LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Houston Rockets edged Golden State 91-90 for their first win over the Warriors since 2020 and reach the semifinals of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Cup on Wednesday as the Atlanta Hawks advanced with a come-from-behind victory over the New York Knicks.
Alperen Sengun scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Rockets and teammate Jalen Green’s 12 points, including the game-winning free-throws with 3.5 seconds remaining as Houston ended a run of 15 straight losses to the Warriors stretching back to February 2020.
The Rockets booked an NBA Cup last-four showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas on Saturday, when the Hawks face the Milwaukee Bucks.
Atlanta, fueled by 22 points and 11 assists from New York nemesis Trae Young, rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Knicks, 108-100, at Madison Square Garden.
The final of the second edition of the in-season tournament will be in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“I’ve never seen my team so thirsty,” Sengun said of the Rockets’ determination to make it to Vegas.
“We got ready for this game so hard.”
The Rockets harried Stephen Curry and the Warriors into 14 first-half turnovers and led by as many as 14 points on the way to a 44-37 halftime lead.
But the Warriors adjusted, and with Draymond Green keying a strong defensive effort they appeared to have taken control when back-to-back three-pointers from Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga pushed their lead to 89-82 with 3:38 to play.
Golden State was up, 90-84, with 1:16 to play when Houston’s Fred VanVleet drilled a three-pointer to launch a 7-0 scoring run to snatch the win.
Kuminga scored 20 points to lead the Warriors, Curry scored 19 but missed a three-pointer with 11.1 seconds left.
The Warriors were still up by one with 3.5 seconds remaining when Rockets guard Green dived on a loose ball and officials called a foul on Kuminga to send Green to the line for the game-winning free throws.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was incensed at the call.
“Never seen a loose-ball foul on jump-ball situation 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line,” he said.
