Following a lively first week of action filled with compelling matchups, the 2024-25 Emirates NBA Cup is back Tuesday night with a six-game schedule. There are also eight more Cup games on Friday night.
NBA Cup Standings
Out East, the 2-0 Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are leading the way. In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors are the lone 2-0 squad, while the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans are all 1-0.
The Warriors, Magic, Knicks, Pistons and Hawks all move to 2-0 in Group Play!#EmiratesNBACup continues Tuesday, 11/20 🏆 pic.twitter.com/AhcZMb28Cq
— NBA (@NBA) November 16, 2024
Tuesday’s Schedule
Just four of the 12 undefeated group stage teams will suit up Tuesday, headlined by the Cleveland Cavaliers, which are 15-0 on the season and 1-0 in the NBA Cup. They face the reigning champion Boston Celtics inside TD Garden.
Tuesday’s #EmiratesNBACup Group Play slate! 🍿
🏆 Undefeated 15-0 Cavaliers seek history, take on defending NBA champion Celtics
🏆 11-3 Thunder visit Spurs
🏆 Lakers look for 6th straight win, host JazzWatch all the action on TNT and NBA League Pass. pic.twitter.com/n3MUHz8gyJ
— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2024
Best NBA Cup Games To Watch This Week
Injuries and (potential) absences by the likes of Nikola Jokic, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama are unfortunately staining many of Tuesday’s showdowns.
Here are what could be the the most anticipated and entertaining Cup games of the week (records are from group play and all start times are listed in EST).
- Nov. 19: 1-0 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. 0-1 Boston Celtics, 7 p.m.
- Nov. 22: 0-1 Indiana Pacers vs. 1-0 Milwaukee Bucks, 8 p.m.
- Nov. 22: 1-0 Portland Trail Blazers vs. 1-0 Houston Rockets, 8 p.m.
- Nov. 22: 0-1 Dallas Mavericks vs. 0-1 Denver Nuggets, 10 p.m.
- Nov. 22: 0-1 Sacramento Kings vs. 0-1 Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Two losses in group play is a death knell for any hopes of reaching the elimination round, so it might be getting late pretty early for some of these teams. After the Hawks upset Boston last week, the Celtics must now knock off 15-0 Cleveland to preserve their NBA Cup hopes. That’s easily the best game Tuesday night, and should be pretty dang fun.
