Eastern Conference NBA Cup Quarter-Finals Confirmed
The first two NBA Cup quarter-final matchups have been determined following Friday night's dramatic group stage conclusion, with the New York Knicks eliminating the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks in a thrilling 118-109 victory.
This result secured East Group C for the Knicks and ended the Bucks' hopes of retaining their title. The victory means New York will travel to face the Toronto Raptors in the last eight, while Miami Heat will make the journey to Orlando to take on the Magic.
Knicks Clinch Dramatic Group Victory
New York's triumph over Milwaukee proved decisive in a tight Group C where both teams finished with 3-1 records. The Knicks progressed by virtue of holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Miami, who also completed their group campaign with three wins and one defeat.
Knicks coach Mike Brown praised his team's determination, stating: "I told the guys they did a heck of a job finding a way." The victory at Madison Square Garden showcased New York's resilience against the reigning Cup holders.
Perfect Records for Orlando and Toronto
While the Knicks battled through a competitive group, both Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors completed flawless 4-0 runs in their respective groups. Orlando secured East Group B, while Toronto dominated East Group A.
The Magic sealed their perfect record with a narrow 112-109 victory over Detroit Pistons on Friday night. As the top seed from the Eastern Conference, they earned the right to host the wildcard Heat in the quarter-finals.
Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley expressed excitement about playing at home, saying: "We're so happy to be home. We have some of the best fans in the NBA. They're going to be back there, supporting us, ready to go... For us to do this is very special for our guys right now."
Schedule Quirk Creates Multiple Meetings
The quarter-final pairings create an unusual scheduling circumstance since these games count toward the regular season. Miami and Orlando will face each other five times this season - the first occurrence of such frequency since the 1993-94 campaign.
The teams are scheduled to meet in a regular-season game at Orlando on 5 December, followed by their Cup quarter-final clash just days later. Similarly, New York and Toronto will also contest five meetings this season.
Orlando's Desmond Bane welcomed the home quarter-final, commenting: "It's great. We're building. We're building something special."
NBA Cup Format and Financial Incentives
The quarter-final games are scheduled for either 9 or 10 December, with the semi-finals taking place in Las Vegas on 13 December. All games through the semi-finals count toward regular-season standings, while the championship game on 16 December in Las Vegas stands alone as a separate contest.
Players have significant financial motivation to progress deep into the tournament:
- Quarter-finalists: $53,903 per player
- Semi-finalists: $106,187 per player
- Finalists: $212,373 per player
- Champions: $530,933 per player
Two-way players will receive half these amounts where applicable.
For the 22 teams that fail to reach the quarter-finals, two additional regular-season games will be added to their schedules in mid-December to reach the full 82-game complement. Meanwhile, quarter-final participants will have that game count as their 81st regular-season contest.
