NBA Cup: New York beats Orlando and San Antonio shocks Oklahoma

On the night of December 13-14, the semi-finals of the NBA in-season tournament took place in Las Vegas.

Orlando played New York and won the first quarter with a score of 36:33. However, in the second minute, the Knicks managed to change the course of the match, took the lead and entered the long break with a 7-point lead (71:64). New York then controlled the course of the game and carried the match to a landslide victory 132:120.

The best player of the match was Brunson, who scored 40 points for the Knicks. Also noteworthy was the 29 points of Towns and Anunoby, who contributed greatly to their team’s victory.

Oklahoma City and San Antonio played in the second semifinal. After performing successfully in the first quarter by winning by 11 points (31:20), Thunder started the second quarter well and increased its advantage to 16 points (49:33). Then, there was a development for Spurs, who won the last two and a half minutes of the first half with a score of 13:0 and entered the halftime with a 3-point lead at 46:49. The third and fourth quarters were a balanced contest and neither team had a lead of more than 6 points. “San Antonio” was mostly ahead, they had a minimal advantage and in the clutch they did not allow their opponents to shoot with equal scores and achieved a sensational victory – 111:109.

Returning from injury, Vembanyama played an important role in Spurs’ victory with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Castle and Fox also had 22 points each, and Vassell was the most productive name with 23 points.

NBA. In-season tournament. Semi-finals, 14 December

Orlando – New York – 120:132 (36:33, 28:38, 28:29, 28:32)

Orlando’s: Suggs (26 + 7 assists), Banchero (25 + 8 rebounds + 5 losses), Bane (18 + 7 assists), Carter (14), Black (12 + 8 rebounds) – start; Richardson (9), Howard (8), Isaac (5), Jones (3), Bitadze (0), da Silva (0).

New York: Brunson (40 + 8 assists), Towns (29 + 8 rebounds), Anunoby (24), Bridges (16), Hart (12 + 6 assists) – start; Robinson (5 + 9 rebounds + 4 blocks), Kolek (4), Clarkson (2), Yabusele (0).

Oklahoma City – San Antonio – 109:111 (31:20, 18:26, 28:32, 32:33)

Oklahoma City: Gilgeous-Alexander (29 + 5 turnovers), Holmgren (17 + 7 rebounds), Jaylen Williams (17 + 7 rebounds), Hartenstein (10 + 9 rebounds), Dort (3) – start; Caruso (11 + 8 rebounds), Mitchell (9), Wallace (7), Jaylin Williams (6), Wiggins (0).

San Antonio: Vassell (23), Fox (22), Castle (22 + 6 losses), Barnes (6), Cornet (2 + 8 rebounds) – start; Vembanyama (22 + 9 rebounds + 5 losses), Harper (8), Shempeni (3 + 8 rebounds), K. Johnson (3).