The Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the NBA Cup semifinals after defeating the Dallas Mavericks 118:104.
Leading the way for the Thunder was their leading scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 39 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. All of the Thunder's starting five scored 10 or more points - Jalen Williams (18), Luguenz Dort and Cason Wallace each had 11, and Isaiah Hartenstein (10). The center also added 13 rebounds.
For Dallas, Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall each scored 19 points. Kyrie Irving scored 17 points and Luka Doncic had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but the rest of Jason Kidd's players scored a total of 33 points.
Thus, Oklahoma qualified for the Western Conference semifinals, where it awaits the winner of the Houston Rockets-Golden State Warriors matchup.
In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks also reached the last four after a 114:109 victory over the Orlando Magic. Giannis Antetokounmpo once again led the Bucks with 37 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Damian Lillard added 28 points and 9 assists, and Bobby Portis contributed a double-double off the bench with 22 points and 10 rebounds. For the Magic, who are beset by personnel issues and can't rely on Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs finished with 32 points, but his efforts were not enough.
Milwaukee will play one of the New York Knicks or Atlanta Hawks in the semifinals. | BGNES
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