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The four NBA Emirates Cup quarterfinal games are completed and we now have our final two Eastern and Western Conference clubs. In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder received another standout performance from MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to eliminate the Dallas Mavericks, while Jalen Green hit two late free-throws to lead the Houston Rockets past the Golden State Warriors. The two now face off on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Let’s break down each team’s cup quarterfinal recap while previewing this matchup and making a Rockets vs Thunder NBA Emirates Cup semifinal pick.
The Rockets, winners of West Group A, overcame a six-point deficit with under a minute and a half to play to knock off the Golden State Warriors at home on Tuesday, 91-90. The win brought an end to a 15-game losing streak against the Warriors, as Houston improved to 17-8. The Rockets are now tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for second in the west, 2.5 games behind the Thunder.
Alperen Sengun led Houston with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points and blocked the potential game-winning shot by Brandon Podziemski at the end. Jalen Green, whose two free-throws with 3.1 seconds left secured the victory, finished with 12 points.
Houston is looking to make this a breakthrough season after missing the NBA playoffs in each of the last four seasons. Former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka took over ahead of the 2023-24 campaign and led the Rockets to a 41-41 record. This young squad is growing leaps and bounds and is making a push in the West.
Seven players are averaging double figures for Houston so far this season. That includes big man Sengun, who is averaging a double-double this year, with 18.8 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. He leads the Rockets with just over 20 points per game in cup play.
The Thunder, who won West Group B in cup pool play, showed once again why they are one of the favorites to win the NBA title this year.
Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 39 points and added eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals while OKC held Mavericks stalwarts Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to just 33 combined points as the Thunder advanced with a 118-104 victory at home Tuesday night.
SGA shot 65% (15-for-23) from the field and was aided by Jalen Williams (18 points, seven rebounds) and Isaiah Hartenstein (10 points, 13 rebounds). Casen Wallace (11 points, eight rebounds) and Lu Dort (11 points, six rebounds) put the clamps on Dončić in particular. The combined total for Irving and Dončić is the lowest since the two became teammates during the 2022-23 season.
The Thunder are now 19-5 and lead the Western Conference ahead of their trip to Las Vegas. The team is second in the league in points allowed at 103.8, just behind the Orlando Magic. Opponents are shooting a league-worst 42.7% from the field against Oklahoma City’s defense. Three-point shooting is not much better, as the Thunder are holding opponents to 33.6% from beyond the arc, good for third-best in the league. And they’re doing all this without Chet Holmgren, who is out the next several weeks after fracturing his hip earlier this season.
Gilgeous-Alexander was named in the All-NBA first-team in each of the past two seasons and was just named the Western Conference player of the month for November. He leads the team and is fourth in the league in scoring at 30.2 points a game. He averaged 32 points a game in the first five cup contests, and he is even hotter overall in his last eight games, averaging more than 33 points a game.
This Houston-Oklahoma City Emirates Cup semifinal matchup is a glimpse into the NBA’s future, with both teams featuring a bevy of young stars. The teams have already played twice this season, with each winning at home.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 29 points to lead the Thunder to a convincing 126-107 victory last month. At the start of December, veteran Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 38 points and Sengun added 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets evened the season-series with a 119-116 victory.
Gllgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 32 points in the loss. He’s led the Thunder in scoring in seven of the past eight games and he’s averaging nearly 33 per over the last 10 contests, scoring at least 30 points in eight of those games. With the spotlight on him Saturday, look for SGA to continue to shine. We’ll stick with the consistent superstar to score 30 or more points again against the Rockets.
Brian has been writing about sports professionally for 25 years, specializing in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, men's college basketball and football, and soccer. He covered high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for two decades. His written work has appeared in several print and online publications since 1999.