NBA Cup: Defense, Gilgeous-Alexander Fuel OKC Thunder to Championship Game

The Thunder took down the Rockets by 15 points, pulling away late after a back-and-forth first half.

Dec 14, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots against Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) during the first quarter in a semifinal of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

In a matchup between the NBA's two best defenses, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Houston Rockets, 111-96. The Rockets shot 35-for-96 (36.5%) from the field and 11-for-46 (23.9%) on 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the Emirates NBA Cup Championship this Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. CST. The matchup will not count as a regular season game.

Alperen Sengun and Cason Wallace got into a minor scuffle with 40 seconds left in the game — and the result sealed — resulting in double technical fouls.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 32 points, going 8-for-20 from the field and 14-for-15 at the line. He added eight rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block.

Isaiah Hartenstein recorded 21 points on 12 shots, eight rebounds, two assists and a block. Jalen Williams tallied 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. Luguentz Dort poured in 19 points with five 3-pointers, nine rebounds and three steals.

Amen Thompson led Rockets scorers with 19 points on 9-for-15 shooting.

Factor	Thunder	Rockets
Points	111	96
Effective FG%	51.9%	42.2%
Turnovers	12	16
Offensive Rebounds	4	19
Free Throws	28-for-32	15-for-25

The Thunder started Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Hartenstein, Dort and Wallace for the third straight game.

Houston started Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr. and Sengun.

Gilgeous-Alexander recorded four steals in the first five minutes, setting a defensive tone that continued through the first quarter. He missed his first five field-goal attempts before converting a driving left-hand layup 10 minutes into the game.

Kenrich Williams checked in for Hartenstein midway through the quarter and scored seven points on four shots, including a wide-open top-of-the-key 3-pointer with Steven Adams in man-to-man coverage.

Both teams combined for 13-for-47 (27.7%) shooting and went 4-for-22 (18.2%) from deep in the first 12 minutes. Seven Rockets scored in the period to drive a 20-18 lead, though none tallied more than four points.

Jalen Williams drained two mid-range jumpers over Tari Eason to start the second quarter, though Eason responded with a driving layup and open three. Hartenstein slammed a lob from Ajay Mitchell to match Amen Thompson's acrobatic baseline alley-oop.

Thompson and Jalen Green scored eight straight Houston points, including three layups, to give the Rockets a six-point advantage with three minutes left in the half. Thompson racked up 13 points on 10 shots before halftime.

The Rockets maintained a 42-41 lead at the break despite a late-half Gilgeous-Alexander scoring flurry. Adams, Thompson, Sengun and Smith Jr. each grabbed multiple offensive rebounds — leading to nine more team field-goal attempts than the Thunder before halftime.

Smith Jr., Green and Brooks drilled consecutive open triples to push the Rockets lead back to six points. The Thunder then executed an immediate 11-0 run through Dort, Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams — with the latter stripping Jalen Green and slamming a breakaway dunk.

Dort knocked down three 3-pointers in the third quarter, highlighted by a baseline make with a few minutes left. Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 12 points in the period, turning around his dreadful shooting start.

Hartenstein cut for a well-timed dunk from Caruso and Gilgeous-Alexander banked in a floater over Thompson to close the quarter. Oklahoma City led 75-69 with 12 minutes remaining.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.