Showing posts with label NBA Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBA Cup. Show all posts
Wednesday, 17 December 2025
Friday, 12 December 2025
BLUE IVY AND JAY-Z COURTSIDE TOGETHER AT LAKERS-SPURS GAME: SEE THE PHOTOS
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| Allen Berezovsky / Contributor via Getty Images |
Blue Ivy and Hov spent some father-daughter time at the NBA game inside the Crypto.com Arena.
Key Takeaways:
- Blue Ivy Carter and JAY-Z made a stylish appearance at the Lakers vs. Spurs NBA Cup game in Los Angeles.
- Social media lit up with reactions to Blue Ivy’s outfit and her resemblance to Beyoncé.
- The sighting adds to Blue Ivy’s growing list of 2025 public moments, including her “Cowboy Carter Tour” performances.
Just like her mom, Blue Ivy Carter commands every room she walks into. On Wednesday (Dec. 10) night, she attended the Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs game alongside her dad, JAY-Z.
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| Allen Berezovsky / Contributor via Getty Images |
Sitting courtside at the Crypto.com Arena, the pair were among the familiar faces spotted in the building. “No reintroduction needed: JAY-Z and Blue Ivy courtside,” the Lakers’ account captioned photos of the father-daughter duo.
For the occasion, Blue Ivy wore a black tee layered under a moto leather jacket from Balenciaga. She completed the look with denim cargo pants, a Diesel bag, and Isabel Marant Bekett wedge sneakers, which, as social media pointed out, closely resembled a pair Beyoncé wore back in 2013.
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| Allen Berezovsky / Contributor via Getty Images |
“Oh, Blue is THAT GIRL!” someone wrote beneath the Lakers’ post. Another person joked about how much she’s grown up: “Me: ‘Who is this grown woman with him?!’ — OMG.” See for yourself below.
Several other photos from that night showed JAY-Z talking to LeBron James after the game. Unfortunately, depending on who you were cheering for, the Lakers lost 132-119 to the Spurs. In another shot, Yaya Mayweather (daughter of Floyd Mayweather) was seated beside Blue Ivy with her son, Kentrell Jr., whom she shares with YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
Thanks to Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter Tour,” we saw a whole lot of Blue Ivy in 2025. The show run began toward the end of April and moved through cities like Chicago, London, Paris, and Houston. As some fans might recall, the Carters’ eldest daughter stepped onstage for a solo dance break during “Deja Vu,” then later returned with her younger sister, Rumi, for “PROTECTOR.”
Beyoncé rolled out new COWBOY CARTER-themed holiday merch last month as well. A couple of the items referenced the joke that Blue Ivy might be the “COZY” singer’s manager. That hilarious theory stemmed from a selfie posted to Bey’s account of the 13-year-old and Tina Knowles at the 27th Annual Angel Ball.
- MALCOLM TRAPP
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO CARRIES RED-HOT BUCKS TO NBA CUP TITLE
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| USA TODAY Sports |
LAS VEGAS -- Everyone has a lucky number in Las Vegas. For the Milwaukee Bucks, it was 3.
And the NBA Cup was their prize.
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 their way to beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 97-81 in the NBA Cup title game Tuesday night.
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 lead 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% from the floor.
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 counted only 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 past 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 as if it were a true championship moment.
He has 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 championship 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. But this was still a trophy moment to celebrate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- ESPN News Services
Sunday, 15 December 2024
GIANNIS ' WINNING PLAYS' PUT BUCKS IN NBA CUP TITLE GAME
LAS VEGAS -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and finished an assist shy of a triple-double, but it was his "winning plays" down the stretch that helped will the Milwaukee Bucks to a 110-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday to clinch a spot in the NBA Cup championship game.
Antetokounmpo added 14 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocks, including a spectacular rejection of an alley-oop dunk from Clint Capela at the rim with 2:35 remaining in the game, preserving what was then a five-point Bucks lead. Antetokounmpo also drew praise from his teammates and coaching staff for diving on a loose ball to secure a steal and prevent the ball from going out of bounds with about 6:30 remaining in the fourth.
"Winning plays," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said after the game. "You can't script any of that stuff before the game, but you just got to keep teaching that it just takes what it takes every night."
Milwaukee advances to the championship game on Tuesday night, avenging a loss in last season's semifinals in Las Vegas to the Pacers. The Bucks are 11-1 all time in NBA Cup games and will face the winner of Houston/Oklahoma City.
"I'll do whatever it takes to win a game," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "I'm happy that I did, because I feel like it translated to the whole team. You got to do whatever is necessary to close this one out. I'm just proud of my teammates. The way we started the game, we kind of set the tone that we were here to compete."
Several Bucks players said the team arrived to Las Vegas more focused this season, ready to settle what Antetokounmpo called "unfinished business" from last season, but also to take care of business in an atmosphere that would simulate a playoff game.
"We probably looked a little sharper this time around," said Bucks star Damian Lillard, who added 25 points and seven assists. "This time we came into it remembering our last experience. We came correct. We knew it wasn't going to be easy playing against a good team, but we prepared, and it just felt familiar."
The Hawks actually had the lead heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a masterful performance from Trae Young, who had 14 points in the third period. But Milwaukee outscored Atlanta 12-3 during clutch time to seal the win. Young finished with 35 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, and although the Hawks were preparing to go home after the loss, Young said he was proud of what the team had accomplished by making a run to the Cup semifinals.
"What we have done in this Cup was really, really special, really good," Young said. "We've really found the way we want to play and figured out the tempo we want to play at.
"It's been good. I feel like this Cup was really good for us. For a young team to go as far as we did, we can really use this as hopefully momentum going into the rest of the season."
Making it to the championship was also an accomplishment for the Bucks, especially considering they started the season with a 2-8 record through their first 10 games. But also Rivers made it clear for weeks that the Bucks were taking aim at the NBA Cup and planned on winning it.
"It's a competition, man, and you want your team to be competitive," Rivers said. "You want them to accept the challenge, that's all I've been talking about.... That's what I'm proud of for our guys.
Even in the aftermath of their victory Saturday, Antetokounmpo offered his team a reminder that they still had one more game to win and take home the championship, invoking another late NBA legend: Kobe Bryant when he said "the job's not finished."
"The only thing that matters right here is to get a win, and that's the message within our team right now," Antetokounmpo said. "Everybody got to stay locked in. Everybody got to stay locked in; the job's not done."
- Jamal Collier, ESPN
Wednesday, 11 December 2024
OKC SHUTS DOWN LUKA DONCIC, MAVS, MOVE ON TO NBA CUP SEMIFINALS
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal.
Jalen Williams scored 18 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who will play Wednesday's Golden State Warriors-Houston Rockets winner in a semifinal on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Oklahoma City's largest lead was 20 points in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinals series that Dallas won 4-2.
The Thunder and their collection of elite perimeter defenders held Luka Doncic to 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Luguentz Dort led the OKC effort, with Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace among the primary helpers.
P.J. Washington, a thorn in Oklahoma City's side during the playoffs last season as well as in Dallas' road victory last month, missed the contest with an illness.
Oklahoma City led 57-54 at halftime behind 18 points from Gilgeous-Alexander. Doncic had two points on 1-for-7 shooting at the break.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the third quarter to help the Thunder take control. Isaiah Joe's deep 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Oklahoma City a 90-73 lead heading into the fourth.
Takeaways
Mavericks: Dallas made too many mistakes to have a chance. The Thunder scored 36 points off the Mavericks' 19 turnovers.
Thunder: Oklahoma City brought in the 7-foot, 255-pound Hartenstein as a free agent in the offseason to provide bulk and rebounding. It paid off: The Thunder outrebounded the Mavericks 52-44.
Key moment
Oklahoma City opened the second half on a 13-2 run. Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine points during that stretch to help the Thunder take a 70-56 lead.
Key stat
The Mavericks made just 6 of 19 field goals in the third quarter after shooting 50% from the field in the first half.
Up next
Mavericks: Host the LA Clippers on Dec. 19.
Thunder: Will play Golden State or Houston in the NBA Cup semifinals Saturday in Las Vegas.
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