The Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks has advanced to the NBA Cup knockout stage, while the incumbent NBA champions Boston Celtics were eliminated.
The Knicks defeated the Orlando Magic 121-106 at Madison Square Garden to finish unblemished in East Group A and secure home-field advantage in the quarterfinals.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, while Josh Hart had a triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Despite their loss, the Magic secured the East wild card spot on points differential over the Celtics, who ended the group round with a 3-1 record.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard led the Bucks to a 128-107 victory over the Detroit Pistons, securing a perfect East Group B record.
Antetokounmpo, the NBA MVP in 2019 and 2020, scored 28 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, while Lillard scored 27.
The Bucks made 23 three-pointers in their seventh consecutive victory and will host the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic’s 37-point performance motivated the Dallas Mavericks to overcome a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116, securing the West wild card berth.
They will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the next round, after defeating the Utah Jazz 133-106 to win West Group B over the Phoenix Suns.
The Knicks will host the Atlanta Hawks, who won East Group C ahead of the Celtics, on Wednesday.
The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors will face off in the last quarterfinals after winning their respective groups despite closing-game losses to the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets.
The winners of the quarterfinals will advance to the semi-finals, which will be held on December 14 in Las Vegas, followed by the finals three days later.
In other games on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 127-105, the Phoenix Suns defeated the San Antonio Spurs 104-93, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Washington Wizards 118-87.
