Surging Bucks set eyes on Cup in return to Vegas

MILWAUKEE — The Bucks are heading to Las Vegas for the second consecutive season, beating the Orlando Magic 114-109 on Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the NBA Cup.

The Bucks will be the only team returning to Las Vegas, where they lost last December in the semifinals of the in-season tournament. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said the team has some “unfinished business” from last season.

“Losing is not a good feeling,” Antetokounmpo said after Tuesday’s game. “But we definitely learned from it.”

Jalen Suggs led a shorthanded Magic team to a near upset without stars Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner. Suggs scored 32 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter, but he missed a potential go-ahead 3 with 12 seconds remaining.

Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo scored 37 points and Damian Lillard scored nine of his 28 points in the final minute.

Bucks forward Bobby Portis said returning to Las Vegas this season was even more special considering the team began the year with a 2-8 record before going undefeated in NBA Cup group play and holding on to a close win against the Magic.

“Last year there was a lot of expectations on our team,” Portis said after scoring 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting off the bench Tuesday night. “It’s more special in that regard because of where we started to where we are now.”

Milwaukee will play Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s quarterfinal between the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.

After starting the season 2-8, the Bucks have rallied back to 13-11 on the season and coach Doc Rivers said the players used the NBA Cup as a target to help pull themselves out of an early season slump.

“You set a goal and you try to reach it, right?” Rivers said. “Our goal is not just to get to Vegas, we want to win this thing.”

Still, Bucks players took a moment to consider how far they’ve come in the past few weeks. Milwaukee has won nine of their past 11 games entering the tournament semifinals.

“We just stayed connected,” Lillard said. “We kept fighting — and that’s a hard thing to do when you’re struggling and expected to be winning, and people are talking about your team. It takes a connected group to be able to bounce back and come out of that and get where we’ve gotten.”

The Bucks were 15-6 when they advanced to Las Vegas last season, but they lost to Indiana in a game that began to expose their flaws on defense. The record was better then, but when Portis compared the feeling to this season, he said he liked the direction the team was heading.

“We’re only two games over [.500], but I like the makeup of our team right now,” Portis said. “I like the swag and confidence everybody’s playing with. I like the camaraderie, how it keeps getting better on a game-to-game basis. And I like Vegas.”