Dec 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) controls the ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan in the second half of an NBA Cup game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Though they were victorious over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns were eliminated from the Emirates NBA Cup before the game concluded and have seen changes to its schedule pop up.
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The Suns won 104-93 over the Spurs but regardless of the result, they were unable to progress out of group play after the Dallas Mavericks came back to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116. Phoenix needed the Mavericks to lose since both were vying for the Western Conference wild card spot, and Dallas had a massive +41 point differential compared to a +19 by the Suns coming in.
Both teams finished 3-1 in their respective groups but the Mavericks point differential proved to be too much to catch for the Suns. Dallas improved its total to +46 and Phoenix’s ended up being +30 when the games were both finalized.
Now that the NBA Cup run for the Suns is over, there are two notable schedule changes that have come out of it.
With no games previously scheduled from Dec. 9-18, the Suns will now go on the road to face the Utah Jazz on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m. MST before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. MST. The eliminated teams will play regular season games to fill in the gap while the NBA Cup continues during that span until the championship.
The tournament will now turn into single-game elimination from here on out. The quarterfinal round for the remaining teams commences on Dec. 10, the semifinal is on Dec. 14 and the final is on Dec. 17. The Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are the final eight teams in the NBA Cup.
The Suns will now head on a four-game road trip – with the addition of the Jazz game in Utah – as they will take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday at 6 p.m. MST.
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