NBA Cup winners and losers: Warriors collapse, fall short of semifinals
The NBA will bring star power and one of the league’s promising young teams to the NBA Cup semifinals.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Atlanta’s Trae Young and the up-and-coming Houston Rockets, who have three starters 22 years old or younger, will be featured when the Bucks play the Hawks in one semifinal (4:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and the Thunder face the Rockets in the other semifinal (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The winners will meet in the NBA Cup final Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
After Milwaukee and Oklahoma City won Tuesday, Atlanta and Houston secured the two remaining spots Wednesday. The Hawks defeated New York 108-100, and the Rockets edged Golden State 91-90 in a game that included a controversial call in the final seconds.
Here are the winners and losers from the NBA Cup quarterfinals:
Winner
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun
Alperen Sengun, the 22-year-old Turkish big man, has developed into one of the best centers in the league, and that was on display against the Warriors. Sengun had 26 points (10-for-18 shooting), 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. He is averaging a double-double (18.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, plus 5.3 assists) for the Rockets, who are 17-8 and tied for second place in the Western Conference. Get to know these Rockets. It was their first victory against Golden State since 2020.
Loser
Golden State Warriors’ final 3:03
The Warriors are unhappy about a foul referee Bill Kennedy called on Golden State during a loose ball scramble with 3.5 seconds left and the Warriors up 90-89. It was an iffy call even if justified in the league’s Last Two-Minute report, and Jalen Green made the two free throws for the victory.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr will be fined for his postgame comments. However … the Warriors didn’t score in the final three minutes after taking a 90-84 lead with 3:03 left in the fourth quarter and still had a six-point lead with 80 seconds remaining.
Winner
Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson and Hawks’ offensive rebounding
Loser
New York Knicks’ third quarter
The Knicks owned a 62-52 lead with 9:50 left in the third quarter. Now, a 10-point lead in the NBA can be eliminated in four possessions. But at home, with a spot in the Cup semifinals at stake, the Knicks stumbled. In the next nine minutes, Atlanta outscored New York 29-8 for an 81-70 lead. Jalen Brunson (just 14 points on 5-for-15 shooting, 10 points below his season average) and OG Anunoby were a combined 10-for-32 shooting, including 3-for-15 on 3-pointers.
Winner
Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is No. 1 in USA TODAY’s NBA MVP rankings, added another line to his MVP-caliber season with 39 points on 15-for-23 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block in the Thunder’s 118-104 victory over Dallas in an NBA Cup quarterfinal Tuesday. Oklahoma City is playing as well as any team in the league, and Gilgeous-Alexander is the cog that makes the Thunder roll. He averages 30.2 points, 6.3 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks and shoots 51.5% from the field – the only player posting at least 30 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game this season.
Loser
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Donic’s first and third quarters
Luka Doncic, another MVP candidate, went just 1-for-5 from the field and scored just two points and committed three turnovers in the first quarter. He was just 1-for-3 shooting in the third quarter as the Thunder outscored Dallas 65-43 in those two quarters. Doncic finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals, but had six turnovers and the rough shooting mitigated the good.
Winner
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Damian Lillard
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals and Damian Lillard delivered 28 points and nine assists in Milwaukee’s 114-109 victory against Orlando in an NBA Cup quarterfinal. The Bucks have won 11 of their past 14 games, and in that stretch, Antetokounmpo and Lillard have combined to average 51.2 points, 13 rebounds, 12.7 assists and 1.4 steals. It’s what the Bucks envisioned in this pairing when they traded for Lillard before the start of last season.
Loser
Orlando Magic’s 3-point shooting
In a five-point loss to Milwaukee – a game which the Orlando Magic led by three points with 63 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter – shooting 22.2% on 3-pointers and getting outscored 33-18 from that distance hurt the Magic. Orlando was without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner – both sidelined with oblique injuries – and that played a part in the loss. But the Magic’s 3-ball is worth watching: they are last in 3-point shooting (30.9%) and No. 26 in 3-point makes per game (11.6).
