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.

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You play to win the games. The Miami Heat get that. But there also are times when the greater good perhaps has to be considered, perhaps such as the NBA Cup.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic advance as the top seeds out of group play.

Here's the complete bracket for the NBA Cup's eight-team tournament, which includes the OKC Thunder.

The Pacers were eliminated in pool play of the NBA Cup pickup two games to fill out their schedule

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

The NBA announced the dates, times and opponents for the Celtics' two NBA Cup consolation games.

After failing to advance in the Emirates Cup, the NBA has added two additional regular-season games for the Detroit Pistons.

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