Thunder pull away from Rockets, secure spot in NBA Cup final

LAS VEGAS -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched a berth in the NBA Cup final with a 111-96 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Oklahoma City will attempt to secure the in-season tournament crown against the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Isaiah Hartenstein added 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds for the Thunder, while Jalen Williams supplied 20 points, five boards and five assists.

Houston was within two, 68-66, after Dillon Brooks converted a layup with 2:12 to go in the third quarter. Oklahoma City extended its lead to 75-69 by the end of the frame, though, then took over in the fourth.

The Thunder went on a 17-10 run over the first 5:59 of the final period, going up 92-79 when Williams pulled up for a jumper. Fred VanVleet eventually had the Rockets' deficit down to 101-93 after drilling a 3-pointer with 2:13 to go, but Oklahoma City answered with the next eight points to put the game away.

Amen Thompson came off the bench to post a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds for Houston, which also got 14 points apiece from Brooks and Jabari Smith Jr. Alperen Sengun chipped in 13 points, but VanVleet was held to eight and went just 3-for-15 from the floor.

A sloppy first half in which neither team shot above 34 percent from the field ended with the Rockets ahead 42-41. Houston was up by six before Gilgeous-Alexander scored the final five points of the second quarter.

The first-half struggles started in the first quarter, when Oklahoma City made 7 of 23 shots (30.4 percent) and the Rockets made 6 of 24 (25 percent). Houston grabbed a 16-9 lead just over 8 1/2 minutes into the game and had a 20-18 edge after 12 minutes of action.

For the game, the Thunder outshot the Rockets 45 percent to 36.5 percent overall.

--Will Despart, Field Level Media