LAS VEGAS -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away late Saturday night to defeat the Houston Rockets 111-96 and advance to the NBA Cup championship.

The Thunder take a five-game winning streak into Tuesday night's final against the Bucks. Milwaukee defeated the Atlanta Hawks 110-102 in the Eastern Conference semifinal. The title game does not count in the league standings.

Isaiah Hartenstein added 21 points for the Thunder, Jalen Williams scored 20 and Luguentz Dort finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Amen Thompson led Houston with 19 points, one of six Rockets in double figures, and Alperen Sengun had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Rockets and Thunder have two of the three best records in the Western Conference, making Saturday's second semifinal a potential playoff preview.

Takeaways

Rockets: Fred VanVleet's 3-point shooting woes continued. He made 6 of 29 in his previous three games and missed his first nine shots from 3 and finished 1 of 11 against OKC.

Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander entered this game averaging 30.2 points and shooting 51.5% but struggled to find his offensive game early. He found a way to get to the free throw line, making 14 of 15 to help surpass his season average.

Key moment

Oklahoma City went on a 13-3 run to go ahead 97-82 with 4:57 left and break open what was a close game.

Key stat

The Thunder scored 70 points in the second half. That second-half surge enabled Oklahoma City to turn a 42-41 halftime deficit into a fairly easy victory.

Up next

The Thunder will play Milwaukee in Tuesday’s championship game before returning to regular season play on Thursday at Orlando. The Rockets also return to regular season play on Thursday against New Orleans.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Alperen Sengun vs. Isaiah Hartenstein (Jabari Smith Jr. gains possession)	0	0
11:38	Dillon Brooks misses 10-foot two point shot	0	0
11:35	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	0	0
11:28	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses driving layup	0	0
11:28	Rockets defensive team rebound	0	0
11:28	Isaiah Hartenstein loose ball foul	0	0
11:13	Dillon Brooks misses 24-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:10	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	0	0
10:56	Cason Wallace misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	0	0
10:53	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	0	0
10:45	Jalen Green misses 22-foot three point jumper	0	0
10:41	Alperen Sengun offensive rebound	0	0
10:37	Alperen Sengun makes 7-foot two point shot	0	2
10:14	Jalen Williams misses 10-foot two point shot	0	2
10:13	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	0	2
10:07	Dillon Brooks makes 22-foot three point shot (Jabari Smith Jr. assists)	0	5
9:53	Jalen Williams misses driving layup	0	5
9:52	Alperen Sengun defensive rebound	0	5
9:45	Fred VanVleet misses 29-foot three point pullup jump shot	0	5
9:41	Isaiah Hartenstein defensive rebound	0	5
9:29	Luguentz Dort misses 26-foot three point jumper	0	5
9:27	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	0	5
9:22	Jalen Green lost ball turnover (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals)	0	5
9:19	Fred VanVleet personal foul	0	5
9:11	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of bounds bad pass turnover	0	5
8:54	Alperen Sengun misses driving floating jump shot	0	5
8:52	Jabari Smith Jr. offensive rebound	0	5
8:50	Jabari Smith Jr. misses two point shot	0	5
8:49	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	0	5
8:43	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses two point shot	0	5
8:41	Cason Wallace offensive rebound	0	5
8:38	Luguentz Dort makes 26-foot three point jumper (Jalen Williams assists)	3	5
8:22	Alperen Sengun misses 7-foot two point shot	3	5
8:19	Fred VanVleet offensive rebound	3	5
8:11	Alperen Sengun bad pass (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals)	3	5
8:06	Luguentz Dort misses 23-foot three point shot	3	5
8:02	Jalen Green defensive rebound	3	5
7:48	Jabari Smith Jr. bad pass (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals)	3	5
7:45	Jabari Smith Jr. shooting foul	3	5
7:45	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 1 of 2	4	5
7:45	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 2 of 2	5	5
7:30	Alperen Sengun bad pass (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander steals)	5	5
7:21	Isaiah Hartenstein bad pass (Alperen Sengun steals)	5	5
7:17	Cason Wallace shooting foul	5	5
7:17	Fred VanVleet makes free throw 1 of 2	5	6
7:17	Thunder Full timeout	5	6
7:17	Fred VanVleet misses free throw 2 of 2	5	6
7:15	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	5	6
7:05	Isaiah Hartenstein makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot (Jalen Williams assists)	7	6
6:51	Alperen Sengun lost ball turnover (Luguentz Dort steals)	7	6
6:48	Cason Wallace lost ball turnover (Alperen Sengun steals)	7	6
6:37	Alperen Sengun misses layup	7	6
6:35	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	7	6
6:28	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses driving floating jump shot	7	6
6:24	Jabari Smith Jr. defensive rebound	7	6
6:06	Fred VanVleet misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	7	6
6:05	Jabari Smith Jr. offensive rebound	7	6
6:05	Jalen Williams shooting foul	7	6
6:05	Jabari Smith Jr. makes free throw 1 of 2	7	7
6:05	Aaron Wiggins enters the game for Isaiah Hartenstein	7	7
6:05	Amen Thompson enters the game for Jalen Green	7	7
6:05	Steven Adams enters the game for Alperen Sengun	7	7
6:05	Jabari Smith Jr. makes free throw 2 of 2	7	8
5:45	Jalen Williams misses 25-foot three point jumper	7	8
5:43	Steven Adams defensive rebound	7	8
5:43	Luguentz Dort personal foul	7	8
5:43	Kenrich Williams enters the game for Luguentz Dort	7	8
5:31	Fred VanVleet makes driving layup	7	10
5:22	Jalen Williams makes 14-foot pullup jump shot	9	10
5:12	Fred VanVleet misses driving layup	9	10
5:09	Steven Adams offensive rebound	9	10
5:09	Steven Adams makes tip shot	9	12
4:56	Kenrich Williams misses 25-foot three point jumper	9	12
4:53	Steven Adams defensive rebound	9	12
4:44	Amen Thompson misses 13-foot pullup jump shot	9	12
4:40	Jalen Williams defensive rebound	9	12
4:28	Jalen Williams misses 25-foot three point jumper	9	12
4:25	Fred VanVleet defensive rebound	9	12
4:19	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shooting foul	9	12
4:19	Steven Adams makes free throw 1 of 2	9	13
4:19	Alex Caruso enters the game for Jalen Williams	9	13
4:19	Isaiah Joe enters the game for Cason Wallace	9	13
4:19	Tari Eason enters the game for Jabari Smith Jr.	9	13
4:19	Steven Adams misses free throw 2 of 2	9	13
4:17	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	9	13
4:07	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	9	13
4:02	Steven Adams defensive rebound	9	13
3:53	Amen Thompson makes alley oop dunk shot (Fred VanVleet assists)	9	15
3:42	Alex Caruso misses 23-foot three point jumper	9	15
3:37	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	9	15
3:32	Amen Thompson misses 2-foot two point shot	9	15
3:31	Steven Adams offensive rebound	9	15
3:30	Steven Adams misses tip shot	9	15
3:29	Steven Adams offensive rebound	9	15
3:28	Steven Adams lost ball turnover (Isaiah Joe steals)	9	15
3:23	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses running pullup jump shot	9	15
3:22	Amen Thompson defensive rebound	9	15
3:22	Kenrich Williams personal foul	9	15
3:22	Amen Thompson makes free throw 1 of 2	9	16
3:22	Amen Thompson misses free throw 2 of 2	9	16
3:19	Amen Thompson offensive rebound	9	16
3:18	Fred VanVleet misses 29-foot three point jumper	9	16
3:16	Thunder defensive team rebound	9	16
3:16	Dillon Brooks loose ball foul	9	16
2:58	Kenrich Williams makes 16-foot pullup jump shot	11	16
2:41	Tari Eason misses 7-foot two point shot	11	16
2:38	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defensive rebound	11	16
2:30	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point shot	13	16
2:05	Amen Thompson misses 23-foot three point jumper	13	16
2:05	Rockets offensive team rebound	13	16
2:05	Kenrich Williams loose ball foul	13	16
2:05	Rockets Full timeout	13	16
2:05	Jabari Smith Jr. enters the game for Fred VanVleet	13	16
2:05	Jalen Green enters the game for Dillon Brooks	13	16
2:05	Steven Adams misses free throw 1 of 2	13	16
2:05	Rockets offensive team rebound	13	16
2:05	Steven Adams makes free throw 2 of 2	13	17
1:48	Kenrich Williams makes driving layup	15	17
1:33	Tari Eason makes 23-foot three point jumper (Amen Thompson assists)	15	20
1:22	Kenrich Williams makes 26-foot three point jumper (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	18	20
58.0	Tari Eason misses 26-foot three point jumper	18	20
55.1	Thunder defensive team rebound	18	20
55.1	Alperen Sengun enters the game for Steven Adams	18	20
34.1	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	18	20
30.1	Thunder offensive team rebound	18	20
25.1	Alperen Sengun personal foul	18	20
24.1	Kenrich Williams out of bounds bad pass turnover	18	20
11.2	Jabari Smith Jr. misses 13-foot pullup jump shot	18	20
7.2	Kenrich Williams defensive rebound	18	20
0.1	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	18	20
0.1	Thunder offensive team rebound	18	20
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	18	20

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

T-Mobile Arena

Las Vegas, NV

Date & Time

1:30 AM, December 15, 2024

Coverage

ABC

Attendance

17,937

Referees

James Capers, Nick Buchert, Ray Acosta

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

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

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Gilgeous-Alexander scores 32 points to lead Thunder past Rockets 111-96 and into NBA Cup Final

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