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Nightly Pulse: NBA news & highlights from Dec. 10

Stay in the know of tonight's Emirates NBA Cup action as we keep you updated with the latest news and happenings around the league.

NBA.com Staff

🏀Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinals play gets underway🏀

 

It’s win or go home for all four teams in action tonight. 

  • East: (4) Magic, 109, (1) Bucks 114 – Final
  • West: (4) Mavericks 104, (1) Thunder 118 – Final

📝Top Stories📝

The Bucks will advance to the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals after pulling off a 114-109 win over the Magic. Orlando’s premier defense was on display early, but Bobby Portis came off the bench on fire, scoring 16 points and getting Milwaukee a one-point lead at halftime. In the second half, Giannis and Lillard heated up, scoring a combined 37 points. The team traded buckets down the stretch, but a lay-in from Lillard with 10 seconds remaining put Milwaukee up for good. They’ll play the winner of Wednesday’s game between the Hawks and Knicks in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Thunder rolled over the Mavericks, 118-104 to punch their ticket to Las Vegas. They’ll now get to meet Wednesday’s winner between the Rockets and Warriors in the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals. Much of the story coming into the game was Dallas’ size advantage but with P.J. Washington sidelined due to an illness, it ended up being Oklahoma City who owned the glass, outrebounding Dallas 52-44, including grabbing 17 offensive rebounds, compared to just seven for the Mavericks. 

🌟Top performers🌟

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo: 37 points (15-24 FG), seven rebounds, two assists, and four blocks.
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 39 points (15-23 FG), eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. 
  • Jalen Suggs: 32 points (12-26 FG), nine rebounds, and four steals.

⚡Thunder win⚡

Dallas couldn’t get anything going in the third quarter, getting outscored 33-19, which was ultimately the difference in the game, as Oklahoma City secured the win 118-104.

Gilgeous-Alexander was electric throughout, finishing with 39 points on 15-23 shooting. He also pulled down eight boards, dished five dimes, and got three steals.

 

Serving it up

Caruso makes the nice lob feed to Cason Wallace to finish it with an alley-oop.

The Thunder started to pull away again but back-to-back threes from Klay Thompson and another from Dončić finds Dallas right back in striking range, 113-104 with a little over two minutes to go. 

🥵Don’t let him get hot🥵

Kyrie Irving nails back-to-back threes to put a big dent in the Thunder’s lead. Once up 97-77, their lead has been cut in half, as the Mavericks trail by 10, 102-92 with seven to go in the fourth.

Shai is cooking🥘🍳🔥

Gilgeous-Alexander drives into the lane and goes high off the glass for two of his 29 points.

The Thunder came out on the gate hot to start the second half, outscoring Dallas 22-9 through the first eight minutes of the third quarter. They currently have a 79-63 lead.

🐶Got that dog in them🐶

Dort strips the ball from Dončić, Hartenstein picks it up and gets it in the bucket for the and-1 opportunity. 

The Thunder hold a 57-54 advantage with the game now at halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander continues to lead all scorers with 18 points, while Naji Marshall’s 14 points off the bench leads the Mavericks.

🧈Smooth finish🧈

Kyrie Irving works his way to the rim after he goes under the defense and tosses it up and in for two of his seven points.

The Thunder hold a 39-36 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander is already up to 16 points on 5-9 shooting.

🧹He’s got cleanup duty🧹

Isaiah Hartenstein slams back the missed shot for two of his four points.

The Thunder hold a 24-22 lead late in the first quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the way for Oklahoma City with 12 points, while Klay Thompson is pacing the Mavericks with eight.

🦌Bucks win🦌

Lillard’s lay-in with 10 seconds left that gave the Bucks a 108-107 lead was ultimately the winning bucket. Jalen Suggs missed three-ball attempts on consecutive possessions that led to clinching free throws from Lillard and Giannis to build a 112-107 lead. Jett Howard got to the free throw line to bring the game to 112-109, but a couple more Giannis free throws ended it.

Despite not being able to hit a game-tying shot in the end, Jalen Suggs was the engine for Orlando tonight, scoring 32 points and grabbing nine boards, while also getting four steals and a blocked shot. In the end, it was the Dame and Giannis duo that delivered. Lillard finished with 28 points on 8-15 shooting and also dished out nine dimes. Giannis was the games leading scorer with 37, and he also pulled down seven rebounds and got two steals and four blocks.

 

⌚Dame time⌚

Lillard drives and gets the lay-in to give the Bucks a 108-107 lead with just 10 seconds left in the game.

🔁Back-and-forth🔁

These teams are just trading buckets as Lillard hits a clutch three with only 52 seconds on the clock to tie the game up at 106.

 

🗣️Suggs going off🗣️

Suggs has turned red-hot in the fourth quarter and now has 32 points on 12-24 shooting.

He has the game all tied up at 100 with just a couple of minutes remaining.

AJ Green🟰sparkplug

Green first hit a three to give the Bucks a 94-91 lead, then hit another just 1:30 later to push Milwaukee’s lead to 98-93 with just over five minutes to go.

🪂Lopez goes hang gliding🪂

Brook Lopez finds room and the lane and goes up for a one-handed finish.

This dunk gave the Bucks an 89-83, but Orlando pushed back, pulling within one, 91-90, almost halfway through the final frame.

🔥Bucks are heating up🔥

Gary Trent Jr. buries a three that caps a 16-2 run for the Bucks that at the time gave them a 78-70 lead late in the third.

Giannis is now all the way up to 32 points on 14-22 shooting. He also has five blocks.

😤That’s a vicious throwdown😤

Giannis just doing more of what he does. He goes hard to the lane and explodes at the rim for an emphatic dunk. He has also had another chase-down block.

The Bucks still have a one-point lead, now 69-68 about halfway through the third quarter. Giannis remains the games leading scorer with 24.

🎸Rim rocker’s end the half🎸

First, we get another strong throwdown from Goga, then an alley-oop from Lillard to Giannis to end the half and give the Bucks a 60-59 lead.

It’s been a tightly contested battle thus far, with Giannis’ 20 points on 8-12 shooting leading all scorers. As mentioned, Portis’ 16 points off the bench were key in fueling the Bucks’ second-quarter surge. Another factor was the Bucks also limited their turnovers, finishing the half with nine after having seven in the first quarter.

A Buck takes over

Portis’ onslaught continues and he’s now up to 16 points on 7-7 shooting. His performance has helped Milwakuee tie the game up at 49 a piece with a few minutes remaining in the first half.

👈Tough lefty finish👈

Moritz Wagner gets a little acrobatic with the lay-in here, as part of a 13-point explosion off the bench on perfect 6-6 shooting.

However, the Bucks are the ones riding some momentum, cutting Orlando’s lead to just three. Part of the Bucks’ comeback has been Bobby Portis, who now leads all Milwaukee scorers with 12.

👋🏻 Rim, meet Goga👋🏻

Carter Jr. finds Bitadze cutting to the rim and serves him up an alley-oop.

Orlando has pushed their lead to eight, 33-25, as the first quarter comes to a close. The Magic’s third-ranked defense has been key this far, generating seven Bucks turnovers.

↪️Send that back↪️

Cole Anthony is alone on the break, but Giannis’ hustle ends in a block from behind erasing Anthony’s bucket attempt.

Orlando still holds the lead though, 28-23, with the first quarter of play nearing its end. Tristan da Silva and Wendell Carter Jr. both have six points for the Magic, while Suggs already has three steals and a block. Giannis leads all scorers with 11.

🍴Pretty feed, strong slam💪

Lillard enters the paint and finds Giannis trailing with a nice behind-the-back bounce pass for a strong finish at the rim.

The Magic are bringing pressure though, already creating four turnovers and holding a 14-7 lead as the Bucks call their first timeout near the midpoint of the first quarter.

⏰It’s about that time⏰

The Bucks huddle up for some inspiration right before they hit the floor of the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

Starting5️⃣’s are live

The Bucks and Magic both have released their starting fives and there should be no surprises here.

🛠️Putting in work🛠️

Giannis Antetokounmpo gets in his pregame routine ahead of a showdown with the Magic for the right to advance in the Emirates NBA Cup.

🔒Lock down defense🔒

Jalen Suggs may be one of the most improved players in the league this season, and one of the reasons is his consistently improving defense. He’ll be key tonight in any potential Orlando victory. Check out some of his most impressive plays on that end of the floor so far this year.

⛔Milwaukee, block city⛔

When the Bucks take the floor tonight, the NBA’s No. 4 man in blocks per game, Brook Lopez will be there. Check out some of his best rejections from this season.

⏳Last chance for brackets⏳

Get your brackets in before the Knockout Rounds begin.

📖Key stories for tonight📖

 

Orlando vs. Milwaukee

Orlando and Milwaukee will be meeting for the first time this season, with the winner advancing to Las Vegas and set to square off against the victor of the Knicks and Hawks Quarterfinal matchup taking place Wednesday. These two teams enter the Knockout Rounds as two of the hottest in the NBA, with each posting 8-2 records in their last 10 games. The stark contrast between these squads is that the Bucks recently returned one of their premier players, Khris Middleton, and the Magic have lost another, Franz Wagner, who joins Paolo Banchero on the sidelines due to oblique injuries. 

Despite Wagner’s absence, Orlando was able to secure a win over the Suns on Sunday and received key contributions from Cole Anthony and Goga Bitadze in the process. Players like them will need to step up and their top-tier defense will need to shine to slow down Milwaukee’s offensive firepower backed by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and Middleton. 

Dallas vs. Oklahoma City

Speaking of hot teams, the Mavericks are scorching, and currently carrying a league-best seven-game win streak into this evening. When these two teams met Nov. 17, it was the Luka Dončić-less Dallas squad coming out on top 121-119. However, a substantial part of their victory came from their domination of the boards, which led to 24 second-chance points. With Isaiah Hartenstein now healthy, the Thunder should be better equipped to match the Mavericks’ interior size and limit their allowance of offensive rebounds. 

Another key factor for the Thunder will be their top-ranked defense. The efforts of Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, and Cason Wallace will be vital in trying to prevent Dončić and Kyrie Irving from truly taking over the game, and outshining Oklahoma City’s own dynamic duo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. This ultimately should be a closely contested battle likely to come down to the wire, with the winner advancing to Las Vegas to take on the victor of the Rockets and Warriors Quarterfinal game on Wednesday.

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