The 2024 NBA Cup continued on Friday evening and what an evening of untamed motion it introduced with 11 video games on the slate. We had a 60-point sport, a game-winning shot and block, and the third-longest profitable streak to start a season prolonged. 

Earlier than we get to the principle takeaways, listed below are all the outcomes from Friday evening’s NBA Cup motion, and you will discover the Cup standings right here. 

• Warmth 124, Pacers 111
• Magic 98, 76ers 86
• Pistons 99, Raptors 95
• Hawks 129, Wizards 117
• Cavaliers 144, Bulls 126
• Knicks 124, Nets 122
• Lakers 120, Spurs 115
• Rockets 125, Clippers 104
• Pelicans 101, Nuggets 94
• Thunder 99, Suns 83
• Warriors 123, Grizzlies 118
• Timberwolves 130, Kings 126 (OT)

Cavaliers stay excellent

The Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 14-0, the longest profitable streak in franchise historical past at any level in a season, with Friday’s 144-126 house win over the Chicago Bulls. The Cavs, now 1-0 within the NBA Cup, are effectively over midway to the perfect begin in NBA historical past, which belongs to the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors who received their first 24 video games.

The ultimate rating on Friday was deceiving. This was a four-point sport with beneath three minutes to play, however the Cavaliers closed on a 21-7 flurry to make it look much more lopsided on paper. 

Cleveland’s 14 straight wins to open the season matches the 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks and the 1957-58 Boston Celtics for third on the all-time record. The Cavaliers can match the second-best begin in historical past, which belongs to the 1993-94 Houston Rockets — who went on to win the championship — if they’ll beat the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday for a fifteenth consecutive win. 

Cleveland bought previous Chicago with out the providers of Evan Mobley, who was out with an sickness. No massive deal. All fellow massive man Jarrett Allen did was put up 24 factors, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks on 11-of-15 capturing. 

Pair that with 66 mixed factors from Donovan Mitchell (37) and Darius Garland (29) on 11-of-20 3-point capturing, plus 22 factors and 4 extra 3-pointers off the bench for Caris LeVert, and the Cavs, who shot 43 3-pointers and related on them at a 48% clip, had loads of offense to go round.

Chicago was led by Coby White (29 factors and 6 3-pointers) and Nikola Vucevic, who continued his splendid begin to the season with 25 factors on 11-of-16 capturing. 

Brunson, Bridges save Knicks

The New York Knicks are doing all they’ll to tread water proper now. The offense has been spectacular, the protection has been something however, and it has added as much as a 6-6 report after Jalen Brunson hit a game-winner to defeat the Brooklyn Nets, 124-122, on Friday.

New York, which is tied with Orlando atop the East’s NBA Cup Group A with a 2-0 report, did not make it simple on itself. After main by 21 within the closing seconds of the third quarter, the Knicks managed simply 4 factors over the primary four-plus minutes of the fourth quarter. The drought allowed the Nets to come back again, and the Knicks discovered themselves trailing by some extent after they referred to as a timeout with 11 seconds left within the sport. 

That is when Brunson did his factor, isolating in opposition to Dorian Finney-Smith within the left nook, clearing area with a swing by way of, and rising up for the go-ahead 3-pointer. 

The shot did not formally finish it, nonetheless, as a result of the Nets, now down two, nonetheless had six seconds to work with. It seemed like Dennis Schroder was on his strategy to a game-tying layup as he raced again down the court docket and bought behind Knicks ahead Mikal Bridges with a transparent path to the rim. However Bridges stayed in vary and was in a position to block Schroder’s shot from behind to complete Brooklyn off. 

Brunson and Bridges every completed with season-high scoring totals, Brunson with 37 and Bridges with 22. Bridges, who has shot lights out from contained in the arc this season however had but to get his 3-point stroke going (30% getting into Friday), made 4 of his seven 3-pointers, whereas Brunson completed 12-of-20 total and 10 of 12 from the free throw line with 16 fourth-quarter factors.

De’Aaron Fox scores 60 in loss

Fox lit up the Timberwolves for the primary 60-point sport of the 2024-25 NBA season, which included a 20-point barrage within the fourth quarter because the Kings, enjoying with out DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk, rallied from a 16-point deficit on the finish of three to drive additional time, the place the Kings in the end fell quick in opposition to Minnesota, 130-126. 

Attention-grabbing be aware right here on 60-point performances from our Sam Quinn: 

In all of NBA historical past, solely 25 groups have misplaced a sport by which one among their gamers scored 60 factors. Nonetheless, 5 of these video games have now come within the calendar yr of 2024 alone. Karl-Anthony Cities, Devin Booker, Stephen Curry and Jalen Brunson all misplaced such video games between January and March of 2024. Brunson and Curry additionally did so in additional time. 

LeBron posts one other triple-double

That is a career-high 4 straight trip-dubs for James, who completed with 15 factors, 16 rebounds and 12 assists within the Lakers’ 120-115 win over Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. This LeBron-running-point experiment is figuring out fairly effectively. 

Think about that. The most effective passers and total smartest gamers in historical past at 6-foot-8 who continues to own unimaginable scoring leverage is an efficient offensive orchestrator. Who woulda thunk it? Maybe the Lakers did not must go get Russell Westbrook to “take the playmaking load” off James’ shoulders. By no means query placing the ball on this man’s palms. I do not care how outdated he’s. 

The Lakers are 1-0 within the NBA Cup, tied atop the West’s Group with Oklahoma Metropolis (OKC, which defeated the Suns 99-83 on Friday, has the sting by advantage of its plus-16 level differential to the Lakers’ plus-five).

AD’s MVP season continues

Anthony Davis hung 40 factors and 12 rebounds on San Antonio. For the season, Davis is averaging 31.1 factors, 10.9 rebounds and a pair of.1 blocks on … get this … 56/42/80 capturing splits. Sure, Davis is making 42% (effectively, 41.7 if you wish to get technical) of his 3s. He is 10 for his final 14 from deep over his final 5 video games!

Davis is simply an absolute beast on each ends and needs to be close to the highest of any credible MVP dialogue.

Harden ties Ray Allen for profession 3s

With a step-back nook 3-pointer on the 2:21 mark of the primary quarter, LA Clippers guard James Harden tied Ray Allen for second all-time with 2,973 profession triples. 

One way or the other Harden did not make one other one the remainder of the way in which because the Clippers fell to the Rockets, but it surely will not be lengthy earlier than Harden ranks above each 3-point shooter in historical past not named Stephen Curry. 

Warriors maintain rolling

Are the Golden State Warriors significantly this good? With a win over Memphis on Friday, they moved to 10-2 on the season (2-0 within the NBA Cup, adequate for first place within the West’s Group C). They did not even want a giant sport from Stephen Curry, who completed with simply 13 factors on 9 photographs. Curry did pile up eight rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, and he was a game-high plus-nine. His impression, even when he is not scoring, is at all times elite. 

Buddy Hield, who has been throwing flames all season, led the Warriors with 18 factors on 4-of-8 3-point capturing. Golden State performed 12 gamers not less than 11 minutes and no person over 30, and 6 guys scored double-digits. The depth of this crew is unmatched throughout the league. 

76ers are within the tank

When you thought Paul George and Joel Embiid lastly getting on the court docket was simply going to magically repair the mess than has been the Philadelphia 76ers this season, assume once more. 

The Sixers are actually 0-2 with George and Embiid within the lineup collectively (and simply 1-5 with George), with the latest shellacking coming by the hands of the Orlando Magic, 98-86, on Friday. The Sixers, now 2-10 total, sit in final place of the East’s Group A with an 0-2 NBA Cup report and a minus-24 level differential to this point. 

George and Embiid mixed to overlook 21 of their 30 photographs and 11 of 14 3-pointers on Friday. Embiid was in a position to drum up 20 factors as a result of he made 10 free throws. Tyrese Maxey is out, and it stays a reasonably unhappy state of affairs in Sixers land. 

NBA Cup format reminder …

With the 30 groups cut up up in six five-team teams, all people can have performed not less than one sport by the top of Friday. And with solely 4 video games in group play, there is not a lot margin for error. This is a abstract of how the event works:

• The NBA’s 30 groups have been cut up into six five-team teams: Three teams within the Japanese Convention and three teams within the Western Convention.
• Groups will play the opposite 4 groups of their group in round-robin model play on Tuesdays and Fridays between Nov. 12 and Dec. 3.
• Eight groups (the six group winners plus one wild-card crew from every convention) will advance to the knockout spherical. The standings shall be decided by total report, head-to-head report and level differential if a tiebreaker is required (there are much more tiebreakers if obligatory). 
• The knockout spherical shall be a single-elimination bracket. The 4 East groups shall be on one facet of the bracket, the 4 West groups shall be on the opposite. The ultimate between the East and West winners shall be held on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas.

The NBA Cup will proceed on Nov. 19 with six video games, together with the unbeaten Cavs in opposition to the reigning champion Celtics.