NBA Cup 2025 Full Bracket Clinching and Elimination Scenarios for November 28 Schedule

Three NBA Cup group winners will be determined directly by head-to-head results on Friday night.

The Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons square off for the East Group B crown, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Phoenix Suns do battle in West Group A and the Denver Nuggets face off with the San Antonio Spurs in West Group C.

East Group C will be decided by a tiebreaker based on whether the Milwaukee Bucks or New York Knicks win at Madison Square Garden.

The best second-place team from each conference will also be decided on the final night of group play. Only a handful of teams are still alive in the race for that position.

NBA Cup Standings

East Group A

1. Toronto (4-0; +55 point differential)
2. Cleveland (2-1; +33)
3. Washington (1-2; -44)
4. Atlanta (1-2; -11)
5. Indiana (0-3; -33)

East Group B

1. Orlando (3-0; +61)
2. Detroit (2-1; +24)
3. Boston (2-2; -17)
4. Brooklyn (1-2; -17)
5. Philadelphia (0-3; -51)

East Group C

1. Miami (3-1; +49)
2. New York (2-1; +26)
3. Milwaukee (2-1; +13)
4. Chicago (1-2; -42)
5. Charlotte (0-3; -46)

West Group A

1. Oklahoma City (3-0; +71)
2. Phoenix (3-0; +35)
3. Minnesota (2-2; +45)
4. Sacramento (0-3; -57)
5. Utah (0-3; -94)

West Group B

1. Los Angeles Lakers (3-0; +36)
2. Memphis (2-1; +9)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (2-1; -15)
4. Dallas (1-2; -11)
5. New Orleans (0-4; -19)

West Group C

1. Denver (2-1; +26)
2. San Antonio (2-1; +23)
3. Houston (2-2; +14)
4. Portland (2-2; -31)
5. Golden State (1-3; -32)

The drama in the Eastern Conference is centered around the Orlando-Detroit contest in East Group B.

The winner takes home first place in the group and a spot in the quarterfinals.

If Orlando loses, it is still in the mix for the top second-place team in the Eastern Conference. Detroit is eliminated with a loss.

East Group C will be decided on a head-to-head tiebreaker of some sorts. The Knicks need to beat the Bucks to claim first by way of their head-to-head win over the Miami Heat.

A Milwaukee road win hands the East Group C crown to the Heat through Miami's win over the Bucks on Wednesday.

The New York-Milwaukee loser is eliminated from the competition because it will have two losses.

The wild-card spot is down to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando-Detroit loser and either Miami or Milwaukee.

Miami is finished with group-stage play and owns a +49 point differential. Cleveland plays the Atlanta Hawks on Friday and starts the day with a +33 point differential.

Cleveland needs to win big against Atlanta in case Miami and Orlando, with a +61 point differential, do not win their respective groups.

Cleveland's best chance to get into the knockout round is for Orlando and Miami to win their groups. That would knock out Detroit and New York and likely leave the Cavs with a better point differential than the Bucks.

The math is simpler in the Western Conference, where the OKC-Phoenix winner takes Group A and the Denver-San Antonio victor tops Group C.

The Denver-San Antonio loser is eliminated from the competition, as is the Memphis-Los Angeles Clippers loser.

The West wild-card position comes down to the Grizzlies-Clippers winner and the Thunder-Suns loser.

OKC has been the class of the league so far this season. The assumption is that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. will take care of Phoenix.

If that's the case, the Suns need to preserve their lead in point differential over the Grizzlies and Clippers.

Phoenix starts the day at +35 in point differential, while Memphis is +9 and the Clippers are -15.

If the Suns beat the Thunder, it would likely be a close game and OKC's +71 point differential wouldn't be affected much. In that case, OKC would likely earn the wild-card spot.

The only other thing up for grabs on Friday is home-court advantage for the quarterfinals.

The Los Angeles Lakers, winner of West Group B, can clinch a home game through a win over the Dallas Mavericks.

If the Lakers win, themselves and the OKC-Phoenix would clinch home games. The Toronto Raptors already secured a home quarterfinal contest. Orlando lands a home game if it finishes 4-0, if not the hosting priority will head to the point differential tiebreaker between the East Groups B and C winners.