The Houston Rockets snapped a 15-game losing streak against the Golden State Warriors in thrilling and controversial fashion on Wednesday night with a 91-90 victory in the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. With the win, the Rockets advanced to Las Vegas and will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals. After trailing by six with less than 90 seconds to play, the Rockets closed on a 7-0 run and went ahead for good on a pair of free throws by Jalen Green with 3.
5 seconds left. In the lead up to Green's free throws, there was a chaotic sequence that left the Warriors questioning the officials. According to the league's Last Two Minute Report , however, the refs got it right.
Let's take a look back at the madness. After Alperen Sengun cut the deficit to one with a layup with 27.2 seconds to go, the Rockets decided to play defense instead of fouling.
The Warriors ran the clock down, though perhaps not as far as you may have expected . Steph Curry launched a step-back 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining on the shot clock that was wide right. In the ensuing scramble for the loose ball, Gary Payton II dove on it, and then Fred VanVleet dove on top of him.
Payton then tried to roll the ball over to Jonathan Kuminga , but Green read the situation and hit the deck himself. Kuminga and Green converged, and Kuminga was ultimately called for a foul, which sent Green to the line for the game-winning free throws for Houston. WARRIORS LOSE TO ROCKETS IN FINAL SECONDS AFTER A LOOSE BALL.
