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The eight-team knockout stage of the 2024 NBA Cup is taking shape, and we'll know all the quarterfinalists of the league's in-season tournament by the end of the night (follow live updates here). Six of the eight knockout round spots have now been clinched, and the Eastern Conference side of the bracket is set. The Bucks, Knicks and Magic all clinched knockout round spots on Tuesday night. The Bucks and Knicks won their groups with lopsided wins. The Magic, meanwhile, lost to the Knicks by 15 points, but their point differential in the competition (+45) was still good enough to earn Orlando the wild-card spot.

Two more spots are on the line on Tuesday's schedule in the Western Conference. The Spurs, Thunder, Suns and Mavericks are in the mix for those spots.

 Here's a brief summary of how the tournament works, including what happens for tiebreakers if they're needed on Tuesday:

  • The NBA's 30 teams have been split into six five-team groups: There are three groups in the Eastern Conference and three groups in the Western Conference.
  • Teams have been playing the other four teams in their group in round-robin style play on Tuesdays and Fridays. The 2024 NBA cup started on Nov. 12, and group play ends on Tuesday (Dec. 3). Every team will have played four NBA Cup games by the end of Tuesday night.
  • Eight teams (the six group winners plus one wild-card team from each conference) will advance to the knockout round. The standings will be determined by overall record, head-to-head record and point differential if a tiebreaker is needed (there are even more tiebreakers if necessary). 
  • The knockout round will be a single-elimination bracket. The four East teams will be on one side of the bracket, the four West teams will be on the other. The quarterfinals are Dec. 10 and 11. The semifinals are Dec. 14 in Las Vegas, and the the final between the East and West winners will be held on Dec. 17 (also in Vegas).

Got it? Good. With the event in progress, we'll be keeping track of the standings (and the potentially all-important point differentials) below.

NBA Cup clinching scenarios

  • The Magic clinch East Group A with a win against the Knicks.
  • The Knicks clinch East Group A with a win against the Magic.
  • The Bucks clinch East Group B with a win against the Pistons.
  • The Pistons clinch East Group B with a win against the Bucks.
  • The Spurs clinch West Group B with a win against the Suns.
  • The Thunder clinch West Group B with a win against the Jazz and a loss by the Spurs.
  • The Suns clinch West Group B with a win against the Spurs and a loss by the Thunder.
  • Scenarios for wild-card spots can be found here for the East and the West.

NBA Cup standings

X - Clinched group
O - Eliminated from knockout contention
WC - Clinched wild card

East Group A

TeamRecordPoint diff.Status
New York
4-0+31X
Orlando
3-1+45WC
Philadelphia
2-2-3O
Brooklyn
1-3-39O
Charlotte
0-4-33O

East Group B

TeamRecordPoint diff.Status
Milwaukee
4-0+50X
Detroit
3-1+7O
Miami
2-2+20O
Toronto
1-3-17O
Indiana
0-4-60O

East Group C

TeamRecordPoint diff.Status
Atlanta
3-1+15X
Boston
3-1+23O
Cleveland
2-2+30O
Chicago
2-2+6O
Washington
0-4-74O

West Group A

TeamRecordPoint diff.Status
Houston
3-0+49X
Portland
2-1-5

Minnesota
2-2-13O
L.A. Clippers
1-2-6

Sacramento
0-3-25O

West Group B

TeamRecordPoint diff.Status
Phoenix
2-1+19

Oklahoma City
2-1+18

San Antonio
2-1+14

L.A. Lakers
2-2-24

Utah
0-3-27O

West Group C

TeamRecordPoint diff.Status
Golden St.
3-0+12X
Dallas
2-1+41

Denver
1-2+2

Memphis
1-2-6

New Orleans
1-3-49O

2024 NBA Cup odds

Odds to win from DraftKings as of Dec. 2. Fans can take action on the NBA Cup with the latest DraftKings promo.

  • Knicks: +450
  • Rockets: +500
  • Thunder: +550
  • Warriors: +650
  • Bucks: +700
  • Magic: +850
  • Mavericks: +1200
  • Celtics: +1800
  • Suns: +2000
  • Hawks: +2200