Bucks’ NBA Cup triumph over Thunder shows it’s never too late to get

LAS VEGAS — The joy was undeniable on the faces of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, as the streamers came from the heavens of T-Mobile Arena in the aftermath of the Milwaukee Bucks clinching the NBA Cup with a 97-81 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They needed it, not as a dress rehearsal for June, not to complete their resurrection from the NBA’s early doldrums — but for each other and this brick-by-brick approach they have to take between now and April.

But for as much as the Bucks needed this, the NBA needed it more, and probably in spades.

It feels like a similar refrain was uttered this time last year, when the Los Angeles Lakers showed they could concentrate in one-game sample sizes early in the season better than anyone cared to, but we largely already knew that.

Teams seemed to understand the concept of an NBA Cup better this time around, and even if Tuesday night’s final ultimately won’t make a dent in the overall standings, it felt different.

“It was something we wanted to win and just being in something like this, the second year, I feel that teams cared about it a little bit more,” Lillard said. “I think teams played with a little bit more pride about trying to reach Vegas and having an opportunity to win at the end.”

There was an authenticity in the air, perhaps punctuated by increased physicality and some harmless technical fouls.

It felt … confrontational, but not dangerous.

Or at the very least, it didn’t feel as analytical. It didn’t feel as sterile.

And that’s the biggest win NBA commissioner Adam Silver could’ve hoped for, regardless of who was taking center stage in Vegas. Sure, the big American stars would’ve helped, but they didn’t make it here and it’s becoming increasingly unlikely the usual suspects will be around when we are in full bloom of the…