The Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Orlando Magic qualified for the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup on Tuesday. Beaten by Phoenix (104-93), San Antonio is eliminated.
The Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Orlando Magic qualified for the NBA Cup quarterfinals on the final day of the group stage on Tuesday. These teams join the Atlanta Hawks, the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, already qualified, while awaiting the results of the last matches of the day to know the last two teams to continue the competition, whose matches also count for the regular season. The quarters are scheduled for December 10 and 11 with a dry match.
San Antonio will not participate after its defeat in Phoenix (104-93). Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs (15 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists) had to win to validate their first place in Group B in the West. They missed this condition but could still count on an incredible combination of circumstances (simultaneous defeats of Portland, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas and Denver) to be among the two best runners-up. The successes of OKC and Dallas dampened their last hopes.
The Knicks teach Orlando a lesson
To the East; the New York Knicks and the Orlando Magic, who had both won their first three matches in this competition created last season, were vying for first place in the group in Madison Square Garden. Despite the last few unconvincing outings, New York taught the Floridians a lesson (121-106), with a 20-point lead at half-time, and a gap which climbed to 37 points. Karl-Anthony Towns (23 points, 15 rebounds) and Jalen Brunson (21 points) ruled the game, facing Franz Wagner’s 30 points.
Despite its defeat, Orlando also managed to qualify for the quarterfinals by taking the “wild card” from the Eastern Conference, awarded to the team with the best record except the first three in the group. Thanks to a good start to the tournament, the Magic maintained an advantage in point difference (+45) against the Boston Celtics (+23) and the Detroit Pistons (+7), all with the same record (3 wins – 1 defeat).
Milwaukee was better.
After a failed start to the season and rumors sending Giannis Antetokounmpo onto the transfer market, the Milwaukee Bucks are reborn as winter approaches and won against Detroit (128-107) their 9th success in 10 meetings. The Bucks and the Pistons, also undefeated in the NBA Cup, were fighting for a ticket to the quarters, but Milwaukee quickly extinguished the suspense with a 19-point lead at halftime. Antetokounmpo set the pace (28 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists), followed by Damian Lillard (27 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) for an easy success against Cade Cunningham’s Pistons (23 points).
Cleveland keeps the pace
The Cleveland Cavaliers consolidated their first place in the Eastern Conference with an easy 118-87 success against the Washington Wizards, who suffered a 15th loss. Seven players scored more than 10 points for a collective effort in Cleveland (19 wins – 3 losses). In Charlotte, Paul George equaled his best scoring performance since his arrival this summer with the Philadelphia 76ers, with 29 points and 8 assists, and a success against the Hornets (110-104). Tyrese Maxey (21 points, 7 assists) shone at the end of the game, as did French interior Guerschon Yabusele (7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists).
