegas. For the Milwaukee Bucks, it was 3.

And the NBA Cup was their prize.

Tournament MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points to go along with 19 rebounds and 10 assists, Damian Lillard added 23 points and the Bucks connected on 17 3-pointers on the way to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the NBA Cup title game on Tuesday night.

“Everybody did their job," Lillard said. “We defended. We played well from the start of the game all the way through the finish. I think it just showed what we've been building. I think it all came out in our biggest game to this point.”

Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 13 for the Bucks, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the only champions of the 2-year-old event. A 19-5 Milwaukee run in the second half turned what was a five-point game into a 19-point game early in the fourth, and the Bucks kept control the rest of the way.

“It's great, it's great for our team,” Antetokounmpo said. “We're getting better. ... We know we're leaving Vegas as a better team. I'm so proud of this group. Man, I'm so proud of this group.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 and Jalen Williams added 18 for the Thunder, who had scored at least 99 points in every game this season. But they sputtered in plenty of ways Tuesday, getting outscored 51-15 from beyond the arc and shooting only 34%.

“We didn't shoot it well,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “But that's never an excuse. ... We've shot bad and won games before, so that's not an excuse.”

Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which was held to 31 points after halftime.

“We did some good things. We outscored them in the paint so obviously we did the job defensively on that end,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “But obviously a tough night offensively all the way around for us. We didn't score nearly enough points, especially in the second half, to give ourselves a chance to win. But we can learn from it, move forward here.”

It’s a game that only counted for tournament purposes. There was about $300,000 in additional bonus money for Bucks players — they got $514,971 apiece, while the Thunder players got $205,988 each — but the win, the loss and the statistics from the game won’t count toward the regular season.

Mired toward the bottom of the NBA after a 2-8 start, the Bucks have been on a tear since. This was their 13th win in their last 16 games, even though it won't be part of the official record.

No matter: When the Bucks emptied their bench with 1:37 left, Antetokounmpo pumped his fists like it was a true championship moment.

He's won bigger games — he and the Bucks captured the 2021 NBA title, after all. But they said from the outset of this tournament that the NBA Cup was a priority.

And they left no doubt in the end.

“We struggled coming out of the gates,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “No one here doubted what we can be and who we can be and we just hung in there. We stuck together and this is the byproduct of a team sticking together. But we still have work to do.”

Antetokounmpo was even more succinct: “Job's not done,” he said.

His point was clear: There's another title to chase in June. But this was still a trophy moment to celebrate.

Bucks: Milwaukee played without guard Khris Middleton (non-COVID illness) and still improved to an NBA-best 12-1 in NBA Cup games, including a perfect 7-0 this season. The Bucks' only in-season tournament loss was to Indiana in last year's semifinals.

Thunder: It was a rare night of playing uphill for Oklahoma City, which trailed by as many as 20. The Thunder trailed by more than 14 points in only two of their 25 games so far in the regular season — getting down by 30 against Golden State and by 21 to San Antonio.

No fewer than five players ended up on the floor, all scrapping for a loose ball with 9:12 left in the third quarter. Thunder forward Lu Dort was hit with a technical, Daigneault got another a few seconds later and Lillard ended up with a five-point possession — two free throws for the techs, followed by a 3-pointer.

The Thunder are 20-1 this season when leading after three quarters. They're now 0-5 when tied or trailing going into the final quarter (even though it will officially be 0-4 since this game won't be counted).

The Thunder visit Orlando on Thursday and Miami on Friday. The Bucks visit Cleveland on Friday and host Washington on Saturday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Green (20) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the first half of the championship game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) lifts up the NBA Cup while forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), left, and center Brook Lopez (11), right, celebrate after their team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34), Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0), and Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) celebrate after their team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and Bobby Portis (9) hug after their team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) yells while lifting up the NBA Cup after his team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers cheers after his team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) bites his NBA Cup medal after his team's victory in the championship game of the NBA Cup basketball tournament against the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) wrestles for a loose ball with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault yells during the first half of the championship game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers watches his team play during the first half of the championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) celebrates after a three point basket during the first half of the championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and center Brook Lopez (11) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the first half of the championship game in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) celebrates after making a basket during the first half of a semifinal game against the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander celebrates during the second half of a semifinal game against the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup basketball tournament Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.

Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.

By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.

“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”

Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.

It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.

Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.

Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.

“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.

Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.

The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.

When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.

Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.

“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”

Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.

“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”

And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.

Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.

Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.

While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.

Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.

Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.

“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)