The Atlanta Hawks’ 117-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday had a lot of collateral damage in the NBA Cup game.
The Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and last year’s tournament runner-up, the Indiana Pacers, were all eliminated from group play after the Hawks improved their record to 3-1 and took first place in Eastern group C.
Charlotte, Brooklyn and Indiana were eliminated with losses anyway on Friday, while Miami’s win didn’t matter as both the Hawks and Detroit Pistons won. The Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, both 3-0, will decide East Group B with their matchup on Tuesday.
De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks with 23 points off the bench, followed by Trae Young with 20 points and 11 assists. Jalen Johnson collected twenty points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Clint Capela added 13 rebounds, while Dyson Daniels made three steals.
Cleveland got 29 points from Darius Garland (who shot 5-for-8 on 3s), while Evan Mobley added 24 points and 13 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell scored 11, shot 5-for-23, with 11 rebounds and six assists.
Defending champion Lakers are on the brink of elimination
The first season tournament was a bright spot in a rough 2023-2024 season for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the second they don’t have it so easy.
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Lakers 101-93 on Saturday to push the defending IST champions to the brink of elimination in Group B. It was a stellar night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 36 points, while Isaiah Hartenstein had a season-high. 17 rebounds.
The win puts the Thunder in a good position at 2-1 and the Lakers in a bad position at 2-2. The Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs are both tied at 1-1, but with positive point differentials. The Lakers, meanwhile, are at minus-24, which isn’t good when the points difference is the second tiebreaker after a head-to-head record.
With no more games to play, the Lakers need some help moving forward.
Celtics improve to 3-1 in East Group C
The Boston Celtics stayed alive in group play with their 138-129 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Celtics could have been eliminated with a loss, while Detroit, Atlanta, the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic would win.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 35 points (4-for-8 from 3) and 14 rebounds, while Peyton Pritchard added 29 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis each scored 21.
The Bulls were paced by Nikola Vučević, who scored 32 points (on 6-for-9 shooting on 3s) with 11 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 29 and Josh Giddey dished out nine assists.
Boston could have reached East Group C with a win and a Hawks loss. Chicago could also have clinched East Group C by beating the Celtics combined with losing to the Cavs. But neither scenario occurred.
Knicks 3-0 in group play
The Hornets were eliminated from group play for the NBA Cup regular season tournament on Friday with a 99-98 loss to the New York Knicks.
Charlotte was led by Brandon Miller’s 20 points, while Josh Green added 15. Tidjane Salaün contributed 14 points with eight rebounds, while Moussa Diabaté grabbed 11 boards.
The Hornets were without LaMelo Ball, who missed the game due to illness. Ball had averaged 40 points over his past four games, including a 50-point effort last Saturday against the Bucks. For the season, he is averaging 31.1 points, which likely would have made a difference in a one-point game.
Jalen Brunson scored 31 points (he went 4-for-6 on 3s), six rebounds and six assists to lead New York. Karl-Anthony Towns followed with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Josh Hart added 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Miles McBride scored 14 points off the bench.
