HOUSTON -- — Jalen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.

Houston snapped a 15-game skid against the Warriors, winning for the first time in the series since Feb. 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Saturday.

Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points.

Houston led by 14 before falling behind late to set up the thrilling finish.

Houston trailed by six with about 1 1/2 minutes left before Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer and Sengun added a layup with 27 seconds to go to cut the lead to one.

Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted his pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga to set up the winning free throws.

The Warriors had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Smith blocked Brandin Podziemski’s 3-point attempt.

Takeaways

Warriors: Golden State beat the Rockets twice this season without Curry before losing Wednesday in a game where he had 19 points.

Rockets: This young team showed poise in finishing this one after squandering a double-digit lead.

Key moment

Green’s hustle on getting the ball late to draw the foul to set up the winning free throws.

Key stat

Houston won despite making just 6 of 27 3-pointers.

Up next

While Houston heads to Las Vegas this weekend, the Warriors will return to regular-season play Sunday at Dallas.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Draymond Green vs. Alperen Sengun (Jabari Smith Jr. gains possession)	0	0
11:40	Buddy Hield blocks Alperen Sengun 's 3-foot driving layup	0	0
11:39	Buddy Hield defensive rebound	0	0
11:38	Buddy Hield bad pass (Alperen Sengun steals)	0	0
11:36	Jalen Green misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:34	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	0	0
11:28	Alperen Sengun makes two point shot	2	0
11:12	Draymond Green out of bounds bad pass turnover	2	0
11:06	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 25-foot three point jumper	2	0
11:04	Gary Payton II defensive rebound	2	0
10:52	Jonathan Kuminga makes 2-foot layup (Draymond Green assists)	2	2
10:52	Fred VanVleet shooting foul	2	2
10:52	Jonathan Kuminga misses free throw 1 of 1	2	2
10:52	Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound	2	2
10:30	Fred VanVleet makes 15-foot pullup jump shot	4	2
10:18	Draymond Green out of bounds lost ball turnover	4	2
10:00	Jalen Green steps out of bounds turnover	4	2
9:50	Draymond Green out of bounds bad pass turnover	4	2
9:36	Jalen Green bad pass (Stephen Curry steals)	4	2
9:30	Buddy Hield makes two point shot (Stephen Curry assists)	4	4
9:11	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 25-foot three point jumper (Alperen Sengun assists)	7	4
8:56	Gary Payton II misses 23-foot three point jumper	7	4
8:54	Dillon Brooks defensive rebound	7	4
8:48	Fred VanVleet misses running pullup jump shot	7	4
8:46	Gary Payton II defensive rebound	7	4
8:30	Draymond Green misses 25-foot three point jumper	7	4
8:28	Warriors offensive team rebound	7	4
8:23	Stephen Curry makes 23-foot three point jumper (Draymond Green assists)	7	7
8:05	Alperen Sengun makes two point shot (Dillon Brooks assists)	9	7
8:01	Gary Payton II makes 1-foot driving dunk (Stephen Curry assists)	9	9
7:43	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 12-foot pullup jump shot	11	9
7:24	Jonathan Kuminga misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	11	9
7:22	Jalen Green defensive rebound	11	9
7:17	Jonathan Kuminga blocks Jalen Green 's 9-foot driving layup	11	9
7:15	Warriors defensive team rebound	11	9
7:15	Lindy Waters III enters the game for Gary Payton II	11	9
7:01	Jonathan Kuminga makes 23-foot three point jumper (Lindy Waters III assists)	11	12
6:37	Jalen Green misses 19-foot step back jumpshot	11	12
6:35	Dillon Brooks offensive rebound	11	12
6:33	Fred VanVleet misses 27-foot three point jumper	11	12
6:30	Draymond Green defensive rebound	11	12
6:16	Jonathan Kuminga misses 8-foot two point shot	11	12
6:15	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	11	12
5:55	Alperen Sengun makes 13-foot two point shot	13	12
5:45	Stephen Curry misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	13	12
5:43	Jonathan Kuminga offensive rebound	13	12
5:41	Jalen Green shooting foul	13	12
5:41	Rockets Full timeout	13	12
5:41	Amen Thompson enters the game for Jalen Green	13	12
5:41	Tari Eason enters the game for Alperen Sengun	13	12
5:41	Brandin Podziemski enters the game for Draymond Green	13	12
5:41	Kevon Looney enters the game for Stephen Curry	13	12
5:41	Jonathan Kuminga misses free throw 1 of 2	13	12
5:41	Warriors offensive team rebound	13	12
5:41	Jonathan Kuminga makes free throw 2 of 2	13	13
5:19	Fred VanVleet misses driving floating jump shot	13	13
5:17	Lindy Waters III defensive rebound	13	13
5:03	Buddy Hield misses 31-foot three point jumper	13	13
5:01	Dillon Brooks defensive rebound	13	13
4:50	Jabari Smith Jr. makes 7-foot two point shot	15	13
4:41	Jonathan Kuminga makes driving layup	15	15
4:41	Dillon Brooks shooting foul	15	15
4:41	Jonathan Kuminga misses free throw 1 of 1	15	15
4:41	Tari Eason defensive rebound	15	15
4:25	Dillon Brooks makes 6-foot driving floating jump shot (Amen Thompson assists)	17	15
4:25	Buddy Hield shooting foul	17	15
4:25	Dillon Brooks makes free throw 1 of 1	18	15
4:02	Jonathan Kuminga misses 33-foot three point shot	18	15
4:01	Warriors offensive team rebound	18	15
4:01	shot clock turnover	18	15
3:53	Dillon Brooks misses 27-foot three point jumper	18	15
3:51	Buddy Hield defensive rebound	18	15
3:38	Buddy Hield misses 28-foot three point jumper	18	15
3:34	Rockets defensive team rebound	18	15
3:21	Amen Thompson misses two point shot	18	15
3:19	Kevon Looney defensive rebound	18	15
3:08	Jonathan Kuminga bad pass (Amen Thompson steals)	18	15
2:56	Fred VanVleet misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	18	15
2:54	Kevon Looney defensive rebound	18	15
2:40	Brandin Podziemski misses two point shot	18	15
2:38	Dillon Brooks defensive rebound	18	15
2:17	Fred VanVleet misses 33-foot three point jumper	18	15
2:15	Kevon Looney defensive rebound	18	15
2:09	Warriors Full timeout	18	15
2:09	Alperen Sengun enters the game for Dillon Brooks	18	15
2:09	Aaron Holiday enters the game for Jabari Smith Jr.	18	15
2:09	Kyle Anderson enters the game for Jonathan Kuminga	18	15
2:09	Stephen Curry enters the game for Buddy Hield	18	15
2:03	Lindy Waters III misses 32-foot three point jumper	18	15
2:01	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	18	15
1:54	Alperen Sengun misses 26-foot three point jumper	18	15
1:52	Kevon Looney defensive rebound	18	15
1:43	Alperen Sengun kicked ball violation	18	15
1:32	Brandin Podziemski misses 11-foot pullup jump shot	18	15
1:30	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	18	15
1:11	Alperen Sengun misses 10-foot two point shot	18	15
1:09	Stephen Curry defensive rebound	18	15
1:00	Stephen Curry makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	18	18
47.1	Aaron Holiday misses 24-foot three point jumper	18	18
44.1	Amen Thompson offensive rebound	18	18
42.1	Fred VanVleet misses 25-foot three point jumper	18	18
40.1	Kevon Looney defensive rebound	18	18
27.0	Aaron Holiday personal foul	18	18
21.1	Kyle Anderson out of bounds bad pass turnover	18	18
21.1	Gary Payton II enters the game for Stephen Curry	18	18
6.2	Gary Payton II personal foul	18	18
4.1	Tari Eason makes layup (Amen Thompson assists)	20	18
1.1	Brandin Podziemski misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	20	18
0.0	Warriors offensive team rebound	20	18
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	20	18

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Toyota Center (Houston)

Houston, TX

Date & Time

2:30 AM, December 12, 2024

Coverage

TNT, Space City Home Network, NBC Sports BA

Attendance

18,055

Referees

Bill Kennedy, Brent Barnaky, Mousa Dagher

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	35	24	.593	W1
Phoenix	34	26	.567	W1
Golden State	31	29	.517	L1
LA Clippers	27	31	.466	L3
Sacramento	14	47	.230	W1

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	43	16	.729	W11
Houston	37	22	.627	L1
Memphis	22	36	.379	W1
Dallas	21	38	.356	L2
New Orleans	19	42	.311	W4

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Green makes late free throws, Rockets beat Warriors 91-90 to reach NBA Cup semifinals

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