Jalen Green sank two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to help the Houston Rockets pull out a 91-90 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors in an NBA Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday, December 11 (Thursday, December 12, Manila time).
The Rockets snapped a 15-game series skid to the Warriors and advanced to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas, where they will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Green emerged from a scrum with the ball after a foul on Jonathan Kuminga. After Green converted both attempts, Brandin Podziemski had his three-point attempt blocked by Jabari Smith Jr. Podziemski and Kuminga sank consecutive threes earlier in the fourth to stretch the Golden State lead to 89-82, its largest of the game.
Alperen Sengun paced the Rockets with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. His layup with 27 seconds sliced the deficit to 90-89. Smith added 15 points and Green 12 for the Rockets, who won despite missing 21 of 27 three-pointers and committing 17 turnovers.
Kuminga led the Warriors with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Stephen Curry added 19 points and 5 assists. Golden State committed 22 turnovers, which Houston converted into 30 points.
The Warriors’ 32-point third quarter shifted momentum squarely in their corner. Kuminga converted a second-chance basket following a pair of offensive rebounds before Curry scored through a foul to cut the deficit to 57-55. When Trayce Jackson-Davis hit two free throws at the 3:54 mark of the third, the Warriors had their first lead since the first quarter at 60-59.
After missing 18 of 22 threes in the first half, the Warriors hit 4 of 8 from deep in the third. Buddy Hield had 11 points in the period and nailed 3 three-pointers, becoming the 17th player in NBA history to reach 2,000 three-pointers. The Warriors led 69-68 entering the fourth.
Both defenses controlled the action in the first quarter. After Dillon Brooks’ three-point play gave the Rockets an 18-15 lead at the 4:25 mark of the period, neither team scored again until Curry drilled a three-pointer with 60 seconds left that pulled the Warriors even. The Rockets carried a 20-18 lead into the second.
When the Rockets carved out a 40-26 lead on an Amen Thompson second-chance dunk with 4:14 left in the half, the Warriors responded with an 11-2 blitz.
The Rockets led 44-37 at the half. The Warriors replied with their customary third-quarter magic. – Rappler.com