Wednesday night’s Emirates NBA Cup was the biggest game that many of the young Houston Rockets have ever played.

That young core rose to the occasion once again as the Rockets took down the Warriors 91-90 in a defensive battle.

Houston’s win advances them to the NBA Cup semi-finals in Las Vegas, where they will face the OKC Thunder on Saturday night.

If the Rockets can come out of that game on top, they will make it to Tuesday night’s championship game where they will play either the Atlanta Hawks or Milwaukee Bucks.

Bringing it back to Wednesday, the Rockets snapped their fifteen-game losing streak against the Warriors.

It was Houston’s first win against Golden State since James Harden and Russell Westbrook fueled an early 2020 effort.

Jalen Green knocked down two free throws with just 3.5 seconds left after being controversially fouled on a loose ball. Green had 12 points on 15 shots as one of three Rockets starters in double figures.

Alperen Sengun led the way with 26 points and had 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals to go along with it.

Jabari Smith Jr. had 15 points on 6-11 shooting in another strong performance from the former Auburn Tiger.

Off the bench, the Rockets only used three players with Amen Thompson scoring 11 points, Tari Eason with 9, and Aaron Holliday with 2.

As a team, the Rockets struggled mightily from the three-point line shooting just 6-27 from beyond the arc.

From the field, the Rockets shot 45.8% as they scored 58 of their 91 points in the paint.

Despite a good first half, the Warriors used a huge third-quarter run to make the game close and eventually take the lead in the 4th.

Houston made several clutch plays down the stretch and now will head to Las Vegas because of it.