Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault described the first half of Saturday's NBA Cup semifinal between the league's two stingiest defensive teams as "muddled." That's about the most pleasant word that can be used to describe the worst shooting half of the season for both the Thunder and the Houston Rockets.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — It was midway through the third quarter of the Oklahoma City-Houston NBA Cup semifinal matchup on Saturday night. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made a short jumper in the lane and, to his delight, a time-out was immediately called. He needed it.

The Oklahoma City Thunder collected a much-needed 111-96 win over the Houston Rockets in the 2024 NBA Cup semifinals. They will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the finals. The early moments of this contest resembled what a duel between the league's best two defenses should look like.