After a win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Oklahoma City Thunder will face another Western Conference foe in the NBA Cup Semifinals on Saturday in Las Vegas.
The NBA Cup’s second season of existence has brought competitiveness and meaningful action across the league. The Oklahoma City Thunder put together a 3-1 record in the Group Stage to advance as one of eight teams around the NBA to make it to the Knockout Rounds.
From there, Oklahoma City played an important game on Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks, with the winner set to advance to Las Vegas for the Semifinal round of the NBA Cup, while the loser would be eliminated from the tournament.
This game was significant for multiple reasons. For one, Dallas defeated the Thunder 4-2 in the second round of the playoffs last season before ultimately going on to the NBA Finals and falling to the Boston Celtics. Furthermore, these two teams matched up earlier in the 2024-25 campaign, with the Mavs getting the two-point victory.
After losing to the Mavericks in the playoffs and then dropping the first contest between these teams this season, Oklahoma City entered Tuesday’s NBA Cup game with a different level of intensity.
