The Thunder should root for the Rockets to advance. Their recent loss to them is mostly the motivation for that. Plus, Houston is near OKC in the standings. An NBA Cup win will give it more breathing room. It'd also be a nice palate cleanser from OKC's most annoying loss.

On Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets will look to end a 15-game streak that lands in favor of the Golden State Warriors, this time with the stakes raised in

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-104 win over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot 15 for 23 from the field and tied a season high by making five 3-pointers. Jalen Williams scored 18 points, and Isaiah Hartenstein added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

As the Houston Rockets make their NBA Cup knockout round debut, fans can watch it via an intriguing new alternative. TNT Sports is collaborating with NBA 2K and Genius Sports to provide an immersive NBA 2K25 DataCast broadcast of all 2024 NBA Cup quarterfinals and semifinal games.

If Golden State beats Houston, the Warriors will head to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals against the winner of Tuesday night’s Thunder-Mavericks game. If they lose tonight, they’ll return home to the Chase Center for the loser of that matchup.