Newsletters
Turkish center Alperen Sengun delivered another standout performance in the NBA Cup group stage on Friday night, posting 25 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, though his Houston Rockets fell 121–110 to the San Antonio Spurs on the road.
Playing 35 minutes at Frost Bank Center, Sengun anchored the Rockets’ offense with his inside scoring and playmaking, keeping Houston competitive until late in the third quarter. His all-around effort was one of his most complete outings of the season, reinforcing his growing reputation as one of the league’s most skilled big men.
The Spurs, however, overturned an 11-point first-half deficit to secure their sixth win in eight games. Harrison Barnes led San Antonio with 24 points, while rookie Victor Wembanyama and Julian Champagnie added 22 each. Stephon Castle notched a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists.
San Antonio closed the first half on a 12-0 run to lead 51–50 at the break and maintained their advantage for most of the second half, denying Houston a sixth consecutive victory. Wembanyama praised his teammates’ energy, saying the group stayed "relentless" on defense and rebounding.
Kevin Durant added 24 points for the Rockets, while Reed Sheppard and Amen Thompson contributed 16 and 14 points, respectively. Despite the loss, Houston remains competitive in its NBA Cup group as the tournament progresses.
The defeat dropped the Rockets to 5–3 on the season, while the Spurs improved to 6–2.
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo powered the Milwaukee Bucks with 41 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists in a 126–110 win over the Chicago Bulls, ending the defending NBA Cup champions’ two-game skid. Matas Buzelis led Chicago with 20 points, while Josh Giddey added 16 points and 14 assists.
The Bulls surrendered first place in the East to the Detroit Pistons, who beat the Brooklyn Nets 125–107 behind Cade Cunningham’s 34 points.
In Sacramento, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from their first loss by routing the Kings 132–101, led by Isaiah Hartenstein’s 33 points and 19 rebounds and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30. Nikola Jokic posted 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists as the Denver Nuggets downed the Golden State Warriors 129–104, with Stephen Curry sidelined.
Anthony Edwards scored 37 points to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Utah Jazz 137–97, while Julius Randle recorded a 19-point triple-double. The Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Washington Wizards 148–114, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 118–104 to end a four-game slide, and the Miami Heat opened with a franchise-record 53-point first quarter to top the Charlotte Hornets 126–108.
Now in its third year, the NBA Cup features all 30 teams split into six groups of five, with the top eight advancing to the quarterfinals on December 9–10 before the semifinals and final in Las Vegas on December 13 and 16.
1 min read
3 min read
