The NBA Cup continues with six games on Tuesday night, including a showdown between undefeated Cleveland and NBA champion Boston. The tournament runs through Dec. 17.
It was called the In-Season Tournament last year when it debuted, after years and years of Commissioner Adam Silver wanting to add something extra to the regular season. All 30 teams take part and will play four group-stage games.
From there, eight teams move to the quarterfinals, and the winners of those games will head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Dec. 14.
All games in the tournament — except for the championship game — count in the regular-season standings and statistics. The championship game is considered extra and isn’t part of the 82-game season for the two teams that make the final.
How to watch
TNT has a doubleheader Tuesday, with Cavaliers-Celtics followed by Thunder-Spurs.
The Cleveland-Boston game will be the fourth one in NBA history where a team on a winning streak of at least 15 games takes on the defending NBA champion.
Good news for 15-0 Cleveland: The team on the winning streak won the most recent such game, with Chicago extending its win streak to 16 games when it beat NBA champ Houston 98-87 on Jan. 30, 1996.
Good news for Boston: The reigning champ won the other two such games — Milwaukee ending the Lakers’ record 33-game win streak 120-104 on Jan. 9, 1972, and New York snapping the Bucks’ 16-game win streak with a 103-94 win on Nov. 27, 1970.
ESPN has another doubleheader on Friday, with Pacers-Bucks and Grizzlies-Nuggets. TNT will have doubleheaders again on Nov. 26 and Dec. 3.
On the “Black Friday” shopping holiday of Nov. 29, ESPN and NBA TV will show five Cup games — spanning about 13 hours of coverage in all — with games starting at noon EST and tipping off through 10 p.m.
Local broadcasts will also be available, as usual.
Betting favorites
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Knicks remain the favorite to win the NBA Cup.
New York (+500) has the shortest odds of anybody, followed by Cleveland and Golden State (both +650). Oklahoma City is +700, Minnesota and reigning NBA champion Boston are both at +1000, and the defending Cup champion Lakers are at +1400.
Standings and schedule
A breakdown of the groups and the standings:
East Group A — Orlando 2-0, New York 2-0, Brooklyn 0-1, Charlotte 0-1, Philadelphia 0-2.
Schedule: New York 111, Philadelphia 99;Orlando 114, Charlotte 89;New York 124, Brooklyn 122;Orlando 98, Philadelphia 86; Charlotte at Brooklyn, Tuesday; Brooklyn at Philadelphia, Friday; New York at Charlotte, Nov. 29; Orlando at Brooklyn, Nov. 29; Philadelphia at Charlotte, Dec. 3; Orlando at New York, Dec. 3.
East Group B — Detroit 2-0, Milwaukee 1-0, Miami 1-1, Indiana 0-1, Toronto 0-2.
Schedule: Detroit 123, Miami 121;Milwaukee 99, Toronto 85;Miami 124, Indiana 111;Detroit 99, Toronto 95; Indiana at Milwaukee, Friday; Milwaukee at Miami, Nov. 26; Toronto at Miami, Nov. 29; Detroit at Indiana, Nov. 29; Milwaukee at Detroit, Dec. 3; Indiana at Toronto, Dec. 3.
East Group C — Atlanta 2-0, Cleveland 1-0, Boston 0-1, Washington 0-1, Chicago 0-1.
Schedule: Atlanta 117, Boston 116;Cleveland 144, Chicago 126;Atlanta 129, Washington 117; Cleveland at Boston, Tuesday; Atlanta at Chicago, Friday; Boston at Washington, Friday; Chicago at Washington, Nov. 26; Boston at Chicago, Nov. 29; Cleveland at Atlanta, Nov. 29; Washington at Cleveland, Dec. 3.
West Group A — Houston 1-0, Portland 1-0, Minnesota 1-1, Sacramento 0-1, Los Angeles Clippers 0-1.
Schedule: Portland 106, Minnesota 98;Minnesota 130, Sacramento 126;Houston 125, LA Clippers 104; Sacramento at LA Clippers, Friday; Portland at Houston, Friday; Houston at Minnesota, Nov. 26; LA Clippers at Minnesota, Nov. 29; Sacramento at Portland, Nov. 29; Houston at Sacramento, Dec. 3; Portland at LA Clippers, Dec. 3.
West Group B — Oklahoma City 1-0, Los Angeles Lakers 1-0, Phoenix 1-1, San Antonio 0-1, Utah 0-1.
Schedule: Phoenix 120, Utah 112;LA Lakers 120, San Antonio 115;Oklahoma City 99, Phoenix 83; Oklahoma City at San Antonio, Tuesday; Utah at LA Lakers, Tuesday; LA Lakers at Phoenix, Nov. 26; San Antonio at Utah, Nov. 26; Oklahoma City at LA Lakers, Nov. 29; Utah at Oklahoma City, Dec. 3; San Antonio at Phoenix, Dec. 3.
West Group C — Golden State 2-0, New Orleans 1-0, Dallas 0-1, Memphis 0-1, Denver 0-1.
Schedule: Golden State 120, Dallas 117;New Orleans 101, Denver 94;Golden State 123, Memphis 118; Denver at Memphis, Tuesday; New Orleans at Dallas, Tuesday; Dallas at Denver, Friday; Golden State at New Orleans, Friday; New Orleans at Memphis, Nov. 29; Memphis at Dallas, Dec. 3; Golden State at Denver, Dec. 3.
Highest scoring performances
The best single-game scoring efforts in the NBA Cup this season.
60 — De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento vs. Minnesota, Nov. 15
43 — Cam Thomas, Brooklyn at New York, Nov. 15
40 — Tyler Herro, Miami at Detroit, Nov. 12
40 — Anthony Davis, LA Lakers at San Antonio, Nov. 15
A stat nugget
There were four triple-doubles in NBA Cup games last season (Domantas Sabonis had two, Nikola Jokic had one and Tyrese Haliburton had one). There have been four already in Cup games this season (LeBron James, Jalen Johnson, Josh Hart and Alperen Sengun all have one).
What’s at stake?
To the winners: pride, a trophy and money.
Players on the winning team will claim $514,971 each, while $205,988 goes to each player on the runner-up team, $102,994 to players whose teams lost in the semifinals and $51,497 to those players whose teams lost in the quarterfinals.
What to know
If teams get eliminated in group play, they’ll have two more games added to their schedule. If teams get eliminated in the quarterfinals, they’ll have one more game added.
All teams have only 80 games scheduled so far in the regular season but will play 82. That’s why the title game doesn’t count; it would be an 83rd game for those teams (the 80 games that are already scheduled, then the quarterfinal, then the semifinal will be their 82 games).
Not every game played over the next month is a tournament game. A quick way to know if it is a tournament matchup: Every team has a new, distinctive court for these games. See those courts, and you’ll know it’s a Cup game.
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