Contenders like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have advanced to the knockout round of the 2025 NBA Cup.

The Rockets have the league’s easiest December schedule regarding cumulative opponent winning percentage (.405), though it includes two games against Denver. They were the only team that, prior to Sunday, hadn’t played a back-to-back. Their first was a Nov. 30-Dec. 1 back-to-back in Utah, and their first rest-disadvantage game isn’t until Jan. 16.

Dec. 9 How they got here: Orlando clinched East Group B and the No. 1 overall seed with a win over Detroit on Friday. That Pistons loss, plus a Cavaliers loss, opened the door and Miami walked through it to advance as the Wild Card with a 3-1 record.

The field is set for the NBA Cup's eight-team tournament. Among the competitors is the OKC Thunder, which won Group A of the Western Conference with a perfect record of 4-0 in group play. It'll host the Phoenix Suns in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

The NBA knows you can't get too much of a good thing. Shortly after the Pacers beat the Washington Wizards 119-86 in a matchup of the teams with the two worst records in the league, it was announced the teams will play again in Indianapolis on Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

The Golden State Warriors got two regular-season games added to their December schedule after the results of the inaugural Emirates NBA Cup.

Nine years ago, Tori Miller was sending unsolicited scouting reports to NBA GMs. Now, she is the Atlanta Hawks' top scout.

The league finalized schedules on Saturday, filling in the early December gap left in every squad’s schedule for the NBA Cup. The Warriors will now host the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 12th and go to Portland two days later to play the Trail Blazers on the 14th.

The NBA announced newly scheduled games following the eliminations for the Emirates NBA Cup, and the Sacramento Kings' bad luck continued with the new contests.

A five-game NBA schedule highlights Thursday's 2025-26 NBA slate. Among the notable NBA odds include Warriors vs. 76ers (-3.5), Celtics (-9.5) vs. Wizards, Jazz (-4.5) vs. Nets and Lakers vs. Raptors (-1.5). Another matchup has Timberwolves (-11.5) vs. Pelicans as Minnesota looks to win their fourth in a row.