The Hawks vs Knicks rival continued into the NBA Cup quarterfinal game where Trae Young led the Hawks to a 108-100 win. Young had 22 PTS, 5 REB and 11 AST being the offensive engine for the team. Jalen Johnson also contributed greatly all around having 21 PTS, 15 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL and 2 BLK. The Hawks played good defense limiting Jalen Brunson's effectiveness as he shot 5/15 FG. The Knicks played their brand of basketball with all five of their starters having more than 13 PTS however, the team shot an abysmal 11/42 (26%) from three while also giving up easy lobs on the other end. Their poor shooting seemed to play right into what the Hawks wanted. The later game came down to a loose ball foul while Jalen Green had the ball on the ground after his steal. This resulted in Green knocking down two big free throws making the game 91-90 with three seconds left and the Warriors did not score. Alperen Sengun was the major bright spot of the Rockets going right at Draymond Green scoring 26 PTS, 11 REB and 5 AST. The Rockets defense was able to contain Stephen Curry to 19 PTS on 8/17 FG. After Curry, the Warriors scoring takes a large dip that puts the Warriors in bad scoring droughts.
Trae Young definitely comes out ready when facing the Knicks especially in the Garden and he did not disappoint. Young took exactly what the defense gave to him. At the end of the game there was a stretch of three consecutive alley-oops that had Young just playing around with the defensive rotations. Young was definitely feeling himself skipping after one of those alley-oops and rolling the dice on the Knicks logo at the end of the game adding to Young's showmanship. With the Hawks figuring out the Knicks defense it resulted in a 34-18 third quarter margin. Young found his teammates, both Johnson and De'andre Hunter, and they had twenty point games. Hunter has had 5 twenty point games in his last five games, all off the bench, and is closing games looking like a true 6MOTY candidate. On the other end, Jalen Brunson was doubled by Dyson Daniels who is looking to have an All-Defensive type season and was shooting through the double. Unlike Young's playmaking that generated efficient offensive nights, Brunson was passing into the shots the Hawks wanted. Og Anunoby was limited from his transition scoring which resulted in him shooting 1/9 from three along with Mikal Bridges shooting 1/5 from three. This left Karl Anthony-Towns to clean up those misses having 19 PTS and 19 REB. After both teams recognized the Knicks wings weren't going to be on tonight all the pressure comes down to their worse offensive player in the lineup Josh Hart. Hart was able to get 21 PTS, 8 REB and 6 AST becoming that scoring option for the Knicks which is exactly what the Hawks want, to limit Karl and Jalen offensive touches. The problem with The Knicks is that if a team were to shut down the wings like the Hawks did all that's coming off the bench are two guards in Cameron Payne and Miles McBride. When those guards do come out they're taking the spot of Brunson who was clearly hounded all night. It's no surprise McBride shot 2/8 FG. The regular season needs more utilization from the bench in order to build confidence in role players and preserve stars. In a way, every team knows what lineup to expect from the Knicks as head coach Tom Thibodeau won't go deep into his bench.
The Houston Rockets finally win against the Golden State Warriors for the first time since February 2020. Losing twice to them this year. I just felt the Rockets had to have figured out a way to beat this Warriors team. Even though Sengun was the only player on the Rockets with an outstanding game, the Rockets won this game by committee. The team played to their strengths down hill scoring looking like only team in the league to not fall in love with the three. Unlike the Thunder semifinal game, it was impressive to see the Rockets and Hawks pull out wins playing their brand of basketball. When they needed a three it was big time like Fred VanVleet's three in-front of the Rockets bench to make it a three point game. I would like to see this team find some rhythm shooting because as of right know Jabari Smith Jr. looks like their most smooth shooter shooting 3/7 3FG but don't want that to define his game for this team. The bench duo of Amen Thompson and Tari Eason have been elite adding a spark plug on attacking the basket and both being defensive menaces. Thompson having a better game out of the two scoring 10 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL and 2 BLK while face guarding Curry. With all that being said, the Warriors had the game in their hands and lost the game off of sloppy ball management. Even looking in hindsight I thought the Steve Kerr's technical was horrible. Curry on the elbow puts up a shot attempt and comes up way short probably because he got hit on the elbow. Curry and Kerr both are fired up but nothing worth a technical. It's only when the Rockets come down and hit an open corner three that Kerr loses it. It reminded me of open gym runs where a foul would be called after half the people in the gym are already down the court. I understand the frustration of a missed call but either get the tech right then and there or call a timeout in frustration after the three. In essence, the technical is now a four point swing. Even if you take away the technical shot this game is sent into over time. On top of all this you had Draymond Green putting his body in a lot of 50/50 plays and I was confused why he would be going for a charge based on the time left in the game, how close the score was, and how the game had been called.
On Saturday December 14th the semifinal's games will be played, Hawks vs Bucks (4:30 EST) and Rockets vs Thunder (8:30 EST). The next Hawks vs Knicks game, if interested in keeping up with that rivalry, is January 20th. All games from here on out for the NBA Cup will be played in Las Vegas with the last two games not counting towards regular standings.
Kommentare