Jalen Green sank two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to help the Houston Rockets pull out a 91-90 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in an NBA Cup quarterfinal.
The Rockets snapped a 15-game series skid to the Warriors and advanced to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas, where they will face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
Green emerged from a scrum with the ball after a foul on Jonathan Kuminga. After Green converted both attempts, Brandin Podziemski had his 3-point attempt blocked by Jabari Smith Jr. Podziemski and Kuminga sank consecutive 3s earlier in the fourth to stretch the Golden State lead to 89-82, its largest of the game.
Alperen Sengun paced the Rockets with a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds. His layup with 27 seconds sliced the deficit to 90-89. Smith added 15 points and Green 12 for the Rockets, who won despite missing 21 of 27 3-pointers and committing 17 turnovers.
Kuminga led the Warriors with 20 points and seven rebounds. Stephen Curry added 19 points and five assists. Golden State committed 22 turnovers which Houston converted into 30 points.
The Warriors’ 32-point third quarter shifted momentum squarely in their corner. Kuminga converted a second-chance basket following a pair of offensive rebounds before Curry scored through a foul to cut the deficit to 57-55. When Trayce Jackson-Davis hit two free throws at the 3:54 mark of the third, the Warriors had their first lead since the first quarter at 60-59.
After missing 18 of 22 3s in the first half, the Warriors hit 4 of 8 from deep in the third. Buddy Hield had 11 points in the period and nailed three 3s, becoming the 17th player in NBA history to reach 2,000 three-pointers. The Warriors led 69-68 entering the fourth.
Both defenses controlled the action in the first quarter. After Dillon Brooks’ three-point play gave the Rockets an 18-15 lead at the 4:25 mark of the period, neither team scored again until Curry drilled a 3-pointer with 60 seconds left that pulled the Warriors even. The Rockets carried a 20-18 lead into the second.
When the Rockets carved out a 40-26 lead on an Amen Thompson second-chance dunk with 4:14 left in the half, the Warriors responded with an 11-2 blitz.
The Rockets led 44-37 at the half. The Warriors replied with their customary third-quarter magic.