Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

Starting 5, Nov. 12: The Emirates NBA Cup tips tonight

The race to the NBA Cup begins tonight with the first eight games of Group Play, headlined by a TNT doubleheader.

NBA.com Staff

Break out the new courts, the Emirates NBA Cup is here.

THE LINEUP 🏀

Nov. 12, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

Emirates NBA Cup 101: Everything you need to know before the tournament tips tonight

TNT Doubleheader: A Knicks-Sixers Playoff rematch, plus Klay’s return to the Bay

6 More On League Pass: Which teams will take step one toward the Cup with a win?

A Cavs Dozen: Cleveland outlasts Chicago to become the 8th team to start 12-0

Roundup: SGA drops 45, Wemby hits 6 3s, Cam Thomas’ clutch 3 & Sengun does it all

BUT FIRST … ⏰

The race begins tonight…

The first Cup Night is here with a TNT doubleheader – beginning with Sixers hosting the Knicks in a Playoff rematch (7:30 ET), followed by the Warriors hosting the Mavs in Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay (10 ET).

With six more games on League Pass, the Emirates NBA Cup gets in full swing with all six groups in play.

1. EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT THE EMIRATES NBA CUP

The Emirates NBA Cup 2024 tips off tonight with eight Group Play games on the first of seven Cup Nights over the next 21 days.

  • What Is The Emirates NBA Cup? The second-annual in-season competition giving all 30 teams another championship to chase, while engaging fans and driving interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule
  • How Does It Work? The 30 NBA teams are split into six groups of five teams each. In Group Play, each team plays the other four teams in its group once
  • When Are These Games? From today through Dec. 3, all games played on Tuesdays and Fridays count toward Group Play and the regular-season standings
  • What Happens After Group Play? The winners of each group – and the top second-place team in each conference – make up the eight teams that advance to the Knockout Rounds
  • What Happens Then? It’s a single-elimination tournament, with the four teams that win the quarterfinals heading to Las Vegas for the Semifinals and Championship in mid-December. The winner claims the NBA Cup trophy
  • Possible For Michael Imperioli And Rosario Dawson To Explain This Instead? Sure, they’ve got all the details here, and starred in The Heist II alongside Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Jamal Murray, Tyrese Haliburton and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

How are Emirates NBA Cup games different from regular-season games? For one, the stakes are even higher. And as last year’s inaugural competition proved, the players, teams and fans showed that Cup games bring a different level of intensity and excitement.

Plus, the games look different as they are played on specially-designed courts with bold colors and the NBA Cup trophy front and center as a reminder of what’s on the line. Check out all 30 courts and the player reactions below:

After the Lakers won last year, who could take home the title in 2024? Before the first games of Group Play tip off tonight, NBA players and experts have chimed in with their predictions of the eight teams that will reach the Knockouts.

2. TNT TONIGHT: PLAYOFF REMATCH, KLAY’S RETURN TO THE BAY

Knicks at Sixers (East Group A, 7:30 ET, TNT): How close was last year’s first round Playoff series between the Knicks and Sixers? New York won the series in six games, outscoring the Sixers by a single point (650-649).

Seven months later, these teams find themselves in another high-stakes environment – the opening game of Group Play of the Emirates NBA Cup – for their first meeting since New York ended Philly’s season last spring.

  • Same Rivalry, New Pieces: Both teams made bold moves in the offseason, with the Knicks adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges while losing Game 2 heroes Isaiah Hartenstein (to OKC) and Donte DiVincenzo (to Minnesota)
  • In Philly, the Sixers added nine-time All-Star Paul George to team up with Joel Embiid (who is expected to make his season debut) and Tyrese Maxey (who will miss weeks with a hamstring injury)

Mavericks at Warriors (West Group C, 10 ET, TNT): If being the opening game of Group Play in the Emirates NBA Cup wasn’t enough, this game also marks the return to the Bay for Klay Thompson, who won four titles over 13 years with Golden State.

  • Saluting Captain Klay: The Warriors will honor Thompson pregame with fans in attendance tipping their captain’s hats to Klay after he frequently navigated the San Francisco Bay on his 37-foot fishing vessel to arrive at Chase Center
  • Klay In Dallas: Through his first 10 games as a Maverick, Thompson is Dallas’ third-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points on 35.4% shooting from 3 on 8.2 attempts per game
  • Warriors’ Fast Start: Golden State has its best record through 10 games (8-2) since the last time they won the title in 2021-22, when they began the year 9-1
  • Mavs Trying To Avoid Streak: Dallas (5-5) enters tonight having dropped two in a row (by a total of three points) and three of their last four games after opening the season 4-2

3. SIX MORE GROUP PLAY GAMES ON LEAGUE PASS

Hawks at Celtics (East Group C, 7 ET): The Celtics are the current holders of the Larry O’Brien trophy. Can they add the NBA Cup to the trophy case and hold all the league’s gold simultaneously?

  • Boston’s first step may be without Jayson Tatum, who is listed as questionable (ankle)
  • The Hawks were one of only four teams to take two games off the Celtics during last year’s title run. But Boston left no doubt in their first meeting this season, cruising to a 30-point win on Nov. 4

Heat at Pistons (East Group B, 7 ET): If recent play is any indication, expect a close game in Detroit as the Pistons’ last three games have all been decided by two points or less, while three of the Heat’s last four games have been decided by three points or less.

  • These teams met on Oct. 28 with Miami pulling away in the 4th to drop Detroit to 0-4 on the season. The Pistons are 4-3 since

Hornets at Magic (East Group A, 7 ET): After dropping their first four games without Paolo Banchero, the Magic are coming off consecutive 27-point wins. They’ll need to continue to win without Banchero, who is expected to miss Group Play with an oblique injury.

  • Half of Charlotte’s 10 games have been decided by five points or less; they are 3-2 in those games. LaMelo Ball ranks 5th in the NBA in scoring (29.4 ppg) and tied for seventh in clutch points (28)

Raptors at Bucks (East Group B, 8 ET): Both teams enter Group Play looking for their third win of the season and to halt a losing streak. Toronto has dropped four straight entering Cup play, while Milwaukee tries to avoid a third-straight loss and its 9th in the last 10 games.

  • No Dame Time: Milwaukee will be without Damian Lillard as he enters concussion protocol

Suns at Jazz (West Group B, 8 ET): The Suns fell in overtime on Sunday in their first game without Kevin Durant – who is expected to miss two weeks with a calf strain – snapping a seven-game win streak.

  • They will try to get back on track against a Utah squad that has won two of its last three games after opening the season 0-6

Wolves at Blazers (West Group C, 10 ET): Minnesota was held to a season-low 94 points on Sunday as their three-game win streak was snapped. Meanwhile, Portland dropped its third straight game on Sunday, each by increasing margins.

4. MITCHELL, GARLAND KEEP THE CAVS ROLLING TO 12-0 START

Cavs 119, Bulls 113: Donovan Mitchell (36 pts, 8 reb, 7 3s, 4 stl) had his top scoring game of the season, while Darius Garland (17 pts, 5 ast, 4 stl) delivered the dagger layup with 23.6 seconds left as the Cavs matched the fourth-best start in NBA history at 12-0. | Recap

The Great Eight: Cleveland becomes the eighth team to open a season with at least 12 straight wins. Five of the previous seven teams made the NBA Finals that season with two of those five winning the title.

  • 2015-16 Golden State Warriors: Started 24-0, lost Finals
  • 1993-94 Houston Rockets: Started 15-0, won Finals
  • 1948-49 Washington Capitols: Started 15-0, lost Finals
  • 1957-58 Boston Celtics: Started 14-0, lost Finals
  • 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks: Started 14-0, lost in West Finals
  • 1996-97 Chicago Bulls: Started 12-0, won Finals
  • 1982-83 Seattle SuperSonics: Started 12-0, lost in First Round

Comeback Cavs: Chicago – which saw Zach LaVine (26), Nikola Vučević (20) and Coby White (20) combine for 66 points – led by as many as nine in the 3rd quarter before the Cavs closed the period on a 19-7 run to take a 95-92 lead into the 4th.

  • In the 4th, the Bulls were able to tie the game, but never retook the lead as the Cavs improved to 5-0 in games that feature clutch time

Helping Hands: With Mitchell and Garland combining for 53 points, the Cavs had six total players score at least 12 points in their 12th straight win, including a double-double from Evan Mobley (15 pts, 11 reb).

5. SGA DROPS 45, WEMBY HITS 6 3s, THOMAS’ CLUTCH 3, SENGUN DOES IT ALL

Thunder 134, Clippers 128: In OKC’s first game without Chet Holmgren, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a career-high 45 points along with nine assists, five steals and two blocks to lead the Thunder over the Clippers to snap LA’s four-game win streak. | Recap | Watch The Finals 3:47 

  • OKC led by 20 in the 3rd quarter before the Clippers rallied to make it a two-point game with 42 seconds left. But a pair of SGA free throws and an exclamation point dunk by Jalen Williams (28 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast) with 1.7 seconds left slammed the door
  • Norm Powell (31 pts, 4 ast, 5 3s) posted his fifth game this season with 25+ points after having one such game a season ago. Ivica Zubac (22 pts, 14 reb, 3 blk) and James Harden (17 pts, 11 reb, 9 ast) combined to add 39 for LA in the loss

Spurs 116, Kings 96: Victor Wembanyama (34 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk) sank six 3s for the second straight game as San Antonio hit a team-record-tying 22 triples to outscore the Kings 66-30 from the 3-point line in a 20-point home victory. | Recap 

  • Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell and Sandro Mamukelashvili each splashed three 3s as the Spurs had seven players score in double figures, compared to just three – De’Aaron Fox (24), Domantas Sabonis (23) and DeMar DeRozan (21) – for the Kings

Nets 107, Pelicans 105: Cam Thomas (17 pts, 4 3s) splashed a clutch stepback 3 from the wing with 32.5 seconds left to put the Nets up for good against the Pelicans. | Recap | Watch The Final 4:53 

  • Cam Johnson and Noah Clowney each dropped 15 as the Nets had seven players in double figures, while Brandon Ingram (24 pts, 9 ast) led all scorers and rookie Yves Missi (17 pts, 11 reb) posted his first career double-double for NOLA
  • Rockets 107, Wizards 92: Alperen ĹžengĂĽn (27 pts, 17 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk) posted a double-double while Jalen Green added 18 points to lead the Rockets to a wire-to-wire win over Kyle Kuzma (18 pts) and the Wizards. | Recap

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