Diving for loose balls. Blocking dunk attempts. Getting tackled by airborne teammates. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a very eventful final few minutes of the NBA Cup semifinals.

He shrugged it all off, too.

“I just tried to compete,” Antetokounmpo said.

That he did — and that’s why he and the Milwaukee Bucks will be competing for the NBA Cup on Tuesday night.

A brilliant stat line for the two-time MVP and current NBA scoring leader — 32 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, four blocks — carried the Bucks to a 110-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday.

The victory vaulted the Bucks into Tuesday’s championship game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was two big plays from the beg man in the final minutes — diving on the floor to help create a turnover with 6:35 left, then blocking Clint Capela’s dunk try at the rim four minutes later — that helped ensure the Bucks would be playing for the title.

“Winning plays,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “We never show film after a game, and we showed the winning plays today. It takes what it takes. I wish you could script what it takes.”

If there was any question as to whether the NBA Cup matters to the Bucks, and to a generational player like Antetokounmpo — he of the $49 million salary this season, already the holder of a championship ring and a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team — there were emphatic answers on Saturday.

He subbed in for his final shift with 8:17 left and many of those big plays, the “winning plays” Rivers referenced, down the stretch had his fingerprints all over them. Antetokounmpo’s lob that Brook Lopez swatted in with his left hand came about a minute into that final stint, a play that put the Bucks up for good in what had been a back-and-forth final quarter to that point.

He dove at Jalen Johnson’s feet to create a turnover not long afterward, then had an assist on Andre Jackson Jr.’s 3-pointer that put Milwaukee up 94-90 on the ensuing possession. And the capper was with 2:35 left, when the Hawks threw a lob to Capela — and not only did Antetokounmpo block the dunk try, he did so while Lopez barreled into his teammate’s side and knocked him to the court.

“Just got to keep on doing things to help your team win,” Antetokounmpo said. “Sometimes it’s going to be a block, sometimes it’s going to be a shot, sometimes it’s going to be a pass. It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is just being able to be selfless, sacrifice your body, your own ambitions, goals, to help your team win.”

And because that’s what he did, a chance at the NBA Cup awaits.

THUNDER 111, ROCKETS 96: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half, and Oklahoma City pulled away late to defeat Houston and advance to the NBA Cup championship game.

The Thunder take a five-game winning streak into Tuesday night’s final against the Bucks.

The Thunder scored 70 points in the second half. That second-half surge enabled Oklahoma City to turn a 42-41 halftime deficit into a fairly easy victory. The key moment for Oklahoma City was a 13-3 run to go ahead 97-82 with 4:57 left and break open what was a close game.

Gilgeous-Alexander entered this game averaging 30.2 points and shooting 51.5% but struggled to find his offensive game early. He found a way to get to the free-throw line, making 14 of 15 to help surpass his season average.

Isaiah Hartenstein added 21 points for the Thunder, Jalen Williams scored 20 and Luguentz Dort finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Amen Thompson led Houston with 19 points, one of six Rockets in double figures, and Alperen Sengun had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Houston’s Fred VanVleet’s 3-point shooting woes continued. He made 6 of 29 in his previous three games and missed his first nine shots from 3 and finished 1 of 11 against OKC.