Gilgeous-Alexander, who was 14-for-15 on free throws and collected eight rebounds, six assists and five steals, and Williams, an All-Star in the making who also added five rebounds and five assists, scored 11 of 13 Thunder points during a stretch in the fourth quarter that pushed Oklahoma City’s lead from 84-79 to 97-82.

NBA Cup losers

Thunder-Rockets offense

In a game featuring the two best defenses – Oklahoma City No. 1, Houston No. 2 – offense was not easy or pretty. There are several ways to break down the atrocious offensive stats. The teams were a combined 6-for-37 on 3-pointers at halftime (Houston led 42-41, marking the lowest-scoring half for the Thunder this season). Oklahoma City’s top two scorers – Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams – were a combined 1-for-10 from the field at one point in the first quarter.

Houston had its problems, too. The Rockets shot 36.5% from the field, 23.9% on 3-pointers and 60% on free throws. The Rockets’ second-leading scorer, Alperen Sengun, had 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting, and their leading scorer, Jalen Green, had just 12 points on 5-for-14 shooting, including 1-for-8 on 3s. Fred VanVleet missed 10 of his 11 3-point attempts. The Rockets were 2-for-15 on 3s in the fourth quarter.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are losers by default – simply because they lost the game. But they played well enough to win. They shot 41.7% on 3-pointers, their bench outscored Milwaukee’s bench 33-26 and Trae Young had 35 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Their biggest issue against the Bucks: points in the paint. They tied the Bucks with 42 points in the paint but shot just 42% on those shots compared to 67.7% for Milwaukee.