Headed into the final night of NBA In-Season Tournament group play Tuesday, 12 teams were still in contention to secure the remaining six spots in the quarterfinals of the inaugural event.
By night’s end, Boston, New York, Milwaukee, Phoenix, New Orleans and Sacramento joined the already qualified Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers in the knockout stage, which begins with the quarterfinals on Monday and Tuesday.
Interesting results played out Tuesday.
Boston trailed Orlando by 22 points and Brooklyn by eight points in point differential before it played Chicago Tuesday. To win the group and advance, it needed to win and win big so it could earn the point differential tiebreaker in the event of a three-way tie in group play at 3-1 with Orlando and Brooklyn. The Magic were finished with group play so they watched the Celtics beat Chicago by 27, and Brooklyn only beat Toronto by 12 points. The Celtics did what they had to do.
For the Knicks to advance, they had to win the point differential tiebreaker over Cleveland, Orlando and Brooklyn. The Knicks beat Charlotte 115-91 but had the Knicks won by 11 points or fewer they would have lost the tiebreaker to Cleveland. The Knicks needed the blowout victory.
In the Sacramento-Golden State game, the Warriors not only needed a victory to advance, but they also had to win by 12 or more points. They were up 24 just before halftime … and lost by a point on a night that provided entertaining games and interesting scenarios.
Here’s what you need to know about the In-Season Tournament:
What are the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals matchups?
East
Monday: Boston at Indiana, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Tuesday: New York at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
West
Monday: New Orleans at Sacramento, 10 p.m. ET, TNT
Tuesday: Phoenix at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 p.m. ET, TNT
What were Tuesday’s group play results?
New York Knicks 115, Charlotte Hornets 91
Milwaukee Bucks 131, Miami Heat 124
Cleveland Cavaliers 128, Atlanta Hawks 105
Brooklyn Nets 115, Toronto Raptors 103
Boston Celtics 124, Chicago Bulls 97
Minnesota Timberwolves 106, Oklahoma City Thunder 103
Dallas Mavericks 121, Houston Rockets 115
Sacramento Kings 124, Golden State Warriors 123
When are the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals?
The semifinals are Dec. 7 in Las Vegas – one game is on ESPN at 5 p.m. ET and the other is on TNT at 9 p.m. ET.
When is the NBA In-Season Tournament final?
The East winner meets the West winner in the final Dec. 9 in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
What’s at stake in the knockout stage?
The winning team will capture the first NBA Cup, and there is prize money. Each player on the losing quarterfinals teams will receive $50,000; each player on the losing semifinals teams will get $100,000; each player on the losing final team will receive $200,000; each player on the championship team will make $500,000.
Also, following the final, the league will name an MVP and All-Tournament team based on performance in the group and knockout stages.
Who was eliminated and didn’t advance?
Detroit, Washington, Toronto, Chicago, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Cleveland, Miami, Charlotte, Orlando, Philadelphia, Houston, Minnesota, Utah, Portland, Memphis, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City, Golden State and San Antonio.
The Sixers, Magic, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Mavericks and Thunder each have at least 11 victories, and the Timberwolves have the second-best record in the league. Plus, Denver and Golden State are the past two NBA champions.
The 22 non-quarterfinals teams will each play two regular games – one Dec. 6 and one Dec. 8 – to ensure they play an 82-game schedule.
