Alexander was stumped, halted by a Houston defense that reaps on creativity and would hate to see a shot fall on its account.  The second half ended in triumph, with muscles being flexed and imaginary guns placed in holsters.

Oklahoma City is one win away from the NBA Cup. On Saturday, the Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 111-96 in the semifinal of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. The Thunder used a big second half to eventually pull away and punch their ticket to Tuesday’s championship game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The NBA announced that the Thunder will have their two upcoming games against the Cleveland Cavaliers in front of a national audience. The Jan. 8 Thunder vs. Cavaliers game will be broadcast on ESPN with a 6 p.m. CT tip. And the Jan. 16 Cavaliers vs. Thunder game will be broadcast on TNT with a 6:30 p.m. CT tip.