Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder secure NBA Cup semifinal berths with two more spots still up for grabs

The GIST: With the four-game NBA Cup group stage in the rearview mirror, we’re in the midst of four do-or-die quarter-final matchups. Swap your holiday countdown cal for a basketball — ’tis the (NBA) season after all.

Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder secure semifinal berths: Starting in the Eastern Conference (EC), the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks booked the first ticket to Saturday’s semis, beating the shorthanded No. 4 seed Orlando Magic 114–109 last night as Giannis Antetokounmpo (pronounced ah-det-oh-KOON-boh) and his partner-in-hoops Dame Lillard dropped a combined 65 points.

• The second game of the night was a rematch of last year’s Western Conference (WC) finals — but the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder had the last laugh this time around, topping the No. 4 seed Dallas Mavericks 118–104 behind 39 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Previewing tonight’s games: The plucky No. 3 seed Atlanta Hawks weren’t expected to even make it out of EC group play, but anything can happen on these kooky Cup courts. The Hawks will look to keep flying in what should be a high-scoring affair against the No. 2 seed NY Knicks and their league-best offense tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Defense? Never heard of her.

• On the flip side, D will be the name of the game in tonight’s 9:30 p.m. ET WC matchup between the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets and No. 3 seed Golden State Warriors, two of the staunchest defenses in the league. Forget Eras Tour tickets, this is the great war.