Recap of Emirates NBA Cup Drama: Hawks Secure Victory, Celtics Pull Through, SGA Dominates, and Sizzling Teams Extend Winning Streak

The high-flying Hawks are soaring into the Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Rounds and Trae Young had to capture the moment.

THE LINEUP

Nov. 30, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

East Group C Drama: Four teams, two games, one ticket to the Knockout Rounds on the line

Friday Fire: SGA shined in a heavyweight bout, the Grizz roared & the Magic struck again

Roundup: Friday set the stage for two group-deciding duels between NBA Cup unbeatens

Saturday Reunion: In a must-see matchup, KD faces his former team tonight in the Valley

LP Lineup: Can the Hawks, Bucks and Mavs keep rolling, and can the Sixers respond?

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Where the race for the Cup stands after Friday’s 10-game slate…

The second-to-last night of Emirates NBA Cup Group Play is in the books, with three of the eight spots to the Knockout Rounds secured. Group Play concludes on Tuesday (Dec. 3), before the Knockout Rounds begin one week later (Dec. 10).

More Hoops Tonight: Five games tip off on Saturday, headlined by a marquee matchup out West as Kevin Durant and the Suns host the Warriors (9 ET, NBA TV). Plus, four games get underway on League Pass, beginning with a red-hot Trae Young leading the Hawks against the Hornets (6 ET).

Don’t Miss The Best Deal Of The Year: Fans in the United States and Canada have until Monday to get 50% off on a season-long subscription to NBA League Pass. Time’s ticking, grab your pass now. Tap here for U.S. and here for Canada. First-time subscribers only.

1. HAWKS SOAR & CELTICS ROLL IN EAST GROUP C DECIDERS

Entering Friday, East Group C was wide open, with the Bulls, Cavs, Celtics and Hawks all vying for the top spot.

Despite a dizzying list of scenarios that could make your head spin like a defender lost on a backdoor cut, two matchups brought order to the chaos:

Hawks 117, Cavaliers 101 (East Group C): Two days after handing Cleveland its second loss of the season and its first defeat at home, the Hawks upended the league-leading Cavs once again, behind another brilliant performance from Trae Young (21 pts, 11 ast), improving Atlanta to 3-1 in Group Play. | Recap

Ice Trae On Fire: Following a career-high 22 assists and 20 points in Wednesday’s win over Cleveland, Young notched his fifth straight points & assists double-double and his 14th this season, which leads the NBAAll Atlanta: The Hawks never trailed in the 2nd half and had six players score in double figures, including this year’s No. 1 overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher, who finished the silky double-pump layup aboveCavs Out:

The loss eliminated Cleveland (1-2) from Knockout Round contention, while Atlanta awaited the results of Boston and Chicago’s showdown in hopes of winning the group

Celtics 138, Bulls 129 (East Group C): Jayson Tatum went off for 35 points and a season-high 14 boards, while Payton Pritchard scored 19 of his 29 points in the 4th quarter to help the C’s break open a tie game and win the final frame 42-33, giving them a crucial W over Nikola Vučević (season-high 32 pts, 11 reb) and the Bulls. | Recap

Celtics Sizzle: Boston has now won seven straight games, including three consecutive Cup matchups for a 3-1 record in Group PlayTatum, Pierce & Bird: With the performance, Tatum joined Larry Bird (110) and Paul Pierce (69) as the only Celtics to record 60 career 35+ point gamesLaVine Enters Bulls Lore:

Zach LaVine tallied 29 points on four 3s, passing Kirk Hinrich (1049) for the

most made triples in Bulls franchise history

Hawks In, Bulls Out, C’s Still Alive: With a win and a Bulls loss, the Hawks clinched East Group C for a ticket to the Knockout Rounds. Meanwhile, Boston remains in contention for a wild card berth and Chicago is eliminated.

Every Bucket Counts: With point differential serving as a tiebreaker, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla took a timeout with 1.4 seconds left in the game to draw up a Sam Hauser buzzer-beater

2. SGA TAKES OVER, MEMPHIS & ORLANDO NOTCH 5 IN A ROW

Thunder 101, Lakers 93 (West Group B): In a star-studded showdown, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who shined with 36 points, nine dimes and six boards, highlighted by a 4th quarter where he dropped 15 of OKC’s 30 points to stave off Dalton Knecht (20 pts, 6 3s) and the Lakers. | Recap

Rolling Thunder: OKC has now won four straight games for a West-leading 15-4 overall record and is 2-1 in Group PlayOKC Contributions: Isaiah Hartenstein (11 pts, 18 reb, 1 must-see block) added a big double-double, while Jalen Williams followed SGA with 19 pointsLeBron Passes Kareem:

LeBron James tallied 12 points, eight boards and six assists for Los Angeles while passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,797) for the most combined regular-season and Playoff games played in NBA history

Grizzlies 120, Pelicans 109 (West Group C): Make that five straight dubs for Memphis. Ja Morant posted a season-high in points (27) and steals (3) along with seven dimes to help the Grizz run away from CJ McCollum (season-high 30 pts) and the Pels, extending their win streak while marking their first Group Play W. | Recap

Ja-Dropping: Morant defied gravity on the oop above with 39.6 inches of elevation — the fourth-highest recorded vertical this season

Magic 123, Nets 100 (East Group A): If the Grizzlies are hot, then the Magic are blistering. Franz Wagner was cooking with 29 points, eight boards and eight dimes, as Orlando took a 12-point lead into the half and never looked back for its fifth straight win and its 11th victory in 12 games. | Recap

The Magic are 3-0 in Group Play and allowing a league-low 97.6 ppg in their past 12 outings, with Wagner averaging 27.2 points, 5.8 boards and 7.0 dimes in that stretch

3. FRIDAY ROUNDUP: 3-0 SHOWDOWNS LOADING, WOLVES RESPOND & MORE

Knicks 99, Hornets 98 (East Group A): Jalen Brunson scored 11 of his game-high 31 points in the 4th quarter, stamped by two free throws with 8.6 seconds left to put the Knicks up four, moving them to 3-0 in Group Play while eliminating the shorthanded Hornets from Knockout Round contention. | Recap

Winner-Take-All: In a battle between two 3-0 clubs, New York will host Orlando on Tuesday to decide East Group A

Pistons 130, Pacers 106 (East Group B): After missing the last three games with a hip injury, Cade Cunningham returned and showed no signs of rust with 24 points and 11 helpers to power the Pistons past the Pacers, moving Detroit to 3-0 in Group Play while eliminating Indy — last year’s Cup finalists. | Recap

Winner-Take-All, Part 2: In another duel with a trip to the Knockout Rounds on the line, the Pistons will face the Bucks (3-0) on Tuesday to decide the winner of East Group B

Wolves 93, Clippers 92 (West Group A): With Minnesota down 90-87 and 3:45 left, Anthony Edwards (21 pts) scored six straight points with a dunk, a 3 and a free throw to put the Wolves up three, which allowed them to hold off James Harden (20 pts, 11 ast) and the Clips to snap their four-game skid. | Recap | Watch The Final 4:19

Heat 121, Raptors 111 (East Group B): Scottie Barnes (24 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) posted a triple-double, but so did Bam Adebayo (14 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast), and Miami outscored Toronto 38-23 in the 3rd quarter to pull away for the win. However, Detroit’s dub ended Miami’s hopes of advancing. Recap

Blazers 115, Kings 106 (West Group A): Domantas Sabonis also posted a triple-double with 21 points, 14 boards and 11 assists, but it wasn’t enough to take down the Blazers, as Deandre Ayton (season-high 26 pts), Anfernee Simons (21 pts) and Deni Avdija (season-high 20 pts) all tallied 20-pieces to improve the Blazers to 2-1 in Group Play while eliminating Sacramento (0-3). | Recap

4. CHAMPIONSHIP REUNION: KD FACES WARRIORS TONIGHT ON NBA TV

Six years ago, Kevin Durant helped lead the Warriors to back-to-back NBA titles alongside Steph Curry and head coach Steve Kerr.

This summer, the trio reunited with USA Men’s Basketball — with Kerr at the helm — and earned more hardware, as the Red, White & Blue took gold at the Paris Olympics.

Tonight, KD faces his former coach, team and potentially Curry — who is questionable with knee pain — as Phoenix hosts Golden State (9 ET, NBA TV).

“Kevin’s an incredible player,” Kerr said this fall. “He’s all about the game, he’s all about the work … Kevin’s passion is the game itself and the work, and he loves the whole process.”

Durant’s passion has paid dividends, as he’s just 775 points shy of becoming the eighth player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points and is averaging a team-high 27.4 ppg this season on 55.1% shooting — the second-highest mark of his 17-year career.

The Durant Difference: The Suns are 9-2 in the 11 games Durant has played this season. In their seven games without him, they’re 1-6 for a 10-8 overall recordDurant’s impact is further highlighted by the Suns’ net rating, which drops from +4.7 with him on the floor to -7.1 when he’s off itKD For 3: KD’s posted six 30-pieces in his 11 outings, fueled by a career-high 2.7 3s per game at a 44.1% clip — the second-highest mark of his careerBook Boost: Meanwhile, Devin Booker — who also played an integral part in Team USA’s gold medal run this summer — is heating up with an average of 30.2 ppg in his last five outingsSaid Kerr about Booker’s

Olympic role: “He was our unsung MVP. I just wanted to say that.”

Phoenix has lost six of its last seven games but is 1-1 in its last two outings following the returns of both Durant (out since Nov. 8) and Bradley Beal (out since Nov. 12), who were each sidelined with calf strains.

Meanwhile, Golden State will look to snap its three-game skid and hope to see Curry back in the lineup after he was unable to play in Wednesday’s game against OKC.

Efficiency From 3: Despite taking 2.2 fewer 3s per game than last season, Curry is still averaging 4+ triples a game thanks to a 44.4% mark from deep, his highest 3-point percentage since 2015-16 — when he was named the Kia NBA MVPBuddy System:

The Warriors rank fourth in the NBA in 3s per game (15.9) and can still fill it up from deep without Curry thanks to Buddy Hield, who has led the team in scoring six times this year and drained 56 3s off the bench, the second-most in the NBA

5. LP LINEUP: HAWKS, BUCKS, MAVS LOOK TO STAY ROLLING & MORE

Four games get underway today on League Pass, beginning with Trae Young and the red-hot Hawks seeking their third straight win after back-to-back dubs over the 17-3 Cavs.

Hawks at Hornets (6 ET): Riding five straight double-doubles of points & assists, Young will look to extend his streak to six — a feat he’s only matched once in his career (eight straight games in 2023-24) — as the Hawks look to stay hot against the Hornets. Young dropped a season-high 38 points and 10 dimes in a win over Charlotte in October.

76ers at Pistons (7 ET): In Philly’s last outing, Tyrese Maxey became the third player in Sixers history to record 35+ points, 10+ assists and 5+ steals in a game, joining Allen Iverson (4x) and George McGinnis (1x). But the Sixers fell to the Rockets, marking their seventh loss in eight games. Can they bounce back tonight against Cade Cunningham and the Pistons?

Wizards at Bucks (8 ET): After a 2-8 start, Milwaukee has won seven of its last eight games to improve to 9-9 on the season, capped by five straight dubs. In that eight-game stretch, Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging the second-most points in the NBA (33.4 ppg) on 60.8% shooting, making him the only player averaging 25+ points while shooting over 60% in that span.

Mavericks at Jazz (9:30 ET): Despite being without Luka Dončić for the last four games, Dallas has won six of its last seven outings. With Dončić sidelined, the Mavs’ depth has shined with eight players averaging 9+ points, including Naji Marshall, who’s posted four straight 20-pieces for the first time in his career. Can Marshall and the Mavs keep it up in Utah?