The Emirates NBA Cup 2025: The Quarterfinals are Set
The third edition of the Emirates NBA Cup continues its course, with the group stage coming to an end this Friday and the knockout phase matchups beginning to take shape. The tournament, which crowned LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers as inaugural champions in 2023, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks last season, promises strong emotions. What team will take home the trophy in Las Vegas this season? Will they be able to maintain the momentum from the tournament for the postseason?Friday’s Highlights: Thunder and Magic Secure Top Spots
Only two teams had secured their place in the knockout phase of the NBA Cup before the final day of the group stage. With several head-to-head matchups at stake for the quarter-final spots, Friday night promised an exciting night of basketball. And so it was.
Several crucial matches were decided in the final seconds. In the end, the quarter-final lineup was defined with a mix of established stars and emerging teams from across the league. As expected, the best team in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder, secured the top spot in the group stage, improving their record to 19-1 with a 123-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns, their eleventh consecutive. Despite the defeat, Phoenix forced Oklahoma City to give their all for the full 48 minutes, and Collin Gillespie was close to stealing the ball that would have given the Suns a chance to tie or win the game in the final seconds. However, he couldn’t save the ball and Oklahoma City took the victory. The prize for the Thunder is a quarterfinal rematch against the Suns in Oklahoma City, on December 9th or 10th. The Orlando Magic knew that a win in Detroit would give them the top spot in the East. For much of the game, it seemed that Orlando would take the victory, with a lead of about 10 points for much of the night. But a furious final quarter from the Pistons gave them a chance to tie the score when Cade Cunningham intentionally missed a free throw in the final seconds, rebounding directly to him so he could pass the ball to Duncan Robinson for a potential three-pointer. However, Robinson missed and Orlando managed a 110-107 victory, securing the top spot in their group. The Magic will face the Heat in the quarterfinals after Miami, which had a 3-1 record in the group stage and a +49 point differential after closing the stage with a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, secured the wildcard spot thanks to the New York Knicks’ victory over the Bucks at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The Knicks and Bucks were the only teams that had qualified for the playoffs in each of their first two editions. And, when the game reached its final minutes on Friday night, only one of them would have the opportunity to do so for a third time, with the winner guaranteed to advance and the loser guaranteed to be eliminated. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists in 28 minutes in his return from a groin strain, but it was the New York Knicks who prevailed with a 118-109 victory. Jalen Brunson finished with 37 points, including a layup with 1:27 remaining that helped seal the result. The Knicks will head to Toronto to face the Raptors, who finished with a 4-0 record and secured one of the top two spots in the group stage with Brandon Ingram’s game-winning shot against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Toronto needed the Pistons to beat the Magic to claim the top spot because the Magic had a better point differential. That left a spot open in the West after the Los Angeles Lakers secured their group with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. And, surprisingly, it was the San Antonio Spurs, playing without their star Victor Wembanyama, who remains sidelined with a calf strain, who overcame an 18-point deficit to surprise the Denver Nuggets on their home court and secure a place in the knockout phase. San Antonio arrived at the week knowing that two victories, in Portland on Wednesday and in Denver on Friday, would be enough to allow the Spurs to advance. But the Spurs achieved it in a surprising way, with Devin Vassell scoring 35 points on 12 of 17 shooting, including 7 of 9 three-pointers, and Justin Champagnie adding 25, surpassing Jamal Murray (37 points) and Nikola Jokic (21 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists) in the Spurs’ 139-136 victory. That meant the Spurs, who could have Wembanyama back for the quarterfinals in 10 days, will travel to Los Angeles to play the Lakers in the quarterfinals. Luka Doncic & Co. closed out the group stage with a 129-119 victory over Anthony Davis and the Dallas Mavericks.
