The final day of group play in the 2025 NBA Cup began with six spots in the knockout rounds still up for grabs and three straight winner-take-all games to decide a group. It was as climactic a day as the NBA could have hoped for when instituting the in-season tournament.
When the dust cleared, eight teams were left standing. Here's how they'll line up in the knockout round
NBC Cup quarterfinal matchups
East (Dec. 9)
No. 4 Miami Heat at No. 1 Orlando Magic (6 p.m. ET, Prime)
No. 3 New York Knicks at No. 2 Toronto Raptors (8:30 p.m. ET, Prime)
West (Dec. 10)
No. 4 Phoenix Suns at No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime)
No. 3 San Antonio Spurs at No. 2 Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET, Prime)
Each quarterfinal game will be played at the higher seed's arena. The winners of each game will then advance and face their conference's other winner in the semifinals in Las Vegas on Dec. 13. The championship game will take place on Dec. 16, also in Las Vegas. All of those games except for the championship will count toward regular-season records.
Before that, here's how the winner take-all-games all went down on Friday.
West Group C: Spurs win after Nuggets' second-half collapse
In a stunning comeback, the San Antonio Spurs erased an 18-point deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets, 139-136, and win Group C in the West.
Toward the end of the first half, Denver had pulled away completely behind a big run, outscoring San Antonio 41-18 in the second quarter. The lead was 15 points at halftime.
But Denver's hot streak slowed in the third quarter, giving the Spurs a chance to catch up. San Antonio went on an 18-3 run at the end of the third, overcoming a double-digit deficit and taking the lead by capitalizing on multiple Nuggets turnovers. In total, the Spurs scored 30 points off Denver turnovers, with the Nuggets committing 17 turnovers throughout the game.
The two teams traded leads throughout the fourth quarter. But as Denver's turnovers woes continued, San Antonio took advantage.
Jamal Murray finished with a game-high 37 points, but even his hot third quarter wasn't enough to put the Nuggets over the top. Devin Vassell scored 35 points and hit several key baskets in the second half to boost the Spurs' lead, with Julian Champagnie adding 25 points and 10 rebounds.
San Antonio finished 3-1 in the group stage to advance to the knockout round.
West Group A: Thunder hold off Suns in Jalen Williams' season debut
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 19-1, and 4-0 in NBA Cup play.
They still haven't achieved their final form — starting center Isaiah Hartenstein was out Friday — but got much closer to it with the return of Jalen Williams, who missed the season's first 19 games due to a pair of wrist procedures.
Despite Williams not having the biggest debut (11 points on 3-of-12 shooting, 8 assists) the Thunder kept winning in a 123-119 victory over the Phoenix Suns to take Group A in the West. With a +75 scoring differential, the Thunder will be the top seed in the Western Conference's knockout round.
Back-to-back OKC 3s extends their lead!SGA: 33 PTS, 3-5 3PMWallace: 14 PTS, 2-3 3PM🏆 Winner clinches West Group A@emiratesNBA Cup on NBA League Passpic.twitter.com/K4ltBsxq4o
— NBA (@NBA)November 29, 2025
It was again Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making everything work for OKC, with the reigning MVP posting 37 points on 10-of-20 shooting plus 8 assists and only 1 turnover. Six different OKC players scored in double-figures.
OKC needed pretty much all of them, as the Suns didn't go quietly. A 15-point fourth-quarter lead nearly disappeared for the Thunder, but an and-1 from Gilgeous-Alexander gave them just enough breathing room that Phoenix never got the ball with a chance to take the lead.
East Group B: Desmond Bane lifts Magic over Pistons
The Desmond Bane trade bore some fruit for the Orlando Magic in the NBA Cup on Friday.
Behind 37 points from Bane, the Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 112-109 in a winner-take-all game that decided the Eastern Conference's Group B. With a 4-0 record and +64 score differential, Orlando will have the top seed in the East's knockout round.
It was nearly another thrilling win for the Pistons, who erased a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and had their own star posting a big night with Cade Cunningham's 39-point triple-double. The Pistons held the lead up to 2:11 left in the fourth quarter, but a Bane and-1 gave the Magic an advantage they never gave back.
that's tuff@DBane0625pic.twitter.com/FlUq7TE66C
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic)November 29, 2025
The result also gives the Pistons their second straight loss, after previously tying a franchise record with 13 straight wins.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks clinched Group C with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Miami Heat grabbed the wild card in the East as the only non-group winner with a 3-1 record. The four East teams in the knockout round will be the Magic, Toronto Raptors, Knicks and Heat, seeded in that order.
NBA Cup scoreboard
NBA Cup standings
East Group A
Toronto Raptors (4-0, +55)*
Atlanta Hawks (2-2, -4)
Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2, +26)
Indiana Pacers (1-3, 0)
Washington Wizards (1-3, -77)
East Group B
Orlando Magic (4-0, +61)*
Boston Celtics (2-2, -17)
Detroit Pistons (2-2, +21)
Philadelphia 76ers (1-3, -39)
Brooklyn Nets (1-3, -29)
East Group C
New York Knicks (3-1, +35)*
Miami Heat (3-1, +49)**
Milwaukee Bucks (2-2, +4)
Chicago Bulls (1-2, -42)
Charlotte Hornets (0-3, -46)
West Group A
Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0, +75)*
Phoenix Suns (3-1, +31)**
Minnesota Timberwolves (2-2, +45)
Utah Jazz (1-3, -85)
Sacramento Kings (0-4, -66)
West Group B
Los Angeles Lakers (4-0 +46)*
Memphis Grizzlies (3-1, +14)
Los Angeles Clippers (2-1, -20)
Dallas Mavericks (1-3, -21)
New Orleans Pelicans (0-4, -17)
West Group C
San Antonio Spurs (3-1, +26)*
Denver Nuggets (2-2, +23)
Houston Rockets (2-2, +14)
Portland Trail Blazers (2-2, -31)
Golden State Warriors (1-3, -32)
* = clinched group title** = clinched wild card