On December 15, Beijing time, the semifinals of the 2024-25 NBA Cup were being staged in Las Vegas, and the Thunder defeated the Rockets 111-96 to advance to the finals. The opponent of the Thunder finals is the Bucks led by Brother Alphabet.

Statistics

Thunder: Alexander 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals, Dort 19 points and 9 rebounds, Jalen Williams 20 points, Hartenstein 21 points and 8 rebounds

Rockets: Shin Kyung 13 points and 11 rebounds; Jalen Green scored 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-8 three-pointers; Amen Thompson 19 points, Dillon Brooks 14 points

Background

The Thunder swept the league last season and entered the playoffs as the top seed in the West, but were eliminated by the Mavericks in the second round by a big score of 2-4. The Thunder remain the most deep and dangerous team in the league this season, with a 3-1 record in the NBA Cup group stage and a 118-104 win over the Mavericks in their last game to advance to the semifinals. The Thunder are in the midst of a four-game winning streak and currently sit in first place in the West with a 19-5 record. The injury of Holmgren, the centerpiece of the interior line, has had a huge impact on the Thunder, who have an 11-3 record when he plays this season, but the star Alexander is the team, who can contribute 30.2 points per game and have 6.3 assists. In addition, Hartenstein has also been a big help to the team, averaging 11.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game to fill Holmgren's gap.

The Rockets' situation is similar to last season's Thunder, but the speed of their rise is more surprising. The Rockets have been handsomely rewarded by Shin Kyung, who averages 18.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, and Jalen Green, who is the team's leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game. The Rockets narrowly defeated the Warriors 91-90 to reach the NBA Cup Final Four last game with Green's winning free throw, while also ending a 15-game losing streak against the latter. The Rockets have won seven of their last 10 games and currently sit in third place in the West with a 17-8 record. It's worth mentioning that despite the young roster, the Rockets played the league's top three in points loss and defensive efficiency, and the league's first rebounding and frontcourt rebounding.

Game recap

The Rockets were the league's top three conceded points and defensive efficiency, failing to score a single goal in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, and it wasn't until 8:38 left in the quarter that the latter scored their first athletic goal of the game. A few rounds later, Alexander forced a defensive foul on Smith Jr. and made both free throws. Immediately after that, Hartenstein also scored the ball, and the Thunder took the score 7-6. The Rockets did not show weakness, and hit a wave of 10-2 small climaxes with consecutive free throws to regain a 7-point advantage. At the critical moment, Kenrich Williams scored three consecutive goals, Alexander also completed a breakaway score, and the Thunder chased the score to 18-20 at the end of the first quarter. In addition, the Rockets shot just 25% (6-of-24) in the first quarter and 22.2% (2-of-9) from three-point range. The Thunder shot 30.4 percent from the field (7-of-23) and just 15.4 percent from three-point range (2-of-13).

In the second quarter, the Thunder continued to chase points, and after Hartenstein dunked in the air, the score was rewritten to 24-22. Ethan scored five straight points, and Dillon hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc to give the Rockets a 30-28 lead. After returning from a timeout, the Rockets lost their crosshairs again and didn't score a point for three minutes. At the critical moment, Amen Thompson stepped up, scored four goals in a row, and teamed up with Green to direct a wave of 14-4 offense, and the Rockets led 42-36. Alexander, who had been 1-of-9 from the field, finally found his touch, first hitting a 2+1 on Holiday and then scoring on a mid-range jumper. At halftime, the Thunder trailed the Rockets 41-42.

In the rematch, the Thunder scored two consecutive goals to regain a three-point advantage, and Smith Jr., Green and Dillon teamed up to return three three-pointers, and the Rockets rewrote the score to 51-45. Dort's three-pointer helped the Thunder stabilize the morale of the army, and Jalen Williams and Alexander also made contributions, and the Thunder won 56-51 on an 11-0 offensive wave. Shin Kyung, who had been silent, finally responded, first scoring a layup, and then assisting Smith Jr. to shoot a three-pointer, and the Rockets tied the score at 56. Alexander scored two straight goals and Dort hit two three-pointers to defend the Thunder's lead. With Alexander's final shot to the net, the Thunder led the Rockets 75-69 at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter, the Thunder went to the free throw line in a row to rewrite the score to 80-69. The Rockets didn't give up, with Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Shin Kyung teaming up to help the team narrow the gap to five points. After returning from the timeout, Alexander immediately returned to the court and came up to cause Dillon's fifth personal foul, making all three free throws. Immediately after, Alexander hit another three-pointer from the outside, and Jalen Williams was also the icing on the cake, and the Thunder instantly rewrote the score to 92-79 and forced the Rockets to stop. The game restarted, Smith Jr. played 2+1, Shen Jing and Green and others made contributions one after another, and the Rockets once narrowed the gap to 8 points. But Hartenstein immediately responded with a dunk, and 40.4 seconds later, Shin Kyung and Carson Wallace clashed while grabbing a rebound, and the referee reviewed the footage and awarded both sides a technical foul. With the Rockets making four consecutive three-point attempts, the Thunder finally won the game and advanced to the NBA Cup finals.

Both sides start

Thunder: Shay Gilgeous Alexander, Lyganz Dort, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Carson Wallace

Rockets: Alperen Shenjing, Jabari Smith Jr., Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet