Houston Rockets down Golden State Warriors to reach NBA Cup semis

HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets were “thirsty” in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Cup on Dec 11.

And that desire drove them to edge out Golden State 91-90 at home for their first win over the Warriors since 2020 and reach the semi-finals of the Cup, as the Atlanta Hawks advanced with a come-from-behind victory over the New York Knicks.

Alperen Sengun scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Rockets and teammate Jalen Green’s 12 points included the game-winning free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, as Houston ended a run of 15 straight losses to the Warriors stretching back to February 2020.

Houston booked an NBA Cup last-four showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas on Dec 14, when the Hawks face the Milwaukee Bucks.

Atlanta, fuelled by 22 points and 11 assists from New York nemesis Trae Young, rallied from a 12-point deficit to beat the Knicks 108-100 at Madison Square Garden.

The final of the second edition of the in-season tournament will be in Las Vegas on Dec 17.

“I’ve never seen my team so thirsty,” Sengun said of the Rockets’ determination to make it to Vegas.

“We got ready for this game so hard. We went over there on the court and fought, and we knew it was going to be hard, so I’m proud of my team, my teammates. We worked hard, so I’m happy. It’s a big-time win.”

The Rockets harried Stephen Curry and the Warriors into 10 first-half turnovers and led by as many as 14 points on the way to a 44-37 half-time lead.

But the Warriors adjusted and with Draymond Green’s strong defensive effort, they appeared to have taken control when back-to-back three-pointers from Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga pushed their lead to 89-82 with 3min 38sec to play.

Golden State were up 90-84 with 1:16 remaining when Houston’s Fred VanVleet drilled a three-pointer to launch a 7-0 scoring run to snatch the win.

Kuminga scored 20 points to lead the Warriors. Curry scored 19 but missed a three-pointer with 11.1sec left.

The Warriors were still up by one with 3.5sec remaining when Rockets guard Green dived on a loose ball and officials called a foul on Kuminga to send Green to the line for the game-winning free throws.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was incensed at the call.

“Never seen a loose-ball foul on a jump-ball situation 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” he said.

“That is unconscionable... give them a timeout and let the players decide the game.”

In New York, the Knicks dominated the first half but Young came alive in the second to get the Hawks’ offence firing.

He scored 12 points and handed out nine assists after the break, directing a balanced Hawks attack that was led by 24 points from reserve De’Andre Hunter.

Young found Hunter for an alley-oop dunk that pushed the Hawks’ lead to 14 points with 3:01 remaining.

Clint Capela also threw down an alley-oop fed by Dyson Daniels and added another seconds later off a pass from Young as Atlanta put the game away.

“It’s a big game, especially for us,” said Young, who has been the player Knicks fans love to hate since Atlanta’s win over New York in a 2021 play-off series.

“We just try to play for each other and play till the end, and that’s what we did.”

Josh Hart led the Knicks with 21 points. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 19 rebounds before fouling out in the final minutes. Mikal Bridges contributed another 19 for New York, who failed to respond when Atlanta stepped up the pace in the second half. AFP