All eight teams remaining in contention for the NBA Cup are vying for the chance to travel to Las Vegas for the tournament’s semifinals, along with the chance to win more than 500,000 per player as a reward for claiming the title.
And for the Oklahoma City Thunder, there’s something else: history is at stake.
The NBA Cup quarterfinal games — Miami at Orlando, New York at Toronto, Phoenix at Oklahoma City and San Antonio visiting the Los Angeles Lakers — are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The winners will head to Las Vegas for the semifinals this weekend.
If the Thunder beat the Suns, they will improve to 24-1 this season and tie Golden State’s record for the best start to a season in NBA history after 25 games.
There are also cash incentives: Players on the quarterfinal teams have already secured $53,093 each as a bonus, with players on two-way contracts receiving half that amount. A trip to the semi-final round doubles the payout to 106,187.
A semi-final victory guarantees players $212,373 in bonus money, and players with standard contracts on the Cup-winning team will receive $530,933 each. Again, two-way players receive half the bonus amount.
Miami vs Orlando
Tuesday, 6 pm ET
Registros: Heat 14-10, Magic 14-10
Season series: Magic leads 2-0 (Magic 125, Heat 121 in Orlando on October 22; Magic 106, Heat 105 in Orlando on December 5).
NBA Cup History: Heat has a 7-5 record in Cup games and is playing in the quarterfinals for the first time, qualifying for the elimination stage this year by winning the Eastern Conference wild card at 3-1. Magic has a 10-3 record in Cup games and is in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row, winning East Group B this year 4-0, seeking its first semi-final appearance.
Outlook: It will be the third of five meetings between Florida’s rivals this season, and the first two were exciting until the last moment in Orlando. The Heat have lost three in a row for the first time this season and the Magic just got Paolo Banchero back from injury before losing Franz Wagner to injury in the loss at New York on Sunday.
Knicks vs. Raptors
Tuesday, 8:30 pm ET
Registros: Knicks 16-7, Raptors 15-10
Season Series: Knicks lead 1-0 (Knicks 116, Raptors 94 in New York on Nov. 30).
NBA Cup History: Knicks have a 10-4 record in Cup games, are the only team in the NBA to have reached the Cup quarterfinals in all three years of the event, won East Group C with a 3-1 record and are seeking their first semifinal appearance. The Raptors have a 6-6 record in Cup games and are in the quarterfinals for the first time, after winning Group A of the East this year 4-0.
Outlook: Knicks have won seven of their last eight games and 14 of their last 18. The Knicks have a 0-2 record in Cup quarterfinal games, losing by a total of 32 points. The Raptors have had wild ups and downs this season. They started 1-4, then went undefeated in four group stage games in the Cup during a stretch in which they went 13-1. The problem is that they are 1-5 since that period.
Suns vs. Thunder
Wednesday, 7:30 pm ET
Records: Suns 13-10, Thunder 23-1
Season series: Thunder leads 1-0 (Thunder 123, Suns 119 at Oklahoma City on Nov. 28).
History of the NBA Cup: Suns have a 9-4 record in Cup games and this is the second time they have played in the quarterfinals (2023), seeking their first appearance in the semifinals, they qualified for the direct elimination stage this year by winning the Western Conference wild card with 3-1. The Thunder have a 10-5 record in Cup games and are in the quarterfinals for the second straight year after losing last year’s finals to Milwaukee. They won Group A in the West this year with a 4-0 record.
Outlook: Oklahoma City needs a win to match Golden State’s best start (24-1 in 2015-16). Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 445 points in Cup games, second-most in the tournament behind Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (453). Phoenix is 10-0 when holding teams to 113 points or less, 3-10 otherwise.
Spurs vs. Lakers
Wednesday, 10 pm ET
Registros: Spurs 15-7, Lakers 17-6
Season series: Lakers 1-0 (Lakers 118, Spurs 116 in Los Angeles on November 5).
NBA Cup History: Spurs have a 5-7 record in Cup games, are in the quarterfinals for the first time and won Group B in the West this season with a 3-1 record. The Lakers have the best record in the NBA with 13-2 in Cup games, they are in the quarterfinals for the second time, they won Group C of the West this season with 4-0. Los Angeles won the inaugural tournament in 2023 when it was called the Season Tournament.
Outlook: Lakers guard Austin Reaves is having a breakout season and looks very much like an All-NBA player, plus he’s appeared in more Cup game wins (13 wins in 15 games) than any other player still in this year’s tournament. LeBron James is coming off a season-high 29 points in the Lakers’ win in Philadelphia on Sunday. The Spurs are 8-4 with Victor Wembanyama in the lineup — and have held up more than well since his calf injury, going 7-3 in his absence.
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