All eight teams left in the running for the NBA Cup are now playing for a shot at going to Las Vegas for the tournament semifinals, along with a chance of picking up more than $500,000 per player as a reward for claiming the title.
And for the Oklahoma City Thunder, there’s something more: History is at stake.
The NBA Cup quarterfinal games — Miami at Orlando, New York at Toronto, Phoenix at Oklahoma City, and San Antonio at the Los Angeles Lakers — are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. The winners will head to Vegas for semifinal games this weekend.
If the Thunder beat the Suns, they’ll improve to 24-1 this season and tie Golden State for the best 25-game start in NBA history.
There are also cash incentives: Players on the quarterfinalist teams have already assured themselves of $53,093 apiece in a bonus, with two-way players getting half that much. A trip to the semifinal round doubles that to $106,187.
A semifinal win guarantees players $212,373 in bonus money, and players with standard contracts on the Cup-winning roster will get $530,933 apiece. Again, two-way players get half of whatever the bonus amount is.
Where to watch and listen
All seven remaining games — the quarterfinals, semifinals and title game — are on Amazon Prime. Some quarterfinal games will also get local-market coverage, while the semifinals and final are Prime-exclusive.
ESPN Radio will also broadcast the three games from Las Vegas — the semifinals on Saturday and the title game on Dec. 16.
Miami Heat at Orlando Magic
Tuesday, 5 p.m.
Records: Heat 14-10, Magic 14-10
Season series: Magic lead 2-0 (Magic 125, Heat 121 in Orlando on Oct. 22; Magic 106, Heat 105 in Orlando on Dec. 5).
NBA Cup history: Heat are 7-5 all-time in Cup games, in quarterfinals for first time, qualified for knockout stage this year by winning Eastern Conference wild-card at 3-1; Magic are 10-3 all-time in Cup games, in quarterfinals for second consecutive year, won East Group B this year at 4-0, seeking first semifinal appearance.
Outlook: It’ll be the third of five meetings between the Sunshine State rivals this season, and the first two were down-to-the-wire thrillers in Orlando. … Heat have lost three straight for the first time this season. … Magic just got Paolo Banchero back from injury, then lost Franz Wagner to injury in a loss at New York on Sunday.
New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors
Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Records: 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 are 10-4 all-time in Cup games, are the only team in the NBA to reach the Cup quarterfinals in all three years of the event, won East Group C with 3-1 record, seeking first semifinal berth; Raptors are 6-6 all-time in Cup games, in quarterfinals for first time, won East Group A this year at 4-0.
Outlook: Knicks have won seven of their last eight games and 14 of their last 18. … Knicks are 0-2 in quarterfinal games in Cup play, losing by a combined 32 points. … Raptors have had wild ups and downs this season. They started 1-4, then went unbeaten in four Group Stage games in Cup play during a stretch where they went 13-1. Problem is, they’re 1-5 since that stretch.
Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Records: Suns 13-10, Thunder 23-1
Season series: Thunder lead 1-0 (Thunder 123, Suns 119 in Oklahoma City on Nov. 28).
NBA Cup history: Suns are 9-4 all-time in Cup play, in quarterfinals for second time (2023), seeking first semifinal appearance, qualified for knockout stage this year by winning Western Conference wild-card at 3-1; Thunder are 10-5 all-time in Cup play, in quarterfinals for second consecutive year, lost last year’s final to Milwaukee, won West Group A this year at 4-0.
Outlook: Oklahoma City needs a win to match Golden State (24-1 in 2015-16) for the best 25-game start in NBA history. … Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 445 points in Cup games, second-most in tournament play behind Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (453). … Phoenix is 10-0 when holding teams to 113 points or less, 3-10 otherwise.
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers
Wednesday, 9 p.m.
Records: Spurs 15-7, Lakers 17-6
Season series: Lakers 1-0 (Lakers 118, Spurs 116 in Los Angeles on Nov. 5).
NBA Cup history: Spurs are 5-7 all-time in Cup games, are in quarterfinals for first time and won West Group B this season at 3-1; Lakers are NBA-best 13-2 in Cup games, are in quarterfinals for second time, won West Group C this season at 4-0 and won the inaugural title when the event was called the In-Season Tournament in 2023.
Outlook: Lakers guard Austin Reaves is having a breakout season and looking very much like an All-NBA player, plus has appeared in more Cup game wins (13 wins in 15 contests) than anyone still in this year’s tournament. … LeBron James is coming off a season-high 29 points in Lakers’ win at Philadelphia on Sunday. … Spurs are 8-4 with Victor Wembanyama in the lineup — and have more than held it down since he strained his calf, going 7-3 in his absence.