Oklahoma City is one win away from the NBA Cup.

On Saturday, the Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 111-96 in the semifinal of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. The Thunder used a big second half to eventually pull away and punch their ticket to Tuesday’s championship game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Defense was the main theme of the game, with neither squad finding much of a rhythm until the Thunder got some shots to fall late. Thanks to the league’s best defense, the Thunder never had to worry about a Rockets breakthrough, holding Houston to 36.5% shooting, including an 11-of-46 night from beyond the arc.

Along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 32-point night, the Thunder got key performances from Isaiah Hartenstein, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort, scoring 21, 20 and 19, respectively.

Let’s dive into three lessons that can be learned from yesterday’s game.

Going into the locker room after a sloppy first half, Oklahoma City had only 41 points on the scoreboard. Given the gritty nature of the first 24 minutes, it felt possible that neither team would crack 100 points.

That held true for the Rockets after they put up only 42 in the first half, but the Thunder found a way to overcome their 14-of-42 performance to begin the game. The Thunder followed their lowest-scoring first half of the season with a 70-point eruption in the second half.

Along with finally getting to the line with some consistency, hitting 17 free throws, the Thunder shot 57.9% from the floor, including a smoking hot 9-of-12 from 3-point range. Dort nailed all four of his deep shots, with Jalen Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander adding a couple.

The second half was one of the first performances this season where the Thunder dominated with not only their defense but also showed their offensive firepower.

While the entire team showed up in the second half, Gilgeous-Alexander was the key force behind the Thunder’s sprint to the finish line. With 20 of his 32 points coming in the second half, Gilgeous-Alexander was a force to be reckoned with.

He also added eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in Saturday’s win, showing his all-around ability on the biggest stage so far this season. He also showed an ability to adjust his game after Houston held him to only one make on his first nine attempts.

He had many impressive plays throughout his MVP-like performance, including a stepback three midway through the fourth that demoralized the Rockets and pushed the lead to 11. Outside of his individual stats, Gilgeous-Alexander understands what it takes to win and pushes his team there almost every night.

With the Thunder sitting at 20-5 and their superstar delivering on a nightly basis, Vegas is just the latest chapter in a special season for Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Thunder have now matched up with the Rockets three times this season. However, Chet Holmgren was only on the floor for the first meeting before suffering his pelvic fracture that is set to keep him out for several more weeks. 

Of course, the Thunder’s championship hopes are dependent on being healthy, and Holmgren may be the most important player if Houston and Oklahoma City meet in the postseason. While Houston’s defense gave the Thunder problems in Vegas, Holmgren presents a matchup nightmare for the Rockets, specifically Alperen Sengun.

Along with Holmgren’s impressive offensive abilities, he might be the best defender on the Thunder, which is wild considering the team has maintained its league-leading defense in his absence. In the teams’ first matchup, Holmgren scored 29 points while holding Sengun to 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting in a 19-point Thunder win.

Although Isaiah Hartenstein has done a spectacular job filling in as the starting center, Houston remains the only team Oklahoma City has lost to with Hartenstein in the lineup.

The Thunder’s impressive performance against the Rockets pushed them one step closer to the grand prize of $500,000 per player. While the game won’t count toward the regular season standings, the Thunder will meet the Bucks for the first time on Tuesday with an opportunity to make an early-season statement and take home the NBA Cup.

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