The NBA, forced to deal with OKC’s rise, seems to be dismissing the Thunder’s jolly postgame antics and barking as mere yipping. OKC let it be known Saturday that there’s some bite, too.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a chance to win the second NBA Cup with a win Tuesday over Milwaukee in Las Vegas and climb atop The Arizona Republic's NBA power rankings. A loss definitely won't drop them out of the top five.

The Mavericks had their seven-game win streak snapped in the NBA Cup quarterfinals against the Thunder. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving had two of their worst games of the season. OKC has constructed the perfect roster to limit Dallas' two superstars. That traces back to last year's playoff series despite the result.