Emirates NBA Cup group play finished on Tuesday, with the quarterfinal matchups now set. The New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks (both 4-0), Orlando Magic (3-1) and the Atlanta Hawks (3-0) advanced out of the Eastern Conference, while the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks, all of whom finished 3-1 in group play, advanced out of the Western Conference.
Notable wins on Tuesday included the Knicks getting a comfortable home win over the Magic, the Mavericks coming back in the final minutes to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Denver Nuggets holding off the Warriors.
At MSG, the Knicks got to 13-8 with their 121-106 win. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 23 points and 15 rebounds (8-for-18), while Jalen Brunson scored 21, Mikal Bridges 19, OG Anunoby 18, and Josh Hart registered a triple-double (11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists). Miles McBride was 5-for-7 from downtown with 18 points off the bench. The Knicks, who had a 106-75 lead after three quarters, shot 51 percent from the field as a whole and 43 percent (15-for-35) from downtown.
The Magic (15-8), who had won six consecutive games and 12 of their last 13 heading into Tuesday, got 30 points and 6 assists (10-for-22) from Franz Wagner, while his brother Moritz put up 20 points and 12 rebounds off the bench on 7-for-13.
The Knicks, the No. 2 seed in the East’s Emirates NBA Cup bracket, face the Atlanta Hawks (3) in one quarterfinal while the Magic (4) face the Bucks (1).
The Mavericks trailed 95-82 going into the fourth quarter and were down 111-103 with 3:34 remaining, but big shots late from Spencer Dinwiddie, Luka Doncic, and P.J. Washington allowed them to get the victory by a count of 121-116.
After two big triples from Dinwiddie, Doncic, in an attempt to ward off Marcus Smart, hit Smart in the mouth. There was no call, and the ball found P.J. Washington on the left wing, who hit the three.
Ja Morant, who hit on a three to put his team up by the 111-103 score, was the high man for the Grizzlies with 31 points on 11-for-22 (3-for-6 from deep). Desmond Bane (8-for-14) scored 19 points while Jaren Jackson Jr. shot just 5-for-14 but scored 16 points and had 7 rebounds.
Doncic’s 37 points and 12 rebounds (11-for-22, 5-9 from downtown) led the Mavericks while Washington was 6-for-10 and put together a complete effort of 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Dereck Lively was 7-for-10 with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Dinwiddie (5-for-10) put up 16. Kyrie Irving scored just 10 points on 3-for-14.
Both teams stand at 14-8, and the Mavericks (4) will play the top-seeded Thunder in quarterfinal play.
The Nuggets, trailing 113-106 with four minutes to go, went on a 13-2 run to close things out at home against the Warriors on TNT.
Nikola Jokic scored 15 of his 38 points (10 rebounds, 6 assists, 14-for-24) in the fourth, while Michael Porter Jr. added 22 points and 7 rebounds on 8-for-14. Aaron Gordon put together a complete effort of 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists on 3-for-4 from downtown.
The Nuggets made 11 of their 24 three-point shot attempts in contrast to the Warriors’ 12-for-38. Curry led his team in the scoring column with 24 points while also dishing 11 assists and getting 7 rebounds, but he was just 8-for-23 from the field and 4-for-15 from downtown. Jonathan Kuminga scored 19 points on 9-for-18 while Brandin Podziemski and Andrew Wiggins scored 13 apiece. Wiggins had the ball on the right wing against Murray with 20 seconds left, but was stripped by his fellow Canadian, allowing Jokic to get two free-throws at the other end after he was fouled. The game ended in some controversy, as after Moses Moody missed on a triple down by four, 119-115, the Nuggets’ Christian Braun, in a great hustle play, dove and retrieved the ball. Braun, face up and covering the ball, signaled for timeout, but the Nuggets did not have any. However, officials ruled a jump ball rather than awarding the Warriors free-throws and the ball. The jump ball between Wiggins and Braun was retrieved by Curry, but with just over one second left the game was in effect over. Warrior head coach Steve Kerr was irate as time expired, screaming at officials as he left the floor.
Despite the loss to the 11-8 Nuggets, the 12-8 Warriors are into the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, where as the No. 3 seed they will face the No. 2 Houston Rockets in quarterfinal action.
Quarterfinal games in the Emirates NBA Cup will take place on December 10 and 11 in regular team markets, while the semifinals and finals take place on December 14 and 17 from Las Vegas.
Around the League
76ers 110 (5-14)
Hornets 104 (6-15)
George: 29 PTS, 8 AST (10-for-16 FG, 6-for-9 3PT)
Maxey: 21 PTS, 7 AST (5-for-16 FG)
McCain: 17 PTS (7-for-10 FG, 3-for-4 3PT)
Miller: 34 PTS (12-for-25 FG, 7-for-16 3PT)
Richards: 22 PTS, 14 REB (6-for-9 FG)
PHI: Won 3 of their last 5
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Cavaliers 118 (19-3)
Wizards 87 (2-17)
Mobley: 19 PTS, 10 REB (6-for-12 FG)
Mitchell: 19 PTS, 7 AST, 5 REB (6-for-15 FG)
Valanciunas: 13 PTS, 11 REB
WAS: 4-for-26 3PT
WAS: Lost 15 in a row
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Bucks 128 (11-9)
Pistons 107 (9-14)
Antetokounmpo: 28 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB (10-for-11 FG)
Lillard: 27 PTS, 5 AST (9-for-17 FG, 5-for-11 3PT)
Cunningham: 23 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB (9-for-16 FG)
Harris: 16 PTS (5-for-10 FG)
Hardaway: 15 PTS (5-for-10 FG)
MIL: 7 consecutive wins; No. 1 seed in East quarterfinal bracket of NBA Cup
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Raptors 122 (7-15)
Pacers 111 (9-13)
Barnes: 35 PTS, 9 AST, 6 REB (13-for-20 FG, 3-for-7 3PT)
Barrett: 29 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST (9-for-16 FG)
Haliburton: 30 PTS, 6 AST (10-for-16 FG, 4-for-9 3PT)
Turner: 16 PTS, 7 REB (4-for-6 3PT)
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Thunder 133 (16-5)
Jazz 106 (4-17)
Williams: 28 PTS, 5 AST (12-for-18 FG)
Gilgeous-Alexander: 26 PTS, 7 AST, 6 REB (11-for-19 FG)
Sexton: 17 PTS (7-for-11 FG)
Kessler: 17 PTS, 11 REB (6-for-7 FG)
OKC: No. 1 seed in West quarterfinal bracket of NBA Cup
UTA: 5 consecutive losses
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Suns 104 (12-8)
Spurs 93 (11-10)
Booker: 29 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST (10-for-21 FG, 4-for-10 3PT)
Jones: 16 PTS (6-for-10 FG)
Durant: 13 PTS (5-for-8 FG)
Vassell: 25 PTS off bench (10-for-14 FG, 4-for-5 3PT)
Wembanyama: 15 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST (6-for-18 FG, 1-for-9 3PT)
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Kings 120 (10-12)
Rockets 111 (15-7)
Sabonis: 27 PTS, 7 REB (13-for-19 FG)
Fox: 22 PTS, 7 AST, 6 REB (9-for-19 FG)
Monk: 17 PTS, 12 AST (4-for-8 FG)
Green: 28 PTS, 7 REB (9-for-14 FG)
Sengun: 24 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST (10-for-20 FG)
Eason: 16 PTS, 12 REB off bench (5-for-15 FG)
HOU: No. 2 seed in West bracket
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Clippers 127 (14-9)
Trail Blazers 105 (8-14)
Powell: 30 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST (11-for-15 FG)
Harden: 23 PTS, 7 AST (6-for-15 FG, 3-for-10 3PT)
Coffey: 19 PTS off bench (7-for-10 FG)
Ayton: 16 PTS (8-for-10 FG)
Sharpe, Avdija: 15 PTS
Henderson: DNP (left quad contusion)
Clingan: DNP (sprained left knee)
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