Starting 5: Pivotal Night in Emirates NBA Cup Ahead

Luka Magic. LeBron Buckets. And a Lakers ticket to the Knockout Round of the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup.

!Luka Dončić, LeBron James

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

* Showtime: Luka, LeBron & lakers advance, Anthony Black & CJ McCollum erupt
* Cup Catch-up: 25 teams alive, 20 Group Play games remaining, 6 Knockout Round spots left
* Chasing History: Detroit looks to extend win streak to record 14 games against Boston
* Familiar Foes: Two Playoff rematches out West cap tonight’s ESPN tripleheader
* LP Spotlight: Raptors and Heat aim to stay rolling, Blazers look to clinch Group

BUT FIRST … ⏰

!Scores & Schedule

Tomorrow, it’s all about Thanksgiving. Tonight, it’s all about the Cup – with nine Group Play matchups to fill your plate, including an ESPN tripleheader.

* Pistons at Celtics (5 ET)
* Wolves at Thunder (7:30 ET)
* Rockets at Warriors (10 ET)

NBA Cup Group Play closes on Friday with a loaded 11-game slate, highlighted by a Prime doubleheader (Bucks-Knicks, Mavs-Lakers). | More At The NBA Cup Hub

!NBA Cup standings

1. TUESDAY CUP NIGHT: LAKERS CLINCH, BLACK & McCOLLUM COOK

!Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves

Ninety-nine points.

The Lakers’ star trio of Luka Dončić (https://x.com/NBA/status/1993579406967628192?s=20&lid=p9f0pkix2gzq 43 pts, 9 reb, 13 ast, 7 3s), Austin Reaves (31 pts, 9 reb) and LeBron James (25 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) had its https://x.com/NBA/status/1993580700516467170?s=20&lid=3ekr126wfg26 highest-scoring night as James’ return to clinch group B.

Lakers 135, Clippers 118 (West B): Dončić erupted early, going 5-of-5 from deep for 24 points in the 1st quarter.

## KNOW

Onyl two nights of NBA Cup Group Play remain – tonight and Friday – with six of the eight knockout Round spots still up for grabs and 25 teams fighting for position.

• Fast Refresher: There are three groups of five teams in each conference. In Group Play, each team plays the other four teams in its group once
• The six group winners – plus the top second-place team in each conference (the Wild Card) – advance to the eight-team, single-elimination Knockout Round
• The Knockout Round starts on Dec. 9, with the winners headed to Vegas for the semifinals and Championship, where the NBA Cup champion will be crowned

Where We Stand: The Raptors have clinched East A and the lakers have won West B, leaving two groups in each conference unclaimed, plus the East and west Wild Cards.

long story short, the race is nowhere near settled.

Before we check tonight’s potential clinching scenarios, let’s refresh on the Group Play tiebreakers – where every bucket counts.

• 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

Tonight’s Stakes: With just 20 Group Play games left, 16 of the 25 teams alive have just one loss or fewer, making Wednesday the biggest swing night yet.

• East C Chaos: all five teams remain alive in East C, and two can potentially clinch tonight. If new York loses to Charlotte (7 ET, LP), the winner of Miami & Milwaukee will decide the group (7:30 ET, LP)
• Portland Chance? For the Blazers, tonight’s stakes are simple – win and you’re in. But De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs stand in their way (10 ET,LP)
• Wild West A: OKC (2-0) and Minnesota (2-1) clash in a pivotal West A duel (7:30 ET,ESPN),both seeking a third win and head-to-head leverage. Sandwiched in between is 2-0 Phoenix, which visits Sacramento (10 ET, LP)
• Perfect Pistons: Also 2-0 are the streaking Pistons – winners of 13 straight – looking to match 3-0 Orlando in East B, as they face the Celtics (5 ET, ESPN)

All The Outcomes: Check out every possible Wednesday scenario for clinching, seeding and elimination here.

3. PISTONS SEEK HISTORY TO OPEN ESPN TRIPLEHEADER

3. “IT’S JUST DIFFRENT”

“I think that’s why we’ve had the run that we’ve had.”

4. MORE ON ESPN: TWO PLAYOFF REMATCHES OUT WEST

!Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

A jam-packed arena. Non-stop crowd noise. Suspense behind every shot.

Those were the characteristics of the atmosphere when the Thunder and Timberwolves last shared a court in May.

Now, they step into a similar habitat in the hunt for a different trophy.

The Thunder host the Wolves tonight (7:30 ET, ESPN) in West Group A, in a rematch of the 2025 West Finals. It’s the first time they’ve met since then, when OKC ousted Minnesota in five games en route to an NBA title.

* Up For Grabs: At 2-1 with a +53 differential in Group Play,though,a Timberwolves victory could push them ahead of the Thunder (2-0,+63)
* Historically Hot: Not that wins have been easy to earn – OKC is on the brink of an 18-1 start,becoming the 5th team in NBA history with at least such a start
* Double-Digit Demons: That would also secure the Thunder’s 3rd winning streak of 10+ games since 2024-25 as they continue to exceed even their own lofty standards

!thunder 2025-26 & 2024-25 Comparison

Stars rise up for occasions like this. Chet Holmgren and Anthony Edwards are both postseason veterans.

* Step Right Up: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is questionable, but Chet Holmgren could pick up the slack offensively, having averaged a career-best 18.3 ppg thus far
* Ant’s Hot Hand: Edwards (27.8 ppg), simultaneously occurring, is fresh off a season-high 43 points Monday and has shot 5-for-11 from beyond the arc in consecutive outings

!Alperen Sengun, Steph Curry

The Warriors and Rockets aren’t strangers to this setting, either. The two squads clashed in last season’s NBA Cup quarterfinals, with Houston taking a 91-90 thriller.

They meet once more at Chase Center tonight (10 ET, ESPN), each standing at 1-2 in West Group C and needing a win to avoid elimination.

* Act Two: That previous matchup was merely a precursor – Houston and Golden State went the distance in 2025’s First Round, with the latter knocking off the then-No.2 seed
* We Have Liftoff: Also in 2024-25, the Rockets snapped a 15-game regular-season losing streak to the Warriors, powered

NBA In-Season Tournament: Key Games Tonight & Standings Update

Tonight features several crucial matchups in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament, with teams vying to clinch their spots in the Knockout Rounds. Here’s a breakdown of the key games and storylines:

Bucks at Heat (7:30 PM ET | East C): Miami (2-1) hosts Milwaukee in a game with significant implications. The Heat, currently leading the East C group, have won five straight games and boast the league’s top-scoring offence, averaging 123.9 points per game [https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/scoring/]. A win for either team, coupled with a New york Knicks loss, would secure their advancement to the Knockout round. Miami is playing at a fast pace (106.14 possessions per game) and generating the second-most transition points (20.9 per game) and the third-most assists (30.2 per game) [https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/pace/]. The Heat will welcome the return of Tyler Herro, who made a successful season debut on Monday against dallas, hitting the game-winning shot [https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38969999/tyler-herro-hits-game-winner-heat-beat-mavericks].

Despite a recent six-game losing streak,the Milwaukee Bucks hold a perfect 10-0 record in Group Play all-time and are looking to reach the Knockout round for the third consecutive year.

Spurs at Blazers (10:00 PM ET | West C): Portland, with a talented young core, aims to clinch a spot in the tournament with a win. Deni Avdija is leading the Blazers in scoring, averaging 23.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in Cup play, and 24.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists overall [https://www.nba.com/stats/players/deni-avdija].

San Antonio (1-1) has remained competitive in the West, ranking in the top-5, largely due to the strong play of De’Aaron Fox (23.5 points, 6.1 assists, 51.1% field goal percentage) [https://www.nba.com/stats/players/de-aaron-fox]. Though, with Victor Wembanyama unavailable, the Spurs need a win and some help to stay alive in the tournament.

Kings at Suns (10:00 PM ET): In Phoenix, the Suns (2-0) are looking to maintain pace with the Oklahoma City Thunder in West A and bounce back from a recent loss. they face a Kings team playing for their tournament lives.The Suns have been strong posting an 8-2 record recently.

Other Key Games:

* Knicks at Hornets (7:00 PM ET | East C): New York, currently in contention, visits Charlotte needing a win to improve their tournament standing.
* Grizzlies at Pelicans (8:00 PM ET | West B): Memphis travels to New Orleans, but the Pelicans have already been eliminated from tournament contention.

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