New York Knicks, OKC Thunder Play To Advance in NBA Emirates Cup

The second annual NBA Emirates Cup will conclude group play on Tuesday night, with five of the eight quarterfinal spots still at stake.

Western Conference teams Golden State and Houston and Eastern Conference side Atlanta already have clinched berths in the quarterfinals, which will be played Dec. 10-11.

The four semifinalists will meet in Las Vegas on Dec. 14, and the finals will be player there Dec. 17. The championship game is the only Cup game that does not count in the regular-season records or the players’ statistics.

Golden State and Houston (both 3-0) are the only unbeaten teams in the the West. Golden State won Group C and Houston won Group A.

Six Eastern Conference teams remain unbeaten, and that is where much of the suspense remains in the final 11 games tonight.

However the results fall, there will be a new champion in the second iteration of the Cup. The Los Angeles Lakers did not make it out of a competitive West Group B, which will be decided between 2-1 teams Oklahoma City, Phoenix and San Antonio.

A CUP REFRESHER

Three teams from each conference — the winner from each of the three randomly selected pools and the best second-place finisher among the three — will advance.

Because there are only four pool games, tiebreakers will come into play, as they did a year ago. Ties will be broken in steps, using results from pool play only.

— Head-to-head record

— Non-overtime point differential

— Total non-overtime points

— 2023-24 regular season record

— a random drawing

What’s At Stake in the East

Atlanta and defending NBA champion Boston finished Group C with identical 3-1 records, but the Hawks advanced by virtue of their 117-116 victory over the Celtics on Nov. 12, the first day of Cup play. The Celtics remain alive for a wild card berth.

The other two group winners will be decided among four 3-0 teams. Orlando plays at New York, with the winner advancing from Group A, and Milwaukee visits Detroit, with the winner also advancing from Group B. The losers will be in a race with Boston for the one wild card spot, to be determined by point differential.

Orlando is in the best shape to claim the East wild card if its loses. The Magic have a plus-60 point differential in their three games, the best in the East. The Knicks would be eliminated with a loss because the would lose a tiebreaker with Boston.

The Bucks-Pistons loser could advance on point differential. Milwaukee is plus-29 and Detroit is plus-28. The Celtics are plus-23, so they will need the numbers to line up just so. They will advance if the Knicks lose and the scoring margin in the Milwaukee-Detroit game is either Milwaukee plus-six or Detroit plus-seven.

What’s At Stake in the West

Group B offers the most suspense and the most permutations to determine both the pool winner and the potential West wild card. All three 2-1 teams — Oklahoma City, Phoenix and San Antonio — have a chance to win the pool.

San Antonio plays at Phoenix, and if the Spurs win they will win the group because they enter with a plus-14 point differential and would have victories over both Phoenix and Oklahoma City.

If the Suns beat the Spurs, Oklahoma City would win the group with a victory at Utah. The Thunder enter with a plus-18 points differential and a head-to-head victory over Phoenix. The Suns, who have a plus-19 point differential, would win the group as the only 3-1 team if they win and the Jazz beat the Thunder.

The remaining 3-1 team(s) would be alive for the West wild card, although Dallas would be in the driver’s seat with a victory at home over Memphis. Dallas (2-1) has a plus-41 point differential.

If the Mavericks beat Memphis, their worst possible point differential is plus-42. The Suns would have to beat the Spurs 23 points just to tie Dallas in the first tiebreaker.