With the first round of the Emirates NBA Cup quarterfinals finalized, four teams now find themselves on a roadtrip to Las Vegas as they look to face off in the semifinals of the In-Season tournament.
After defeating the Dallas Mavericks, the number one seeded Oklahoma City Thunder will have to get through another young and dominant team out West in order to move onto the championship game.
Time and Location
The Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Houston Rockets in the T-Mobile Area in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 8:30 PM EST/7:30 PM CDT as well as on ABC.
Lineups
For the Thunder, this is the lineup head coach Mark Daigneault used in the quarterfinals game:
| Position: | Name: | Number: |
| Point Guard | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 2 |
| Shooting Guard | Cason Wallace | 22 |
| Small Forward | Lu Dort | 5 |
| Power Forward | Jalen Williams | 8 |
| Center | Isaiah Hartenstein | 55 |
As for the Rockets, these are the starters they utilized in their matchup against the Warriors:
| Position: | Name: | Number: |
| Point Guard | Fred VanVleet | 5 |
| Shooting Guard | Jalen Green | 4 |
| Small Forward | Dillon Brooks | 9 |
| Power Forward | Jabari Smith Jr. | 10 |
| Center | Alperen Sengun | 28 |
Injuries
For OKC, Chet Holmgren (hip), Ousmane Dieng (finger), Adam Flager (finger) and Nikola Topic (ACL) are all out for Saturday’s game. For the first time this season, power forward/center Jaylin Williams is listed as day-to-day as he has been recovering from a hamstring injury.
As for Houston, they have no one on their roster listed as out, but have a variety of guys day-to-day. Alperen Sengun (knee), Cam Whitmore (wrist), Jae’Sean Tate (back) and Steven Adams (knee) are all on that list.
What to know
Last night, Dec. 11, the Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 91-90. Headed by Sengun who put up 26 points and 11 rebounds, it was an overall poor performance from the Rockets on their home court.
Shooting 22% from three and giving up 16 total turnovers, the Rockets were able to sneak by the Warriors with some ‘questionable’ calls and an equally poor shooting performance from Curry and Hield.
For the Thunder, they have faced the Rockets twice this season and have split the series 1-1. The first game OKC dominated Houston 126-107 and only lost by three in their second meeting due to an all-time performance from VanVleet and 40 free throw attempts.
The third official meeting is sure to be electric as there is much more on the line during this game in Vegas. For the Thunder to secure a spot in the title game, relying on their historic defense and recognizing how the game is being called is vital. Houston has an assortment of young stars who are able to put the ball in the basket, so minimizing their touches and forcing others to score will be key.
Throughout the entirety of the NBA Cup games, officials have been allowing more physical play. If that trend continues, OKC guards should have a field day against Houston.
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