Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 111-96 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, securing a spot in the NBA Cup final.
The Thunder will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the final on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Isaiah Hartenstein contributed 21 points, shooting 9-of-12, and added eight rebounds. Jalen Williams had 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
The Rockets were only down by two, 68-66, after Dillon Brooks made a layup with 2:12 left in the third quarter. But Oklahoma City stretched its lead to 75-69 by the end of the quarter, then dominated in the fourth.
In the final period, the Thunder went on a 17-10 run, taking a 92-79 lead when Williams hit a jumper. Fred VanVleet managed to reduce the Rockets’ deficit to 101-93 with a 3-pointer at 2:13, but Oklahoma City quickly responded with the next eight points to secure the win.
Amen Thompson came off the bench for Houston to lead the team with 19 points and seven rebounds. Dillon Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. each scored 14 points, and Alperen Sengun added 13. VanVleet struggled, scoring only eight points on 3-for-15 shooting.
The first half was sloppy, with both teams shooting under 34 percent. Houston led 42-41 at halftime after being up by six before Gilgeous-Alexander scored the final five points of the second quarter.
In the first quarter, Oklahoma City made 7 of 23 shots (30.4 percent) while Houston made 6 of 24 (25 percent). Houston had a 16-9 lead just over eight minutes into the game and held a 20-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
For the game, the Thunder shot 45 percent, while the Rockets shot 36.5 percent.
