14 teams still alive in the Emirates NBA Cup.
11 Group Play games remaining.
6 Knockout Rounds spots left.
1 night to decide it all.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Friday’s Stakes: What you need to know entering the final night of NBA Cup Group Play
Tonight On Prime: An elimination game at MSG, before Mavs-Lakers in L.A.
Battle Of Unbeatens: Both 3-0 in Cup Play, Phoenix visits OKC to decide West Group A
Winner-Take-All: Orlando & Detroit duel for East B, Denver hosts San Antonio for West C
Wild Card Race: More squads seek Wild Card berths on a stacked League Pass slate
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Emirates NBA Cup Group Play concludes tonight with 11 matchups, led by a Prime doubleheader as the Bucks visit the Knicks (7:30 ET | Tap to Watch), before the Lakers welcome the Mavs (10 ET | Tap to Watch).
1. NBA CUP ESSENTIALS ENTERING FRIDAY’S GROUP PLAY FINALE
The day after Thanksgiving serves up leftovers and naps, but don’t sleep on a full slate of Emirates NBA Cup drama.
With only two groups locked up – East A by the Raptors and West B by the Lakers – six Knockout Round spots remain up for grabs entering tonight: four group berths and the East & West Wild Cards.
The culmination? A mouthwatering 11-game Group Play finale stacked with winner-take-all showdowns and a hectic Wild Card race.
Just like your Thanksgiving Day plate, there’s a lot to digest. So, before diving into tonight’s clinching scenarios, let’s take a quick look at the standings and refresh on the Group Play tiebreakers:
1. Head-to-head record in Group Play
2. Point differential in Group Play
3. Total points scored in Group Play
4. Regular-season record from 2024-25
Friday’s Group Winner-Take-All Matchups
Magic at Pistons (7:30 ET, LP): Winner claims East Group B
Suns at Thunder (9:30 ET, LP): Winner claims West Group A
Spurs at Nuggets (9:30 ET, LP): Winner claims West Group C
More Clinching Scenarios
Bucks at Knicks (7:30 ET, Prime): New York claims East Group C with a win over Milwaukee, while a Bucks victory would hand the group to Miami
More Teams Alive: The Grizzlies, Clippers, Cavs and Bucks all enter Friday seeking a Wild Card bid to reach the Knockout Round
2. TONIGHT ON PRIME: BUCKS AT KNICKS, MAVS AT LAKERS
Bucks (2-1, +13 point diff) at Knicks (2-1, +26) | East C | 7:30 ET, Prime
Elimination hoops at the World’s Most Famous Arena. Need we say more?
All eyes turn to MSG for the first leg of Prime’s doubleheader. The Knicks’ Cup status is simple: win and you’re in; lose and you’re out.
Standing in the way are the reigning Cup champion Bucks, who need a victory to stay in Wild Card contention – and could potentially get a Giannis-sized lift.
Greek Freak Back? After missing the last 4 games (adductor), Antetokounmpo – last year’s NBA Cup MVP – could return tonight as he’s been upgraded to questionable
Rollins Rolling: In his absence, Ryan Rollins has shined, leading Milwaukee in scoring in each of its last five games, averaging 23.2 points and 7.6 assists
City Committee: The Knicks have leaned on balance, with seven players averaging 10+ ppg, led by Jalen Brunson (28.6 pts, 6.3 ast) and Karl-Anthony Towns (22.4 pts, 12.3 reb)
Power Five: On Wednesday, needing a crucial Group win, New York’s starting five combined for a season-high 111 points to beat Charlotte
Mavericks (1-2, eliminated) at Lakers (3-0, clinched) | West B | 10 ET, Prime
While MSG hosts an elimination game, Crypto.com Arena will look to add another Cup contest to its schedule as the Lakers – winners of West B – aim to move to 4-0 to secure homecourt advantage in the Quarterfinals.
Showtime Stars: Los Angeles clinched the group with Tuesday’s win over the Clippers, powered by Luka Dončić’s 43 points and 56 more from LeBron James (25) and Austin Reaves (31)
Historic Pace: Already off to an unprecedented start, Luka (35.2 ppg) is on pace to become just the 6th ever player to average 35+ ppg in a season (min. 50 GP)
Rare Air: The only players to do it in the last 50 years? James Harden (2018), Kobe (‘05) and MJ (‘86)
Cup Touch: Dončić is also averaging a career 34 ppg in NBA Cup Group Play – the highest mark in Cup history
Potential AD Return: Luka could face the star he was traded for last February, as Anthony Davis — sidelined since Oct. 30 (calf) — is questionable. It would mark AD’s first game action at Crypto.com Arena against his former team.
Flagg Rising: Cooper Flagg (15.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.1 apg) has stepped up in Davis’ absence, trailing only AD as the team’s top scorer while climbing to No. 2 on the Kia Rookie Ladder
“He’s 18 [and] he plays the game the right way,” said Mavs coach Jason Kidd on Flagg last week. “His thing is about winning … he’s gonna be in this league for a long, long time.”
3. UNBEATEN WEST DUEL HIGHLIGHTS 3 WINNER-TAKE-ALL MATCHUPS
Suns (3-0, +35 point diff) at Thunder (3-0, +71) | West A | 9:30 ET, League Pass
Friday boasts three winner-take-all games, but only one features two unbeaten Group Play teams: West A’s decisive showdown between Phoenix and OKC.
The Thunder’s Cup win over the Wolves on Wednesday didn’t just make them the fifth team in NBA history to open a season 18-1 or better – it capped one of the most dominant 10-game win streaks ever, with a +20.9 average margin of victory.
Special Company: Only three other teams have ripped off a 10-game win streak with a 20+ point differential: the 2023-24 Celtics, the 1973-74 Bucks and the ‘70-71 Bucks
All three squads reached the NBA Finals, with Boston and ‘70-71 Milwaukee winning the title
Championship DNA: OKC won each of its first nine games of the streak by 10+ points. But on Wednesday, in a West Finals rematch against a Wolves squad seeking a crucial Cup win, they were tested late.
Clutch Haymakers: In a 4th quarter that saw no lead greater than 8, Anthony Edwards drilled a 3 with 1:02 left to bring Minnesota within one
Then, OKC Leveled Up: A Chet Holmgren answer from deep. A forced turnover on the other end. Two SGA free throws to extend the lead, and then a Lu Dort dunk to ice it
Finding A Way: The sequence highlighted an 8-1 closing run for the Thunder, earning a win despite the Wolves shooting 45.9% from 3 compared to their 26.9%
“The guys really locked in for those three minutes,” said OKC coach Mark Daigneault postgame on the finish. “We had to endure a good amount of adversity tonight to get the win – and we did just enough to do that.”
JDub Back?: Now, the Thunder add Jalen Williams to the lineup as the All-Star will reportedly make his season debut tonight
Back at full strength, OKC faces another test in Phoenix, which has won nine of its last 11 games, fueled by Devin Booker and a defense redefining the team’s identity.
Floor General: Booker (26 ppg, 6.9 apg) continues to thrive as a playmaker, leading Phoenix in points and assists, while distributing to five other Suns averaging double figures
Identity Shift: After finishing 27th in DefRtg last season, the Suns have jumped to 9th this year, and rank 3rd amid their 9-2 run
All On The Line: Now, they’ll look to knock off the defending NBA champs in hopes of punching their ticket to the Knockout Round
“Another great thing about the Cup, it highlights this in late November,” said Suns coach Jordan Ott on facing OKC in a high-stakes matchup.
“We have an extremely competitive team – I know we’ll be juiced.”
4. TWO MORE WINNER-TAKE-ALL DUELS ON LEAGUE PASS
Magic (3-0, +61 point diff) at Pistons (2-1, +24) | East B | 7:30 ET, League Pass
Outside of already-clinched Toronto, only one other unbeaten Cup team remains in the East – the Magic, fresh off their biggest win of the season, a 144-103 statement over the Sixers on Tuesday.
Now, they face the East’s top seed in the Pistons – coming off their first loss in 14 games – in a showdown to decide East B.
Like Magic: In Tuesday’s win, Orlando dropped 86 points in the 1st half en route to its 5th-highest scoring game in franchise history
Leading The Charge? Anthony Black, who erupted for a career-high 31 points, including 20 in the 2nd quarter – three shy of his previous single-game-best (23)
Full Arsenal: Black is just the latest scorer to step up for Orlando. A different player has led the team in scoring in each of its last five games, resulting in a 4-1 run
Strength vs. Strength: Now it faces Detroit’s top-5 defense, hungry to bounce back after seeing Boston end the Pistons’ historic 13-game win streak
Containing Cade: On the other end, Orlando will look to slow down Cade Cunningham, averaging 31.0 pts and 9.9 ast amid Detroit’s 13-1 run, while leading the NBA in 4th-quarter points (10.6 per game)
Spurs (2-1, +23) at Nuggets (2-1, +26) | West C | 9:30 ET, League Pass
Nikola Jokić has 10 triple-doubles in his first 17 games this season. In the history of the NBA, only Oscar Robertson has hit that mark faster – back in 1962, when he did it in 12 outings.
And while Jokić has made the triple-double – a rarity only one other player has hit more than twice this season (Josh Giddey: 4) – into a seemingly casual nightly occurrence, there’s nothing casual about this game.
Denver vs. San Antonio. Winner-take-all for West C. Loser eliminated.
Bring The Noise: The Nuggets are no strangers to Playoff-like atmospheres at home, where they’ve lost only twice this season and are a combined 19-6 in the last three Playoffs
Mile-High Heat: Leading the league in ppg (123.8), Denver’s even deadlier at Ball Arena (125.4), where four of its top-7 scorers are shooting over 37% from 3
Real Feel: The Spurs will get their first taste of elimination hoops since their 2019 Playoff run, with De’Aaron Fox leading the way in the absence of Victor Wembanyama
Vet Delivering: Fox has eclipsed 25+ points in each of his last five games, capped by a 37-point, 8-assist night against Portland to cap a 4-1 stretch
5. MORE ON LEAGUE PASS: WILD CARD IMPLICATIONS
Cavaliers (2-1, +33 point diff) at Hawks (1-2, eliminated) | East A | 7:30 ET, League Pass
Two more games carry Knockout Round implications, beginning with Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs seeking a Wild Card berth as they face Jalen Johnson and the Hawks in a must-win.
Reminder: The Wild Card is awarded to the top second-place team in each conference, with record and point differential serving as the first two tiebreakers
Where They Stand: At +33, Cleveland holds the best point differential of the remaining 2-1 teams in the East, so every bucket counts as it seeks its first NBA Cup Knockout Round bid
A Good Place To Start? Mitchell, averaging a career-best 29.9 ppg while leading the NBA in 2nd-half scoring
Grizzlies (2-1, +9) at Clippers (2-1, -15) | West B | 10 ET, League Pass
Also seeking Wild Card bids: the Grizzlies and Clippers, who will look to improve to 3-1 behind the already-clinched Lakers in West B.
Memphis Fight: On the brink of elimination, the Grizzlies erased a 17-point deficit on Wednesday to force OT with the Pelicans, where they pulled out a gritty dub
Full Den: Since making his season debut on Nov. 15, Zach Edey is averaging a near double-double (12.0 pts, 8.8 reb), joining seven other Grizzlies posting 10+ ppg
Beard Barrage: James Harden has powered LA, averaging 34.3 ppg over his last seven outings, including 41-, 37- and 55-point games
Four more matchups tip off on League Pass. While they don’t have Knockout Round implications, they still count toward the regular-season standings – and feature plenty of star power.
To open the slate, Tyrese Maxey and Philly visit Brooklyn, while Rookie Ladder leader Kon Knueppel guides Charlotte against Josh Giddey and Chicago (both at 7:30 ET).
Wizards at Pacers (7:30 ET)
Kings at Jazz (9:30 ET)