Alexander was stumped, halted bya Houston defense that reaps on creativity and would hate to see a shot fall on its account.  And so, the Thunder’s 111-96 win against the Rockets on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in the NBA Cup semifinals became as much a game of wit as it was brutality.

From there, the contest ramped up in physicality, with both teams getting to the line often. At the half, Houston held a 42-41 lead. The team’s had combined to his just six of 37 3-point attempts. Backup point guard Amen Thompson was nearly the only bright spot on offense,

But a semifinal win and NBA Cup finals appearance comes at a price. They'd play the Milwaukee Bucks or Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, Dec. 17 and extend their stay in Las Vegas for three more days. The NBA Cup finals game itself not counting towards the standings also deflates some of the excitement, as it'd be an 83rd game for both squads.