great hops. great finish. finish. [door closed] a'ja. your car's small! it's a little cramped, but,it's fine! fine? when you became mvp once, was that fine? no. you did it thrice. they built you a statue! but you're fine with this tiny car when you could just sell it to carmax? you're right. it's not fine!

i can't feel my legs! never settle. on the lot or on the court. carmax. >> >> mike: the nba on christmas day tradition continues. five star-studded games on espn, espn plus and abc. spurs-knicks starts at noon eastern. a special real-time animated version of the game on espn plus and disney plus. always a fun day and some terrific match-ups. gilgeous-alexander. beautiful pass. and hartenstein with the that's six assists for gilgeous-alexander. 17 points for hartenstein. nice move at the other end for thompson. thompson has played really well. 19 and 7 for amen thompson. jalen williams. hartenstein. pass to wallace. three-pointer.

dort keeps it alive. save by williams. three minutes remaining. gilgeous-alexander. nice feed again. hartenstein. and a foul on jabari smith. free throws for isaiah hartenstein. >> richard: shai gilgeous-alexander just the left hand. you see a little english on it too. that's a difficult, difficult pass. it is impressive right now. okc up 11 with three to go. prep up. with descovy for prep. descovy for prep helps protect against hiv. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep is not for people assigned female at birth. talk to your healthcare provider to find out if descovy, the smallest prep pill available, is right for you. in a two-year study, 99.7% of people stayed hiv-negative while on descovy. descovy doesn't prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so use safer sex practices. you must test hiv-negative before and at least every 3 months while taking descovy. tell your healthcare provider right away

if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms. they may want to test you for hiv. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems. if you have hepatitis b, don't stop taking descovy without talking to your healthcare provider, as your hepatitis b may get worse. ask your healthcare provider if descovy for prep is right for you. get help paying for descovy for prep. learn more at descovy.com. >> doris: shai might be the engine and have 30 but a guy helping him along the way and jalen williams with his screening is isaiah hartenstein. just tremendous feel in pick and roll. understands how to set a screen, when to get off it, when to roll. he's got unbelievable hands to catch and finish, can shoot free throws. this guy has had an understated impact on this basketball game.

>> mike: sixth team. this year he's making 30 million. that's more than he made in his first six years combined. he's really blossomed. he started when he finished with the clippers, had two terrific years with the knicks, and the thunder, boy, did they pick up a gem in terms of what fits perfectly with this team. this is only his tenth game. he missed 15 games with a broken left hand. and now with holmgren out he's essential. williams deflects it. >> doris: look at hartenstein slide his feet and cut that drive off. >> mike: jalen green can't get it to fall. ball tipped and taken by brooks. how about that defense inside? sengun. and a foul. took a hit from dort. not an easy thing to do. and a chance for a three-point play. >> richard: sengun with the post-up against the much smaller defender there. good duck in, sealing the body and lu dort trying to get that

block, gets the and one. >> mike: they're going to challenge. ng home the bacon, there's nothing wrong with a nice, smoky nightcap. after all, it's 5a.m. somewhere. hormel black label bacon. you never get used to the pressure. you just learn to embrace it. expectations aren't a burden. they're a privilege. because it could be worse.

no one could expect anything at all. it's just like yore here. okay. iissed it >> mike: 2:37 remaining. the call stands. as it looked like that may have been overturned. sengun with a nice steal. and look how he -- that left hand, he pushed off. >> doris: i agree, but i think it's this lower body of dort. that contact chest to chest is what that call has to be. >> richard: i'm going to disagree because i think the left hand hit before the lower body hit. if you're in oklahoma city, you're not happy about that call. if you're in houston, you're ecstatic. >> mike: they said it was dort's a to b movement. you disagree in such a nice calm way. >> richard: but only with doris. you i will disagree vehemently.

>> mike: i want you to say, "you're dead wrong!" 11-point game. under 2:30 remaining. williams falling away, shot it up, bounces off, won't go. vanvleet looking to push. vanvleet tries a three-pointer. got it! boy, it has been a struggle. 0 for 9 from three. gets that to go. he still has eight rebounds, seven assists. vanvleet such a terrific player. but has struggled from downtown. back to eight. inside, hartenstein! with another stuff. >> richard: you see houston trying to extend their defense. but look, one of the reasons they had jalen green with the ball is because he's the only player in my opinion that can beat a man truly off the dribble in this entire line-up. >> mike: jalen green a little hesitation. well defended by wallace. another good defender on his team. ball knocked loose. picked up by jalen williams.

10-point lead. a minute and a half remaining. >> doris: those are repetitions that will in the long run help jalen green. but that's a tough shot right there. >> mike: brooks trying to stay with him. gilgeous-alexander enjoying it. drives. falling away. shot block. green got a piece of it. it's going to go the other way. excellent defense from the rockets, who showed once again they are one of the premier defensive teams in the league. but the thunder figured out a way here in the second half. and a time out call by ime udoka. shai gilgeous-alexander 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists. 13 free throw attempts. this is such an impressive performance because of how he got there. some nights the ball just drops, everything's going in, or you play against poor defensive teams. here he's playing against this physical tough defensive team, struggled mightily in the first half, and figured out a way. >> richard: it's impressive, but it's just the consistency. it's the routine.

the confidence comes from the work that you have put in. and everyone that we have talked to, coaches, people on the staff, they are so complimentary of shai, and it's because of his approach to the game. and i think that spills over into jalen williams and lu dort. he is the ultimate leader of a franchise. >> mike: so a comfortable 10-point lead. 1:19 remaining here in the semifinal. the first semifinal earlier today, the bucks outlasted the hawks. went down to the wire. and a championship game, milwaukee bucks against either the rockets or the thunder. obviously looking right now like okc will have the matchup. he loves basketball, and we love what he did for basketball. he's been such a great ambassador as well since his hall of fame career. was here for the first time. here for the second game. the great oscar robertson. and the foul is going to be -- it's on caruso.

it's an away from the play foul. it's going to be a free throw and then side out. that means the foul occurred before the inbound pass. caruso a little perplexed. that's the last thing right now that okc wants. >> doris: that's dillon brooks at his fine yft ball don't lie. >> richard: you've got to respect it. you've got to respect it. . he got a free throw for his team. but like you said, doris, the ball does not lie. >> mike: he has been a big part of their success. brooks fires away. that one way off. dort the rebound.

gilgeous-alexander to williams. brooks playing with those five fouls. williams goes to the rim, stops, double-teamed. stays strong, kicks it out. wallace a three. bang! that will do it. a 13-point lead, under a minute remaining. how about williams taking contact and fighting through the double-team? sengun tries to answer, cannot. vanvleet comes up with it, goes to the corner. that one in and out. and a whistle and a foul. >> doris: mike, remember that sound we played? a scuffle here. >> mike: everybody quickly gets between them. it was great work by the coaching staff officials. going down to the other end for

free throws with 40 seconds remaining. >> doris: you can't have this game, these two teams without some sort of extracurricular. happened the last time out. >> richard: and there should be. these are two teams that if someone told you for the next three to five years will be battling in playoffs, they are headed in that direction. i love a good tussle. >> mike: now, watch sengun -- >> richard: oh, yeah, that was extra. >> mike: goes at wallace there. wallace responds. and then of course the teammates join in. winds up being much ado about nothing. >> doris: double technical do you think here? >> mike: yeah. >> richard: 92 people came on the floor to prevent anything from happening. i like both players not backing down. >> mike: jimmy capers over at the scorer's table talking back to the replay center in secaucus. sengun as we've said has just had such a terrific start to the season. but a struggle today shooting

the ball early. >> doris: but mike, remember that sound we played from mark daigneault at the half where he said guys, we've got to play with force on the offensive end? as you see the officials discussing. they'll come up with a rule here soon. they played with more force. shai and jail nen particular. >> referee: upon review we have a physical taunt on sengun and wallace. double technical fouls. we will take the ball out with 23 on the shot clock. oklahoma city have possession of the ball at the time of the whistle, and we will play from there. >> mike: all right. thank you, jimmy capers. right from the opening tip it seemed every pass, every dripping, every shot was contested. both these teams not only play great defense, they play physical aggressive defense. and some frustration there from

the rockets. still a terrific accomplishment for them to get into the semifinals. one of the real surprise teams in the nba so far this year. but the thunder showing their mettle here in the second half. williams double-teamed. caruso has it. kicks it out. lu dort lines it up. puts it in! lu dort's fifth three-pointer. a 16-point lead. and a technical foul has been called. i think it's on -- on dort. >> doris: alls he did was bring the three up. is it because he looked at the bench? >> richard: they said it was a gun sign. he's saying he put up the three fingers. he doesn't know that he's canadian and that's how they show three. are you okay, mike? >> mike: i'm still getting used to your sick sense of humor. >> richard: let's see.

yeah, that's -- the scissors. yeah. that's three. >> mike: well, the officials clearly want to make sure that nothing happens in the final 17 seconds. caruso still playing tough defense. green gets inside, lays it up and in. the oklahoma city thunder with their suffocating physical defense will advance to the finals. they found a way in the second half. come on, guys. >> richard: it was so suffocating it took me a couple of times to get it out. i thought you were really trying to emphasize it like defense. >> mike: oh, man. a 32-point game with eight rebounds and six assists for one

of the elite players in basketball. and a tremendous second half the thunder. thunder advance to play the bucks tuesday night for the nba cup. the rockets again one of the surprise teams in the nba come in with the fifth best record in the entire league. but the defense difficult tonight against the thunder. and they fall short of their hopes of winning the nba gilgeous-alexander the leading scorer. but hartenstein, williams, dort, as usual one of those total team efforts from this thunder team. they are so that first half was such a

struggle. score at halftime was 42-41. thunder had 41 points. but gilgeous-alexander and the thunder come alive in the second half. he's with lisa. >> lisa: shai, we knew it was going to be a physical, defensive battle. everything was contested. just how were you guys able to find just enough offense tonight? >> we stayed with it. shut up, shut up. we stayed with our principles. >> we're on live tv! >> lisa: yeah, you can't say that on live tv. the kids are listening. >> my bad. i'm going to wait till he's done. we stayed to our principles. to our -- we knew we'd be able to kick in enough shots. we stayed with it. we just focused on getting stops the whole night. we knew if we did that at a high level we'd give ourselves a chance and that's what happened. >> lisa: okay. now, be quiet, guys. you came alive in the third quarter. just what started feeling good for you out of the locker room? >> yeah, i just wanted to be aggressive. basketball is full of ups and

downs. you're going to make some shots you shouldn't make. you're going to miss some shots you shouldn't make. i just tried to stay aggressive through all the ups and downs. and it paid off. >> lisa: once you started heating up how could you see how it was affecting everyone else? >> this is how we play basketball. we play aggressively. myself being the leader i've got to set the tone. hopefully we can do the same thing on tuesday. >> lisa: yeah, on tuesday you guys have the bucks. what's going to be the biggest challenge against milwaukee? >> defense, defense, defense. we play defense. we give ourselves a chance any night. and offensively we've just got to play to our identity, play together, and have fun. >> lisa: another game like this? >> we wouldn't mind it. as long as we win we're good. >> lisa: all right. >> yes, ma'am. >> lisa: we'll see you on tuesday. mike? >> mike: all right, lisa. the nba's number one-rated defense shuts down another opponent. and does it in the semifinals of the emirates nba cup to advance to the finals against milwaukee. two games here today.

bucks eliminate the hawks, and the thunder eliminate the rockets. we'll have it for you on abc on tuesday night. coverage starts at 8:00. tipoff shortly after, 8:30. dwr grit and toughness for the thunder. final score 111-96. for our producer tim corrigan, director mike schwab, our outstanding crew. of course for doris, richard and lisa, mike breen saying catch the championship game tuesday night. coming up next on most of these abc stations is your late local news. we say good night from las vegas, nevada. thanks for watching here on abc. home of the nba finals. we aren't going because of a

loose ball foul 80ft from the basket with the game on the line. i've never seen anything like it in my life. >> well, it's viva, not vegas. the warriors thought they were going to play in the game you just watched instead sent home packing. toyota after the game starts right now from abc seven, this is toyota. >> after the game. >> hello and welcome to toyota. after the game i'm chris alvarez along with the ex warrior donald foyle. larry beil is on assignment. so without our steph curry we're going to do our best to manage this show. we'll talk about that final play in houston that kept the warriors from playing in the game. but first let's start with the game. we just saw the thunder with a 100 1196 win. they will play milwaukee in the final tuesday night. and that leads us to our toyota. let's go places. play of the day. it's thunder guard shay gilgeous alexander started slow game. high 32 eight and six. remember he was part of that clippers deal. sga was the 2019 deal where the clippers got paul george and the thunder got like everybody sga delon gallinari and five first round picks. safe to say they think they won the

trade of donald. >> no question about it i mean i think the okc team you're seeing now is the future of the league. they are at the top of the division. and i think they're going to be there for many years to come. they have a young core group of guys, which is really amazing what they've been doing so far. >> and this is without chet holmgren. yes. >> the big man who got hurt against the warriors back in november. >> he probably will come back around mid all star break. he broke his hip. but this is a very good team in thunder. guard shay gilgeous alexander at toyota. let's go places. player of the day. all right. thunder forward jalen williams remember him. santa clara kid 12th overall pick in 2022. and he keeps getting better 20 points five rebounds five assists. you mentioned this thunder team has a really good core. they obviously had that early exit in the playoffs. but are they ready to take the next step with these guys. they had the experience of the top seed last year. now games like this have to help. >> yeah. >> and you know the thing about it is that they feel confident that they can win these close games. and that's the mark of a mature experienced team. they go into these games thinking they can walk their way. they can

figure out what's, you know, what's not working and put themselves in a situation to be effective at the end of the game. when you could do that, no matter what happened in the course of the game, keeping your head doing what you know that define you. so far for the season, they've been doing that consistently, and there's really no question that they are on the upside in terms of where this league is going. yeah. >> and the nba cup we talked about it's been a success. the warriors steph curry told me last week that these games are high leverage basketball. you want to put yourselves in situations like that. the warriors will talk about them in a little bit. but these are good games for this thunder team to get to where they want to be and have that kind of postseason experience. a championship game coming up on tuesday. now the game changing moment sponsored by jack in the box at jack. every bite is a big deal. it was an 11 zero run really to end the first half and into the third quarter where the game kind of went the thunder way, look at the steal, the hustle and then wallace the hammer on the other end made it 4542 a little bit of slow scoring. but then shay gilgeous alexander took off. >> yeah i think what was amazing

about this game, you could tell the level of defensive intensity by both teams. they have kind of hang their hat on that. that's a great play. that's amazing. that's a play that is that is kind of what basketball is about. you got to go get it. you. when that ball is on the floor, who's first in the floor. who is going to go like go out there and get it. and that's what you see as you see the big fella there. >> and i think that's what commissioner adam silver wanted to see. you don't see that normally in december. now we got guys playing like it's like may and june. so i think the nba cup has been a success. and thankfully the court is not like lime green or orange or red or whatever it is. so a normal court and we're going to have game, the championship game between milwaukee and okc coming up on tuesday night. and then larry will be here for after the game. so a lot of after the games coming up football one on monday as well. so much more ahead on this toyota after the game. look at that play that cost the warriors a trip to las vegas. and you don't want to miss steve kerr's not only his reaction but his his words. he was not thrilled with the referees. it was elementary type

refereeing a bunch of shock coming up next.

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on abc seven news at 11. we are tracking the wild weather that's rolled through our region, including a tornado ripping through scotts valley. our crew is getting an up close look at the damage. plus, san francisco had a tornado warning early this morning as a storm blasted the city, leaving behind plenty of damage. we're also seeing flooding in other parts of the bay area. those stories and more tonight on abc seven news at 11. christine o'donnell, back to you. >> i've never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation 80ft from the basket with the game on the line. i've never seen that. i think i saw it in

college one time, 30 years ago. never seen it in the nba. that is i mean. don't i don't even understand what just happened. you know, loose ball diving on the floor 80ft from the basket. and you're going to give a guy two free throws to decide the game. when people are scrambling for the ball, just give them a timeout, give them a timeout and let the players decide the game. that's how you officiate, especially because the game was a complete wrestling match. you know, they didn't call anything. steph curry got hit on the elbow plain as day on a jump shot. just clubbed right on there. no call. so you've established you're just not going to call anything throughout the game. it's physical game. we're going to call it a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation with guys diving on the floor with the game on the line. this is $1

billion industry. you got people's jobs on the line. it's i am i am stunned. i am stunned. i give the rockets credit. they battled back. they played great defense all night. but i feel for our guys. our guys battled back. played their off and deserved to win that game. or at least have a chance for one stop at the end to finish the game. and that was taken from us by a call that i don't think an elementary school referee would have made, because that guy would have had feel and said, you know what? i'm not going to decide a game on a loose ball 80ft from the basket benefit to not playing until sunday. >> i mean, three days off. it's been a pretty frenetic schedule. >> i'm not ready to answer that question. i'm off. i wanted to go to las vegas. we wanted to win this cup. and, you know. we aren't going because of a loose ball foul 80ft from the basket with the game on the line. i've

never seen anything like it in my life. and that was ridiculous. thank you. >> that is an all time rant from head coach steve kerr. after the warriors nba cup quarterfinal loss to houston on wednesday night. i want to run through that final possession. we watched it live. here it is. final possession. steph has the ball. there's about nine seconds on the shot clock, a deep three, maybe a little too early. but nonetheless gary called timeout and then he rolls it. and then all the madness. what did you see when you were watching this live? >> yeah, i just thought that we didn't look composed. right. there was a time gary could have called timeout. if you're kuminga, you got to get down on the floor really quickly. you got to go get that ball. you got to be the first one on the floor. you know, i just thought that we kind of had a little bit of a laser fade to where we execute down the stretch. not that any particular place, just that we could have executed a lot better. there is a lot of things you could point to and say, we could have done that better. and i think when coach goes through all of the plays,

it's not just that one play. you could look at 5 or 6 plays that was not handled right down the stretch real quick. >> do you think the refs should have swallowed the whistle there and just gone jump ball? >> yes. i thought in that instance that you got to let the player in this game. the one thing that remains true all the time, the players determine the outcome of the game. and i think in this instance, you could have let that happen. having said that, i think there's going to be a big fine for coach coming up. but i don't think he minds that, yeah, we're going to pay one of the two. >> and we talked about this too. it came to that one play. but it's not the real reason they lost 22 turnovers. you can't have that too many in key late game execution. here's steve kerr the other day on how those turnovers have shifted. their really their position in the western conference standings. >> we feel like we've given away three games and but that's the margin for error between being at the top of the west and being in the middle of the pack. so what steph is saying is right, we keep giving away games and we're in the middle of the pack. that makes us mediocre. >> all right so the warriors are

14 and ten fifth in the west. but as our producer alex mentioned hey they're first place in the pacific division. so they're right there. so it's good. as bad as they played o'donnell they're right in decent position. and we think about what happened to them last year where they started slow and they really had to play catch up. you're you're fighting all season to try and get somewhere to the to the end. and if this team can stay this way, just so frustrating. they also had those turnovers the shot clock violation that was just unacceptable three i think three times late in that fourth quarter. you just can't have it. >> yeah. and the thing that you know like for many of us you know like everything that happened klay is not here. you're thinking about where the warriors is. look they've been playing really well. they've had a you know a pretty big roster and they've been playing almost 1011 d. and it's been effective. and you can figure what you know what coach kerr is trying to do. he's trying to give buy time for some of the older guys. allow the younger guys to really eat up some of that time and really establish themselves on the court. so overall, you know, if you were asking me, the warriors that we're seeing, like, i really like this team, i think

it's a fun team to watch. but clearly there is some mistakes and there are some challenges that they have to address. the good thing is you have the kind of capability and guys that could address those problems moving forward. >> yeah, and maybe they address one of the problems. they shook up the roster today. they traded for veteran guard dennis schroder. now it's according to espn nba insider shams charania. warriors finalizing the deal with brooklyn to acquire this guy de'anthony melton. they traded for him because remember underwent the acl surgery a few weeks ago. so he basically replaces him. the warriors are going to get a second round pick. they're going to send the nets three back. but i really like schroder. he's 18.4 points per game six and a half assists. basically a career high 31 years old. expiring contract worth 13.5 million or so. and every time he's played against the warriors he seems to be a warriors killer. whether it's with the lakers, the nets it doesn't matter. this guy is a gamer. he's tough and i think he's going to do big things for the warriors and especially alleviating steph with the ball and allowing steph to be a little more playmaker off the ball. >> yeah, one of the areas that i'm really excited for schroder is that he takes the ball to the basket. he's not afraid to get

fouls. i think the warriors are leaving a lot of points at the free throw line. you know a guy that can come in and create some opportunity get fall go to the line. not afraid of the big moment and not a credible three point shooter. gives steph some rest. when you go to the bench you can call on him. he can control and manage the flow of the game. i think everything heads up. schroder is going to help the warriors quite a bit. >> i think it also eases positas role a little bit too. takes a little bit of pressure off of him as he get that secondary ball handling guy that can can maybe handle the non steph minutes at least for the point guard position. so what's next for the warriors. do you trade for a second scorer or do they already have that guy on the roster. and is it potentially jonathan kuminga. we know the talent. he's seeking the max deal. he's kind of playing this year out. it's an age old question. i know larry talks about what would you do with jc because we see the flashes. remember he's only 22 years old. >> 22 years old. >> what can he do for this warriors team? and can he be a guy moving forward for the franchise for the next five, ten years? >> i really want to, like,

really go down big. and jonathan kuminga. i think that his future is amazing and we saw glimpses of it. we haven't seen the total package, but to me, i think he's putting so much pressure on himself to be a three point shooter to walk on his three point shot. he needs to focus on getting four dunks and fast break four offensive rebounds, get a few putbacks. i think that he can score at his baseline 10 to 15 points, and you go in and get ten rebounds. the three pointers will come. his game has elevated so much. he's so much better. but you can see him learning the game in real time. i think i want to stay with him and give him a chance to kind o. >> it's going to be interesting because obviously you always talk about the steph and draymond window. you want at least one more shot at a real championship. and he in my opinion is that one big piece that could actually make a trade for because of such upside that you talk about but remains to be seen. we want you want jc around. i'd like to keep him around. i just wonder what the price point is for jc. i think

that's going to be a lot of it coming up in the season. >> all right. >> much more ahead on toyota after the game. it's klay headed back to the bay. probably won't get the same ovation. but that was really cool. warriors so make it my smashed jack, rated the best burger in fast food. it's even got more beef than a big mac. chin up, ronald. maybe you'll get a participation trophy. my smashed jack, now on sourdough. welcome to jack in the box! been here before? or haven't been here at all?

your next favorite thing about this place is waiting to be discovered. did you know you can do this? ... pretty cool, right? ... and you don't want to miss that. you can also ride this ... and then race on over to do this... and before you leave? you definitely wanna see that.

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rated the best burger in fast food. it's even got more beef than a big mac. chin up, ronald. maybe you'll get a participation trophy. my smashed jack, now on sourdough. welcome to jack in the box! welcome back to toyota after the game. it's just about a month ago, klay thompson made his return to chase center as a member of the dallas mavericks. or is he a rolling stone i don't know. that was a cool entrance. about 400 employees greeted klay as he walked into the building. captain klay salute all orchestrated by the great raymond ritter. i mean, that was really cool. uh- o'donnell. it's kind of how we treat you when you walk in the building. yeah. >> no, not not quite. no. it's good though. it's so well deserved. because i mean, when you think about klay's legacy and what he has mean to this organization, i think that it was very, very wonderful to see the way the employees greeted him and the fans greeted him. i

mean, i think that it speaks to him and the kind of person that he has been for this organization and this community. >> he had played up. it was just another game in november. this was not just another game in november. that's a game that the chase center crowd and the faithful will always remember. and then, of course, he's going to get his jersey retired one day. since both the mavericks and warriors lost in the nba cup quarterfinals. dub nation is going to get a bonus klay game at chase tomorrow. 530 tipoff from the warriors. tell me there's still some tickets available. you should go. i mean it's not. watch the highlights here on abc seven nba cup play began back on november 12th and this was a game to remember klay thompson. goosebumps i still get goosebumps watching this introduction for klay. and then steph a little quick what's up bro. and then klay he got off to a good start. corner three a little ooh steph shimmy. >> he came to hurt. >> but steph curry hoop and the foul on his splash bro. and then he got of course no one's going to get the night. night steph. and it was time for steph to seal the deal. the warriors won the game one 2117. so hopefully we get another match like that

tomorrow. that was such a fun game at chase center steph. honestly i don't know if i've ever seen him as fired up as he was. he got fired up in the olympics. he cried at the end of the fourth championship, but that was something special against klay that night. >> yeah, i think it was emotional and i think it was emotional because on the one hand, you know, this is your body you played with. but on the other hand he came in and klay was like, i want to beat you guys. and steph was like no no no no no no no. i like you but not that much to beat me in my own house. i thought that was vintage basketball. two guys at the top of the game. it was wonderful. >> and you mentioned the word buddy. and we'll talk about buddy hield who's really brought in to replace the void left by klay thompson. he got off to that really hot start o'donnell. and when he's on i mean this dude can light it up. over 2000 career three pointers. hit that milestone the other day. 17th player in the league to reach that feat and the second fastest player to get there. the first steph curry of course, this season averaging 14.5 points. game about 3.33 points per game and 24 minutes. while klay is, you want to compare about 12.29

points per game and three threes per game, and about 27 minutes. just a little more minutes to get that volume. what have you thought of buddy buckets. and i guess kind of the replacement role of klay thompson. >> you know my island brother. you know you see my brother from the island. you know he's been good. no. it's been amazing to watch him because he knows the kind of what he has to come in here and do. and kind of the footsteps that he's traveling in. but he has not let that bother him. he knows what his game is. and you see him with a level of confidence that not many people can come into a new organization and kind of really, right off the bat, really was on the highest level, has kind of dipped a little bit. but in terms of his place on this team, he has kind of created a home here with this organization. >> you know what i found interesting? steph curry said he's in the gym as long as steph if not longer. and steph we all know his work ethic. and basically he's a volume shooter. he's going to get it until it feels right. he'll just keep shooting shooting, shooting where steph is a little more measured in his approach and what he does. and obviously they

both are getting it done in different ways. but we'll see if buddy can kind of keep that up because the warriors as we mentioned, need that second score, whether it's jc wiggs, maybe buddy hield. now brandon pisemsky earned first team all rookie honors last season. bit of an up and down sophomore season donald. there's no denying this guy has intangibles heart hustle i mean that's an amazing play. but he struggled with his shot at times and sometimes a decision maker. and remember head coach steve kerr called him out the other day. what have you seen from the kid from santa clara. and do you think he's still going to be ascending, or is this just a little bit of a learning in the league adjusting to him? what's the deal with pods? >> yeah, i think what's amazing with him is that he has a good understanding of the game and he has made some bad decisions, but on par when he comes into the game, he has something. he's a good defender. he you know, he takes good charges. to me. the game needs to just slow down just a little bit for him. really severe what's happening. make better decisions. kind of slow the game down. sometimes he goes a little faster than i think he wants to. and i think the more he slowed down in his

pocket seeing what's available, taking what's available. i think he will play better and better because he has the smarts, and the only reason that steve kerr will go at him as hard as he did, because he trusts him and he knows that he can adjust. >> and i mentioned it earlier in the show. i think the addition of schroder can actually really help him, whether it's taking some pressure off and just seeing a veteran day in and day out, maybe a little bit of a different approach, i think is going to help guys. what do you think about that? >> i think it's a great, great point, because what you're going to have is a guy that can push him in practice, but also teach him and slow him down on the bench. there's no better teacher than somebody who's going after you every single day in practice and forcing you to adjust. and now steve kerr has options because he can say, you know, this is the standard i'm setting. and if you guys are not here, you got to get up there. otherwise, you know, other people can feel your position for the time being. but i think what with pods, what you get is a guy who's willing to learn and has and really has a good sense of the game, and a guy that seems to break his nose every

other game, every other day. >> watch out. all right, much more on toyota after the game follows. >> focus. >> what's he going to focus on? oh that jumper was

welcome back to toyota. after the game. you just saw the thunder beat the rockets to advance to the nba cup final to take on milwaukee tuesday night. right here on abc seven. time now for fuels focus. every day or every game, we give a donald the platform to discuss whatever he wants. tonight it's gm mike dunleavy jr. donald, how would you assess him so far as general manager today he made a move to get some help. but obviously year two there's a lot of pressure to get the warriors back to where they want to be. what have you thought of what dunleavy has done? >> yeah, i think, you know, every time you lose a player, a caliber player like klay, you know how the team rebounds and what kind of pieces you put in place. i thought that mike has really done a good job really stabilizing the team and giving

steve kerr pieces. you know not really everything you need, but a lot of good pieces that he can work with. i mean one of the reasons, you know, we say things like we're going 11 and playing 12 deep, that is not by accident. to be able to do that, you need to have quality players on the bench. and mike has done a good job. and the margins obviously really putting pieces in place to ensure that there is a constant flood of talent in the organization. i think so far, so good. >> yeah, it's not easy to replace bob myers. he's done a good job. there's a lot of pressure in this job and he's made one move. we'll see if he makes any more. there's a trade deadline obviously in a couple of months. earlier this month though, steph and ayesha curry, along with their eat learn play foundation, brought the holiday spirit early to madison park academy in oakland for the 12th annual christmas with the curry's. so when you woke up this morning, how much joy did you have and what did it look like when you saw this winter wonderland out here in oakland? >> when i woke up this morning,

i did have joy, but i think that was, you know, amplified for sure. when we stepped out of the car and saw everything that's been a culmination of a year of work, to see the kids really engaging and really excited about what they're doing, i think is just fantastic. >> it's a well-oiled machine, and you can see the results and the energy when you come to a day like this, not only the time that people spent to make things happen, but just the appreciation from everybody who's here. on just what it means, not just for the community, but for the kids and teachers and families. >> it means the world. maybe the biggest thing that we that we launched this year is a commitment to provide, you know, tens of thousands of oakland students with free professional tutoring support to help them become great readers over the next several years. it's part of our effort to just make sure oakland kids have access to the resources and support and love that they need and that they deserve. >> i'm a new dad. you guys are

welcome. number four congratulations. do you have any tips for a young dad over here on the holidays? first season? like something i should be doing, something i shouldn't be doing. >> you just got to take. take the notes from mom and make sure you can be the biggest support as possible. you know, obviously, through the holiday season, you realize how much moms carry in terms of taking care of the little ones. and you just got to be all right with a little, little less sleep. you got to redefine what it means to be energized on a day to day. so. but like you, i know you experienced this. the best job in the world, to say the least. and it's so rewarding, fulfilling every single day. >> what was your favorite play space that you saw? >> for sure. the petting zoo. although my allergies are telling me about myself, the design space where kids had a blank canvas to imagine what they would want for a newly newly renovated play space, and you can kind of see all the kids

have just a different idea of, you know, what they're envisioning, what's fun for them. >> that was a lot of fun. all right, much more ahead on toyota after the game. highlights from the nba cup semifinal. you didn't see giannis says what happens in vegas stays in vegas next. ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus on a new 2024 audi q5 plug-in hybrid during the season of audi sales event.

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♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus on a new 2024 audi q5 plug-in hybrid during the season of audi sales event. welcome back to toyota after the game. so the thunder playing the winner of this game cirque du soleil there in vegas. bucks and hawks trae young from the logo in the third. that's icy hot game. high 35. it's close one in the fourth. giannis takes over down the stretch. the bucket right there. and then the huge block clint capela is a big dude. they meet up way up in the air. giannis had a triple double. just missed one. excuse me 3214 and nine. and oakland's own damian lillard. dame time

late there donald floater is good 25 six and seven. the bucks win 110 102. they will face the thunder tuesday night. abc seven is the championship game for the nba cup final in las vegas. welcome back to toyota after the game women's college hoops. real quick. battle of the bay last night. cal beat stanford by 20. they improved to ten and one. they're one zero in acc play. it still feels weird to say 18 three pointers. it's a program record. third largest margin of victory for cal in the series history. mana suarez beating the buzzer here to end the third. i caught up with head coach charmin smith earlier today to talk about those golden bears. >> i think we've just done a great job of building this program to where we knew it could be, and we have really unselfish, talented players who all want the same thing, which is to go to the ncaa tournament. and that's what we're working for every day. >> one of the main reasons we're talking here. obviously you have had a great start, but the raising the bar tournament, you've spearheaded this effort for those that don't know and kind of take the viewers behind the scenes of how this got started, where we're at this

year, and what's the new things that are coming this season as it's right around the corner? >> we've highlighted this tournament, which features four black female head coaches. the bar stands for basketball activism and representation because one of the issues in our sport is the lack of representation, with over 40% of the student athletes being women of color, yet only 17 to 18% of the head coaches being women of color. so it's just a way to continue the conversation and to highlight people of color in our sport that are doing an amazing job. and i think it it, you know, is a great example for young girls out there for them to see black women as head coaches. >> you drive down the streets, they're unmistakable holiday decor that is inflatable. my neighbors drive by and they all stare at festive characters filled with air, inflatable decorations. >> yeah, i love this. the sharks releasing their newest hit holiday inflatables. this is

good video. check out the entire video, definitely worth the watch on their social media page. and thanks to our friends at the sharks, we were given one of those inflatables. look at it right there in the video, and it's now in our sports office blocking the little mini hoop over there. donald, like you used to block shots for the golden state warriors. are you a big holiday guy? what's going on at the house with all the holidays? >> big holiday guys. but i don't like the fact that this inflatable is bigger than me. i am the biggest person in this building and that's the way i like it. no competition. >> yeah, you have to duck in when you get in. you were telling me about your your tree. you have a young daughter, so it's half tree half. >> so there is nothing in the lower part because my daughter pulled everything off every day. so we just, like, just keep everything up on the top where she can't reach it. >> that's pretty awesome. all right, so all the lights in las vegas on tuesday night. stay with us for abc seven that game. 530 tip off. we'll have after the game with larry. he'll be back. our steph curry returns. o'donnell we made it. we did it. we made it. load management for larry will be. where

oh. oh, timon. this is the thing. - what thing? - the thing! okay, okay, we get it. finally. oh, that's beautiful. mufasa, run! announcer: "mufasa: the lion king" roars into theaters this holiday season. [roars]