The second edition of the NBA Cup already has semifinalists. The Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors (91-90) in the last minute, while the Atlanta Hawks clearly beat the New York Knicks (100-108) in this Wednesday’s games. The Rockets and the Hawks got their tickets for the final four from Las Vegas. Those from Atlanta will face the Milwaukee Bucks, while those from Houston will face the Oklahoma City Thunder. Gone are the last two NBA champions (the Celtics and the Nuggets), the most in-form team at the beginning of the season (the Cleveland Cavaliers) and the champions of the first edition (the Lakers).
The Thunder, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, seem like the most powerful team of the four teams left in the running, but in a single game, anything is possible. Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks have shown that they are not intimidated by the favorites, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard’s Milwaukee Bucks want to taste a title again and the Houston Rockets have been taking advantage of their physical power and youth since the beginning of the season.
The Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors in the first half of the game with a very physical game and a very effective defense. Stephen Curry’s team was held to less than 20 points in the first two quarters, exhausted two consecutive attacks without shooting a basket within the time and the locals went into halftime with a seven-point lead (44-37).
The Warriors are going through a transition process, but the team did not give up after falling behind 40-26 midway through the second quarter. He turned the score around in the third, in which the Bahamian Buddy Hield, an extraordinary three-pointer, and the Congolese Jonathan Kuminga, number seven of the team, shone with their own light. draft of 2021, who has matured and is earning the title this season. Stephen Curry continues to leave glimpses of his incredible talent, but at 36 years old he finds it difficult to carry the team behind him like he did a few seasons ago.
The fourth quarter was entered with 68-69 in favor of the Warriors. The visitors’ triples that did not enter the first half (4 of 22) began to hit the target in the second. Although San Francisco escaped 82-89, the Rockets once again gritted their teeth on defense. It entered the last minute with a difference of only three points (87-90) and the Rockets continued scoring, while the Warriors were left dry.
Curry missed a decisive three-pointer, one of which he was unforgiving in his prime. The game was decided with a somewhat controversial foul with just 3.5 seconds left, in a fight on the ground for the last loose ball in which the referee could have also called a jump ball. “I’ve never seen anything like this in the NBA,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr complained in the postgame press conference.
On the part of the Rockets, Turkish center Alperen Şengün, 22 years old, number 16 in the team, stood out. draft of 2021, which is having a great season. He closed the game with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jabari Smith, another of the young talents, followed him with 15 points, but they didn’t win the game on offense, but on defense. In the final 3:38 minutes, the Warriors were only able to make one free throw.
The Knicks don’t measure up
In the other crossroads, the New York Knicks took the lead in the first quarter (28-22) and reached halftime with an advantage (54-47) over the Atlanta Hawks. However, they ruined the game in a disastrous third quarter during which they suffered an adverse partial of 8-27. The Knicks still led 66-62 before Young hit two 3-pointers and two free throws, which were followed by a 3-pointer by Hunter. Those 11 consecutive points put Atlanta ahead for the first time and they would no longer stop leading the scoreboard. The defensive intensity of the visitors was combined with the lack of aim of the New Yorkers on one side of the court, while on the other the Hawks scored at will.
Trae Young set the pace throughout the second half and finished the game with 22 points and 11 assists. Also inspired were Jalen Johnson (21 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists) and De’Andre Hunter, with 24 points, including four triples from five attempts. The visitors entered the fourth quarter with a favorable 72-81. They became strong under the glass, especially in offensive rebounds (they added 22 in the game) and in a succession of alley-oops that the Knicks couldn’t see how to stop. Those from New York, in addition, made only 11 of their 42 three-pointers, to the despair of those attending the packed Madison Square Garden.
Young won the game over Jalen Brunson, who was left with 14 points after a series of only 5 of 15 baskets from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 19 rebounds, but he was charged with fouls early and was a leak in defense. The Knicks showed that
The Hawks, who are in the semifinals in Las Vegas this Saturday. They will face the Milwaukee Bucks of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who Although the Bucks have more name, the Hawks will want to honor the status of giant-killers that they have proven in this edition of the NBA Cup.
