By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Oklahoma City Thunder formalized their seat in the grand finals of the NBA Cup tournament after overpowering the Houston Rockets, 111-96, on December 15, 2024.
After a slow start in the first half when Oklahoma only tallied 41 points and trailed by three points, the Western Conference powerhouse cruised through in the final two quarters and relied on its signature defense to repel the Rockets’ tough challenge.
The Thunder recorded a total of 12 steals and four blocks, one of their best defensive showings in the NBA Cup tournament.
Houston had a good run in the first half as Amen Thompson caught the Oklahoma defense off guard with his waxing hot start, bullying his way into the shaded lane with his aggressive drives to the basket.
After Thompson’s buckets that gave the Rockets a slim lead heading into the second quarter, Jabari Smith picked up where he left off and did his assignment at the post against the defense of Isaiah Hartenstein.
Just when the Rockets thought they could control the pace with a low-scoring affair, the Thunder coaching staff adjusted in the last two frames and reverted to their high-octane approach that left Houston behind midway through the third.
Oklahoma scored a total of 70 points in the second half and outscored the Rockets 70-52, en route to a convincing win to reach the NBA Cup finals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once again put the squad in his back when he kicked off their rally in the third. The superstar shooting guard then ended the NBA Cup semifinal matchup with a game-high 32-point output alongside eight rebounds, six assists, five steals, and a block.
Despite an inefficient shooting from the field, Alexander made it up in the charity stripe where he made a living, draining 14 out of his 15 total attempts.
Backstopping the Canadian scoring machine was the trio of Hartenstein, Jalen Williams, and Lugentz Dort who chipped in 21, 20, and 19 markers, respectively.
With the win, the Thunder just set up a highly-anticipated NBA Cup grand finals game against the Milwaukee Bucks following a hard-earned 110-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
