The in-season tournament, known as the NBA Cup, is back. With new court designs for all 30 teams, the tournament tipped off Tuesday night with a pair of high-profile returns in each conference.
Joel Embiid had his season debut for the Philadelphia 76ers spoiled as the New York Knicks grabbed a 111-99 win at Wells Fargo Center, with OG Anunoby scoring 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns getting a double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds). Embiid finished with 13 points.
Later, Klay Thompson returned to the Bay to face his former Golden State Warriors teammates for the first time since signing with the Dallas Mavericks in July. Thompson netted 22 points on six 3-pointers but it was his former Splash Brother, Stephen Curry, who scored a clutch 3 in the final moments to secure a 120-117 win for the Warriors.
Before the game, the Warriors honored Thompson, a four-time NBA champion in his 13 seasons with Golden State, with an emotional video tribute as the capacity crowd at Chase Center donned captain hats in a nod to the boating aficionado.
Other East games Tuesday saw the Atlanta Hawks squeak by the Boston Celtics in a 117-116 win, and the much-improved Detroit Pistons winning a 123-121 overtime thriller over the Miami Heat. The Orlando Magic, who remain without All-Star big man Paolo Banchero, dominated the Charlotte Hornets in a 114-89 victory, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Toronto Raptors 99-85 in a clash of the East’s cellar teams.
In the West, the Phoenix Suns (without injured Kevin Durant) cruised past the Utah Jazz 120-122, and the Portland Trail Blazers knocked off the Minnesota Timberwolves in a surprise 122-108 win.
Here’s what stood out from our NBA insiders from the first night of group stage action of the NBA Cup.
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Takeaways | Schedule | FAQ
Top takeaways from Tuesday’s action
Curry over Klay in Splash Brothers clash, part 1
It was an impressive return to the Bay Area for Klay Thompson, who made six 3s and scored 22 points, but Stephen Curry got the better of his fellow Splash Brother in their first matchup as NBA opponents.
Curry had 37 points and nine assists, including the last 12 points for the Warriors as they outscored the Mavericks 12-3 to finish the game. Down seven with four minutes left, Golden State took the lead for good with 1:50 remaining. After Curry’s 3 pushed the lead to four, Dallas answered with a Quentin Grimes 3 to make it a one-possession game. Curry made two free throws to extend the lead and Luka Doncic missed a 3 in the closing seconds that could have tied it.
The Warriors still have work to do to advance from the NBA Cup’s deepest group, which also features the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies. The road is uphill for the Mavericks, who must also play in Denver and probably can no longer afford to lose an NBA Cup matchup to advance. — Kevin Pelton
Embiid feels the rust after debut in loss to Knicks
The Knicks outplayed the 76ers in the fourth and left Philly with a win, spoiling Joel Embiid’s season debut and leaving the Sixers with a 2-8 mark through their first 10 games.
OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns shined for the visitors, picking up the slack in a game in which Jalen Brunson struggled and briefly left the game after turning his ankle.
Paul George was fantastic for the Sixers, drilling seven triples and scoring 29 points. But Embiid — 2-for-11 from the field with 13 points and five assists — looks as if he’ll need time to knock off the rust and get back in game shape.
“Might be next game, might be in two games … [but] usually get it back pretty fast, so I’m fine,” Embiid said after the loss. — Chris Herring
Embiid rejects Brunson’s layup with vicious block
Jalen Brunson’s layup attempt gets met with a nasty one-handed swat from Joel Embiid at the rim.
Pistons’ win over Heat had it all
Trivia: Who were the five teams that went winless in NBA Cup play last season?
One of them was the Detroit Pistons, who secured their first win in wild fashion Tuesday in overtime. Down two with 1.8 seconds left in the extra session, the Pistons tied the score on a Jalen Duren dunk from a Cade Cunningham inbounds pass, then saw the Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra call a timeout when they had none remaining. (I suppose it’s about time a situation like that favored a team from Michigan.)
Malik Beasley made the technical foul free throw and Detroit also took possession via the timeout violation, leaving Miami with no chance to tie or win. It was a heartbreaker for Tyler Herro, who led the Heat’s comeback from down 14 in the fourth quarter and scored the go-ahead basket in the final seconds of OT.
For the point-differential tiebreaker, the game will count as a tie for both teams, a change the NBA made this season to prevent teams from intentionally playing for overtime to pad their differential. That’s no problem for Detroit, which is off the NBA Cup schneid.
The remaining teams winless in NBA Cup play? Chicago, Memphis, San Antonio and Washington. — Pelton
Spoelstra’s timeout blunder gifts Pistons a win in OT
After Jalen Duren’s alley-oop ties the score, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra calls a timeout without any left, allowing the Pistons to take the lead on a technical foul free throw.
2024 Emirates NBA Cup schedule
All times Eastern
Tuesday
Hawks 117, Celtics 116
Magic 114, Hornets 89
Pistons 123, Heat 121 (OT)
Knicks 111, 76ers 99
Bucks 99, Raptors 85
Suns 120, Jazz 112
Trail Blazers 122, Timberwolves 108
Warriors 120, Mavericks 117
Friday
Heat at Pacers, 7 p.m.
76ers at Magic, 7 p.m.
Pistons at Raptors, 7 p.m.
Lakers at Spurs, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Wizards at Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
Bulls at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m.
Nets at Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Clippers at Rockets, 8 p.m.
Nuggets at Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Suns at Thunder, 8 p.m.
Grizzlies at Warriors, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Nov. 19
Cavaliers at Celtics, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Hornets at Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Nuggets at Grizzlies, 8 p.m.
Pelicans at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Thunder at Spurs, 9:30 p.m. (TNT)
Jazz at Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Nov. 22
Nets at 76ers, 7 p.m.
Celtics at Wizards, 7 p.m.
Pacers at Bucks, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Hawks at Bulls, 8 p.m.
Trail Blazers at Rockets, 8 p.m.
Warriors at Pelicans, 8 p.m.
Mavericks at Nuggets, 10 p.m. (ESPN)
Kings at Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Nov. 26
Bulls at Wizards, 7 p.m.
Bucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Rockets at Timberwolves, 8 p.m.
Spurs at Jazz, 9 p.m.
Lakers at Suns, 10 p.m. (TNT)
Nov. 29
Knicks at Hornets, noon (NBA TV)
Cavaliers at Hawks, 2:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Pelicans at Grizzlies, 5 p.m. (NBA TV)
Clippers at Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Magic at Nets, 7:30 p.m.
Pistons at Pacers, 8 p.m.
Raptors at Heat, 8 p.m.
Celtics at Bulls, 8 p.m.
Kings at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m.
Dec. 3
76ers at Magic, 7 p.m.
Wizards at Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
Bucks at Pistons, 7 p.m.
Magic at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
Pacers at Raptors, 7:30 p.m.
Jazz at Thunder, 8 p.m.
Grizzlies at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m.
Spurs at Suns, 9 p.m.
Warriors at Nuggets, 10 p.m. (TNT)
Rockets at Kings, 10 p.m.
Trail Blazers at Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Dec. 10 and 11
Quarterfinals
Dec. 14
Semifinals
Dec. 17
Championship
FAQ (by Tim Bontemps)
The NBA unveiled the six groups for the second edition of its in-season tournament — now called the Emirates NBA Cup. Here’s a look at everything you’ll need to know about the return of the competition.
What is the format?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has had a long-standing fascination with European soccer. The idea for having an in-season cup competition within the NBA schedule comes from soccer leagues having both a regular-season title, won by the team with the most points over the full year, and a separate tournament (or, in some leagues, multiple tournaments) that runs concurrently with the league season.
In England, for example, there are the various divisions — led by the Premier League — and also the FA Cup competition. But unlike those European leagues, which play their cup competitions outside of their league schedules, the NBA Cup is built into the regular-season slate.
The 30 NBA teams were split into six five-team groups — three featuring Eastern Conference teams, and three comprising teams from the West — with each team then playing one game against the other four in their group. The winner of each group, plus the team with the best record among the nongroup winners, will then advance to the knockout rounds.
How will this impact the regular-season schedule and standings?
Typically, the NBA sends out a full 82-game schedule in mid-August. Now, though, the league sends out only 80 games and leaves a gap for roughly a week to fill in later, depending on how the group stage of the NBA Cup plays out.
The teams that reach the NBA Cup’s finale will actually play 83 games — though the championship game won’t count toward the standings or any statistical markers. Those that lose in the semifinals will have played their full 82-game schedule, and won’t need anything added.
The two teams from both the East and West that lose in the quarterfinals will play their 82nd game against one another on one of four dates: Dec. 12, 13, 15 or 16. Meanwhile, the 22 teams that fail to qualify for the knockout rounds will have their final two games scheduled — one at home and one on the road — on Dec. 12 or 13 and 15 or 16 against others eliminated in the group stage.
Why does the NBA Cup include regular-season games?
Before its launch, one of the main questions surrounding the in-season tournament was why any team would be incentivized to compete in it. By making every game part of the season — and, being in-conference, potentially important from a playoff-tiebreaker standpoint — the NBA ensured teams will be motivated.
If this had been set up like the cup tournaments in European soccer, there would have been nothing stopping NBA teams from opting out, literally or figuratively — sitting their top players for extra rest.
What teams make up the groups?
To create the groups, the NBA put all 15 teams in each conference into five pots, separated by their finish in last season’s standings. Pot 1 included the teams that finished 1-3 in regular-season record, teams 4-6 went into Pot 2, teams 7-9 into Pot 3, teams 10-12 into Pot 4 and teams 13-15 into Pot 5.
As a result, the following groups were drawn:
East A: New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets
East B: Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons
East C: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards
West A: Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers
West B: Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs
West C: Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies
Does one group stand out the most from the others?
Yes, there is an obvious one: West Group C, featuring the Nuggets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Warriors and Grizzlies.
Because of how the draw is performed, Golden State and Memphis, which dealt with a combination of suspensions and injuries, are significantly stronger than you would anticipate teams in the bottom two pots to be.
But in addition to featuring the reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic and Zion Williamson, the group also could offer the first meeting between Klay Thompson and his former team after the guard signed with Dallas following 13 seasons with Golden State.
What do players get for winning?
Last year, the players on the winning team received $500,000 each, while those on the runners-up got $200,000. The losing players of the semifinals each got $100,000, and those ousted in the quarterfinals each got $50,000.
This year, the prizes will be slightly higher because of negotiated raises year over year to keep pace with increases in the salary cap and basketball related income as part of the most recent collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
Will anyone earn individual honors for their play in NBA Cup games?
There will be an MVP award, as well as an all-tournament team.
Will this have any impact on the playoffs?
Not beyond the games counting in the regular-season standings (and toward tiebreakers). Though there was debate among league insiders about guaranteeing a playoff berth for winning the tournament, ultimately that idea (or any other to further incentivize teams) was not enacted.
The debate continued after last year’s in-season tournament winner, the Lakers, wound up in the play-in tournament, while the runner-up, the Pacers, narrowly avoided landing in it. But, in the end, the only playoff impact comes from the wins and losses accrued throughout the tournament.
Why is it called the Emirates NBA Cup?
The league struck a sponsorship deal with Emirates, the Dubai-based airline, to sponsor the tournament after its initial run. The NBA said last year that it went with the most basic titles for both the tournament and its trophy — the “in-season tournament” and “NBA Cup” — as a way to introduce the concept to fans.
However, using such nondescript names had another clear advantage: It gave the league a blank slate in case the tournament and cup became properties it ended up selling to a sponsor, and avoided the complications that could arise by naming them after someone (for example, the late NBA commissioner David Stern, one possibility that had been floated before the tournament was officially unveiled).
