Rockets, Hawks Advance to NBA Cup Semis

The Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks booked their spots in the NBA Cup semifinals with thrilling wins on Wednesday night. The Rockets edged the Golden State Warriors 91-90, while the Hawks rallied past the New York Knicks 108-100.

Houston snapped a 15-game losing streak against Golden State dating back to February 2020, led by Alperen Sengun’s dominant performance of 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Green added 12 points, including clutch free throws with 3.5 seconds left to secure the Rockets’ win.

“I’ve never seen my team so thirsty,” Sengun said of Houston’s determination to reach the semifinals. “We got ready for this game so hard.”

The Rockets’ defensive intensity forced the Warriors into 14 first-half turnovers, building a 44-37 halftime lead. Golden State fought back with key contributions from Draymond Green and a pair of late three-pointers by Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga to take an 89-82 lead with 3:38 to play.

Houston responded with a 7-0 run in the final minute, sparked by Fred VanVleet’s three-pointer, and sealed the victory with Green’s game-winning free throws after he secured a loose ball and drew a controversial foul on Kuminga.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr criticized the call, saying, “Never seen a loose-ball foul on a jump-ball situation 80 feet from the basket with the game on the line. That is unconscionable… give them a timeout and let the players decide the game.”

Golden State’s Kuminga finished with 20 points, while Stephen Curry added 19 but missed a three-point attempt in the final seconds.

The Rockets now advance to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas on Saturday, while the Hawks will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the other semifinal matchup.

Young Leads Hawks Over Knicks

In New York, Trae Young delivered a standout performance with 22 points and 11 assists, leading Atlanta to a come-from-behind victory at Madison Square Garden.

Down by 10 in the third quarter, the Hawks surged in the second half with Young orchestrating a balanced attack. Reserve De’Andre Hunter scored 24 points, while Clint Capela added key alley-oop dunks in the final minutes to seal the win.

“It’s a big game, especially for us,” Young said. “We just try to play for each other and play til the end, and that’s what we did.”

Young, a longtime nemesis of Knicks fans since Atlanta’s 2021 playoff victory over New York, delivered 12 points and nine assists after halftime to spark the Hawks’ resurgence.

Josh Hart led the Knicks with 21 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 19 points and 19 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Mikal Bridges also added 19 for New York, but the Knicks couldn’t respond to Atlanta’s second-half pace.

The semifinal winners will meet in the NBA Cup Final in Las Vegas on Tuesday, marking the conclusion of the league’s second in-season tournament.