The quarter-finals of the 2025 NBA Emirates Cup will begin on Tuesday after the conclusion of group play on November 28. Four matches will decide who earns a spot in the semifinals in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Firstly, Miami Heat visit Orlando Magic before Toronto Raptors accept New York Knicks. The winner of each game will represent the East. Western Conference games will be played on Wednesday when the score is 23-1 Oklahoma City Thunder will hold Phoenix Suns And Los Angeles Lakers will hold San Antonio Spurs.
The Magic will have to advance without stars. Franz Wagnerleft Sunday's game due to high ankle sprain. However, the good news for Magic is that Paolo Banchero returned from groin injury he was injured on November 12. In the West Luka Doncic returned to the Lakers after missing two games for the Lakers birth of a daughter. And bye LeBron James saw him Series of 1297 games ends Thursday, he and the Lakers have a chance to become the first two-time NBA Cup champions.
Will anyone be able to stop the Thunder in the West? And will Wagner's injury ruin Orlando's hopes of making it to Las Vegas? Our NBA insiders answer the biggest questions ahead of the quarterfinals.
Eastern Conference
How will Franz Wagner's injury affect Magic vs. Heat moving forward?
Orlando was finally intact and ready to play.
The Magic waited 23 days for star Paolo Banchero. return from groin strain on Friday. Less than 48 hours later, Franz Wagner was wounded. high left ankle spraindramatically changing Tuesday's NBA Cup quarterfinals. While the Magic received the best possible news regarding Wagner's injury (an MRI revealed no structural damage, sources told ESPN), Orlando will face its in-state rival without its most consistent player. Wagner is averaging 22.7 points, a career-high 6.1 rebounds and his 3-point shooting has improved from 29.5% last season to 36.0%, which is a big reason the Magic were able to go 7-3 without Banchero.
Instead of returning to his original position, Banchero will have to immediately take on the offensive load, complete with goals and shots from long range. Desmond Bane And Jalen Suggs. Anthony Black has already played an important role this season, and his versatility will be vital to the Magic's survival without Wagner over the next two to four weeks. In Friday's 106-105 win over Miami, Wagner scored 32 points and the returning Banchero added nine points on just eight shots in 20 minutes. After scoring 16 points on 11 shots in 24 minutes in Sunday's loss to the Knicks, Banchero's offense is inching closer to the Cup quarterfinals.
Although Orlando will be without one of its top scorers, Miami's defenseman. Tyler Herro (finger) is likely and Davion Mitchell (groin) game expected. The Heat have lost four of their last five games, but Herro's potential return and Wagner's injury could give Miami the momentum it needs to reach Vegas. — Eom Youngmisuk
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Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic: Game Highlights
Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic: Game Highlights
Have the Knicks brought their brutal offense and will they do it? Karl-Anthony Towns be part of it?
New York's offense has been a machine through the team's first 23 games, third in the NBA in efficiency and fourth in three-pointers made per game. The Knicks also faced the Raptors at the right time, as Toronto had lost five of its last six games after a torrid 13-1 run that lifted them up the conference standings. To make matters worse, the Raptors will be without a forward. R.J. Barrettwho the team announced will be sidelined for at least another week due to knee sprain.
But the Knicks have just one problem: the NBA Cup quarterfinals will be held in Toronto. Coming out of Madison Square Garden, the Knicks turn into a league-average offensive team (just 3-6 on the road).
New York could also be without big man Towns, who is questionable with a calf injury that prevented him from winning Sunday. Receiving And Anunoby ago – The two-way power played 23 minutes Sunday against the Magic after missing nine games due to hamstring strain — it won't be so good if Towns' injury turns into a respite that lasts longer than one game.
Towns hasn't had his best season to date. All of his offensive numbers are down from last season in his first season in New York after being traded. Minnesota Timberwolves on the eve of training camp. This could be an adjustment to new coach Mike Brown's offense, which features Towns getting the ball in different spots and others playing more prominent roles as playmakers, such as the forwards. Mikal Bridges. — Vincent Goodwill
Road to the semi-finals
Just last week, Miami and Orlando previewed the Cup quarterfinals, and the Magic earned a 106-105 win at home in Banchero's first game back from injury. (The Magic also beat the Heat at home on opening night.)
Both Florida teams were hot last week but have since cooled off, with Orlando going 9-2 before losing two of its final three games and Miami following a six-game winning streak with a 1-4 record.
Toronto also makes it to the Cup quarterfinals, losing five of its last six games after a nine-game winning streak. But the Knicks are playing their best basketball of the season, entering the week with a 7-1 record — and that's on a favorable schedule. Five of the Knicks' last seven wins have come against teams with a losing record; The only exceptions are Orlando and Toronto, which the Knicks beat 116-94 on Nov. 30.
These two East quarterfinals are also potential playoff previews. The conference's labyrinthine standings are likely to change many times between now and the end of the regular season, but ESPN's Basketball Power Index projections now have Orlando as Miami's most likely first-round opponent and New York as Toronto's most likely opponent. –Zach Crum
Western Conference
Will the Thunder ever lose again?
It's a bit of an exaggeration, but Oklahoma City is a giant of historic proportions. Although the Thunder have the second-most games missed due to injury in the league, they are the third team in NBA history to win at least 23 of their first 24 games entering the 2015–16 season. Golden State Warriors and the 1969–70 New York Knicks. Oklahoma City has an average point differential of plus-16.1, on pace to break its own record of plus-12.9 set last season. The Thunder have won 15 straight games since their only loss of the season, which came in Portland on Nov. 5, when the Trail Blazers rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat an Oklahoma City team missing several key players for the second night of a back-to-back.
Phoenix gave OKC as much of a scare as any opponent after that loss, cutting a 15-point deficit to one in the final minutes of the Cup group stage final on Nov. 28 at Paycom Center. Then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 of his game-high 37 points in the final 2:40.
It's an accomplishment to simply get the reigning MVP to play in the fourth quarter this season, something Gilgeous-Alexander has only done 11 times. But maintaining that metric only brings out the Thunder's best players, whose net plus rating of 41.4 in clutch situations (scoring within five points in the final five minutes or overtime) is by far the best in the league. — Tim McMahon
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SGA leads Thunder to 19-1 record in 37-point games
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and eight assists in the Thunder's win over the Suns.
Can Spurs pull it off? Luka Doncic and Lakers without Victor Vembanyama?
It's possible, but it won't be easy. Even though San Antonio played with a healthy Wembanyama, Doncic lit up the Spurs defense with a near-triple-double. Stephon Castle taking on most of the responsibility for its protection. Even though the Lakers finished 21-0, San Antonio still had a chance to tie the game with 0.2 seconds left – but Julian Champagnie missed two free throws. Second chances played a major role in the first matchup between the teams, as Los Angeles beat San Antonio 28–11.
Big man Lakers Deandre Ayton shot 9 of 13 for 22 points and 10 rebounds while Vembanyama spent most of the game in fouls before eventually fouling out. The Frenchman is not expected to take part in this fight as he is recovering from tense calf. Big man veteran Luke Cornetwho averaged 2.1 blocks in a game-saving performance against Orlando on Dec. 3 and will likely bolster San Antonio's defense. Kornet, a free agent who helped the Spurs to a 7-2 record without Wembanyama, is a fierce contender in the paint and should perform well against Ayton.
San Antonio will likely have no more answers for Doncic and will have to choose between letting him score or facilitating the pass. This task becomes even more difficult with LeBron Jameswho was dropped during the teams' first match, returned to the lineup. — Michael S. Wright
Road to the semi-finals
After losing the 2024 NBA Cup Final Milwaukee BucksThe Thunder are clear favorites this time around with a 23-1 record to start the season.
In the western bracket we could see a preview of the playoffs. ESPN BPI projections currently have Phoenix as the Thunder's most likely first-round opponent, with either the Lakers or Spurs likely opponents in the second round.
While a Suns win would be a huge upset, the semifinals in Vegas could be a bigger test for the Thunder. The Lakers will be the de facto home team at a neutral site, and the Spurs' breakout campaign led by a budding superstar is reminiscent of where Oklahoma City was two years ago.
The Lakers did hand the Thunder their biggest loss of the 2024-25 regular season, winning 126-99 in Oklahoma City in April, behind Doncic by 30 points. The Thunder responded with a comfortable win over Los Angeles two days later, but Doncic's size and skill always made him a difficult opponent for Oklahoma City (and everyone else).
The Spurs-Thunder match could potentially renew the rivalry between Chet Holmgren and Vembanyama, which dates from 2021 FIBA ​​U-19 World Cup Finalif the last one returned from left calf strain Because of this, he has not appeared on the field since November 17. Due to injuries, the two experienced young centers have only met once since their rookie seasons. Vembanyama struggled in this game, scoring six points on 1-for-5 shooting in October 2024. — Kevin Pelton
