Circle Tuesday on your calendar.

Here’s why. 🔥

The Lineup 🏀

1. Must-see from Friday 👀
2. Knicks, Dubs stay alive 💥
3. Bucks, Kings stay unbeaten 💯
4. Suns lead West wild card 🃏
5. Rook vs. MVP: Chet v. Joel 🏀

📺 Mavs-Clippers, 10:30 ET, NBA TV

📲 5 more games in NBA App 

🏆 In-Season Tournament latest

1. SATURDAY MORNING MUST-SEE 👀

Five teams came into Friday with a chance to clinch a group.

No groups were clinched.

Six spots left: Friday’s finishes set up a wild night of hoops on Tuesday, as the final SIX (of eight) spots in the Knockout Rounds will be decided.

Here’s what we know.

2 Teams Are In

• East A: Pacers won group
• West A: Lakers won group

12 Teams Are Out

• East: Bulls, Pistons, Raptors, Wizards
• West: Blazers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Jazz, Mavs, Nuggets, Spurs, Thunder

1 Night Left, 16 Teams In The Mix

• East A*: Cavs, Sixers, Hawks
• East B: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Hornets
• East C: Magic, Celtics, Nets
• West A*: Suns
• West B: Pelicans, Rockets
• West C: Kings, Wolves, Warriors

* Wild card only (group already won)

Keep up with the latest updates and clinching scenarios with the In-Season Tournament Tracker and Standings pages (including wild cards)

🔥 TOP PLAYS 🔥

• Just another night: Steph Curry not only hit his signature look-away 3, he finished with 35 points and seven 3s to keep the Warriors’ Knockout hopes alive. Curry has made at least six 3s in 200 games; the next closest is James Harden with 97
• Watch the ground Steph covers here on a single possession, as he tries to elude Wemby
• Dunks and a dub: De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk threw down massive dunks to help the Kings win a showdown with the Wolves for the top spot of West Group C
• Holiday cheer: Plays like this acrobatic reverse layup from Aaron Holiday helped the Rockets defeat the Nuggets to climb to second in West Group B
• The reaction: Watch the side-by-side video of Tyrese Haliburton crossing up his defender for the open 3 and the Pacers announcer’s reaction and call
• Rise up, rook: Ausar Thompson continues his strong rookie season with this strong finish at the rim through Myles Turner

📸 GREAT MOMENTS 📸

• Showing off in front of pops: Cole Anthony was interviewed by his dad, NBA TV’s Greg Anthony, prior to Orlando’s matchup with Boston. He then proceeded to throw down a huge alley-oop slam in the first half
• Dad-and-daughter time: Paul George and his daughter shared a pregame moment on the court after PG splashed a half-court shot

2. KNICKS, WARRIORS STAY ALIVE 📊

🏀 Knicks 100, Heat 98
🏆 East B | Recap
🗽 NYK: 2-1 (+18), Tuesday: vs. CHA
🔥 MIA: 2-1 (+11), Tuesday: vs. MIL

• What happened: Trailing by 21 in the third quarter, the Knicks rallied back, outscoring the Heat 29-11 in the fourth to earn the comeback win
• Clutch time: Jalen Brunson hit the go-ahead bucket with 1:24 left as NY ended the game on a 13-2 run. Watch it here
• What it means: The Knicks avoided elimination and rose to second in East Group B, along with first place in the wild card race. The Heat dropped to third in the group

🏀 Warriors 118, Spurs 112
🏆 West C | Recap
🌉 GSW: 2-1 (+5), Tuesday: at SAC
🤠 SAS: 0-4 (-58)

• What happened: The Warriors withstood a late push from Wemby (22 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk) and the Spurs to keep their Knockout hopes alive. Steph: “It’s nice to stay in it and have a chance”
• Steph gonna Steph: Curry scored a game-high 35 points, including 12 in the 4th, and finished with seven 3s for his 200th career game with at least six triples
• What it means: The Warriors sit third in Group C, behind the Timberwolves on a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Spurs have been eliminated

3. KINGS, BUCKS STAY UNBEATEN, ROCKETS, MAGIC MAKE STATEMENTS 💥

🏀 Kings 124, Wolves 111
🏆 West C | Recap
👑 SAC: 3-0 (+29), Tuesday: vs. GSW
🐺 MIN: 2-1 (-3), Tuesday: vs. OKC

• What happened: In a clash of 2-0 squads, the Kings got the pivotal win to seize control of the group, handing the Wolves their first home loss and first In-Season Tournament loss
• Star guards show out: De’Aaron Fox(36 pts, 7 reb, 12 ast) outdueled Anthony Edwards (35 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) with both posting highlight reels
• What it means: The Kings can clinch West Group C with a win on Tuesday. The Timberwolves remain alive for a wild card spot

🏀 Bucks 131, Wizards 128
🏆 East B | Recap
🦌 MIL: 3-0 (+39), Tuesday: at MIA
🧙 WAS: 0-4 (-38)

• What happened: Brook Lopez (39), Giannis (31) and Dame (31) – the first Milwaukee trio to each score 30+ in the same game – combined for 101 points as the Bucks held off the Wizards to improve to 3-0 in Group Play
• What it means: The Bucks remain undefeated and stay atop East Group B. The Wizards have been eliminated

🏀 Rockets 105, Nuggets 86
🏆 West B | Recap
🚀 HOU: 2-1 (+16), Tuesday: at DAL
⚒️ DEN: 2-2 (-10)

• What happened: The Rockets got a critical win over the Nuggets, with Jalen Green (25 pts) and Alperen Sengun (21 pts, 15 reb, 8 ast) helping Houston overcome a massive game from Nikola Jokic (38 pts, 19 reb, 8 ast)
• What it means: The Rockets rise to second in West Group B. The Nuggets have been eliminated

🏀 Magic 113, Celtics 96
🏆 East C | Recap
🔮 ORL: 3-1 (+22)
🍀 BOS: 2-1 (0), Tuesday: vs. CHI

• What happened: Trailing by 11 in the first, the Magic outscored the Celtics 94-66 the rest of the way for their sixth straight win overall and third straight in Group Play. Moritz Wagner and Paolo Bancherocombined for 50 points
• Lock-down defense: Orlando held its opponent under 100 points for an NBA-best sixth time (6-0 in those games)
• What it means: The Magic spoiled the Celtics‘ attempt at clinching East Group C, and moved to first place in the group

4. ROUNDUP: SUNS LEAD WEST WILD CARD ☀️

🏀 Suns 110, Grizzlies 89
🏆 West A | Recap
☀️ PHX: 3-1 (+34)
🐻 MEM: 0-4 (-56)

• What happened: The KD-less Suns pushed their win streak to six straight as Devin Booker dropped a season-high 40 points, capped by a banked-in 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left to boost Phoenix’s point differential
• What it means: With the Lakers already clinching West Group A, the Suns finished in a strong position for a wild card spot

🏀 Pelicans 116, Clippers 106
🏆 West B | Recap
⚜️ NOP: 3-1 (+33)
⛵ LAC: 1-3 (-25)

• What happened: Zion Williamson (32) and Brandon Ingram (30) both scored 30+ points in the same game for the fifth time as teammates – trailing the Anthony Davis-DeMarcus Cousins combo (six) for most in franchise history – as New Orleans defeated LA
• What it means: The Pelicans sit atop West Group B. The Clippers have been eliminated

🏀 Pacers 136, Pistons 113
🏆 East A | Recap
🏎️ IND: 4-0 (+39)
🚘 DET: 0-4 (-45)

• What happened: Behind a pair of 20/10s from Tyrese Haliburton (26 pts, 10 ast) and Myles Turner (23 pts, 10 reb), the Pacers completed the East Group A sweep
• What it means: Indiana had advanced and Detroit had been eliminated prior to Friday

🏀 Raptors 121, Bulls 108
🏆 East C, Recap
🦖 TOR: 1-2 (-9), Tuesday: at BKN
🐂 CHI: 0-3 (-21), Tuesday: at BOS

• What happened: OG Anunoby slammed home two of his team-high 26 points to lead the Raptors past the Bulls, despite Zach LaVine’s game-high 36 points
• What it means: The Bulls and Raptors have been eliminated

5. ROOK VS MVP, NIGHT 1

So much of a rookie season is about passing tests.

Today and tomorrow, two of the league’s top rooks face two of their toughest ones yet.

Sunday, Victor Wembanyama takes on 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic. 

Today? Chet Holmgren vs. reigning MVP Joel Embiid, as Philly takes on the Thunder – winners of six games in a row (5 ET, NBA App).

• Similar stories: Holmgren and Embiid both missed their first seasons after being drafted due to injury – then made an immediate splash in their rookie years
• Chet’s instant impact: Holmgren, who just took the top spot in the Kia Rookie Ladder, ranks 2nd among rooks in scoring (17.1) & blocks (2.5) and 3rd in rebounds (8.1)
• Chet, Embiid elite at rim: Holmgren’s holding opponents to under 50% shooting inside 6 feet – second in the leagueamong players who’ve faced 8+ such shots a game. Rounding out the Top 4? Kristaps Porzingis (1st), Evan Mobley (3rd) and … Joel Embiid (4th) 
• Embiid rookie rewind: Embiid played just 31 games his first season, but when he was on the court, he dominated. He put up 20.2 a night, with 7.8 boards and 2.5 blocks

🏀 Mavericks at Clippers
📺 10:30 ET, NBA TV

• Luka vs Clips: Doncic has put up 33 ppg against LA in his career, most against any Western Conference opponent – that includes a 44-point, 17-for-21 night to open the In-Season Tournament
• Clippers finding a groove?: LA’s rattled off three wins in four games – two against the Spurs, one to break the Rockets’ six-game streak. In that time, they’ve gotten a combined 65.9 ppg from Kawhi, PG and Harden, while ranking 2nd in the the league in DefRtg

🏀 4 other games in NBA App