Night 6 of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament was more about the teams that got bounced from qualifying for the knockout stage more than it was about teams punching their tickets for the quarterfinals. Heading into Friday’s action there were six teams that had already been eliminated. By the end of Friday, that number had doubled to 12. Joining the ranks of the now-departed are the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers and the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Sixteen teams still have a mathematical shot at qualifying to for the knockout rounds of the first NBA Cup In Las Vegas next month, but not all squads have an equal shot. In the West, the Phoenix Suns improved to 3-1 and have the inside track on reaching the next stage via the wild card. In fact, all signs are pointing to a quarterfinal matchup against the West A group winners, the Lakers, in Los Angeles. In the East, with only the Pacers having earned a spot, 10 the conference’s 15 teams are still in contention to advance.
On Friday night, the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors avoided elimination with victories over the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs, while the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings all moved into first place with wins. The scenarios for the remaining groups can be found here. How it will play out, no one knows, but we do know when. Tuesday night will be the final group stage play. Of the eight games on the schedule, two of them — Bucks at Heat and Kings at Warriors — will have major ramifications.
Here’s a quick refresher on what to expect in the In-Season Tournament. The league has divided each conference into three five-team groups. Those teams will play group stage games on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. The teams are debuting this season’s city edition uniforms and the games will be played on specially-designed courts.
Below is the 2023 In-Season Tournament schedule, scores, standings and more. All games on ESPN and NBA TV are streaming on fubo (try for free).
NBA In-Season Tournament schedule
(All times Eastern)
Tuesday, Nov. 28
Bulls at Celtics, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Raptors at Nets, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Hawks at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Bucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Hornets at Knicks, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Thunder at Timberwolves, 8 p.m., League Pass
Rockets at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m., League Pass
Warriors at Kings, 10 p.m., TNT
Monday, Dec. 4
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT
Tuesday, Dec. 5
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT
Thursday, Dec. 7
East semifinal: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, time TBD, ESPN
West semifinal: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, time TBD, TNT
Saturday, Dec. 9
Final: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, 8:30 p.m., ABC
NBA In-season Tournament scores, results
Friday, Nov. 24
Magic 113, Celtics 96
Suns 110, Grizzlies 89
Knicks 100, Heat 98
Raptors 121, Bulls 108
Pacers 136, Pistons 113
Rockets 105, Nuggets 86
Bucks 131, Wizards 128
Kings 124, Timberwolves 111
Warriors 118, Spurs 112
Pelicans 116, Clippers 106
Tuesday, Nov. 21
Magic 126, Raptors 107
Pacers 157, Hawks 152
Cavaliers 122, 76ers 119 (OT)
Suns 120, Trail Blazers 107
Lakers 131, Jazz 99
Friday, Nov. 17
Bucks 130, Hornets 99
Knicks 120, Wizards 99
76ers 126, Hawks 116
Cavaliers 108, Pistons 100
Celtics 108, Raptors 105
Kings 129, Spurs 120
Magic 103, Bulls 97
Pelicans 115, Nuggets 110
Suns 131, Jazz 128
Lakers 107, Trail Blazers 95
Clippers 104, Rockets 100
Tuesday, Nov. 14
Heat 111, Hornets 105
Hawks 126, Pistons 120
Pacers 132, 76ers 126
Nets 124, Magic 104
Thunder 123, Spurs 87
Pelicans 131, Mavericks 110
Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 99
Nuggets 111, Clippers 108
Timberwolves 104, Warriors 101
Lakers 134, Grizzlies 107
Friday, Nov. 10
76ers 114, Pistons 106
Hornets 124, Wizards 117
Celtics 121, Nets 107
Rockets 104, Pelicans 101
Jazz 127, Grizzlies 121
Timberwolves 117, Spurs 110
Mavericks 144, Clippers 126
Kings 105, Thunder 98
Lakers 122, Suns 119
Friday, Nov. 3
Pacers 121, Cavaliers 116
Bucks 110, Knicks 105
Heat 121, Wizards 114
Nets 109, Bulls 107
Warriors 141, Thunder 139
Nuggets 125, Mavericks 114
Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 113 (OT)
Eastern Conference Group A standings
| Wins | Losses | Points Scored | Point Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4 |
546 |
+39 |
||
|
2 |
1 |
346 |
+6 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
485 |
+9 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
394 |
-9 |
|
|
4 |
439 |
-45 |
Eastern Conference Group B standings
| Wins | Losses | Points Scored | Point Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 |
371 |
+39 |
||
|
2 |
1 |
325 |
+18 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
330 |
+11 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
328 |
-30 |
|
|
4 |
458 |
-38 |
Eastern Conference Group C standings
| Wins | Losses | Points Scored | Point Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 |
1 |
446 |
+22 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
325 |
||
|
2 |
1 |
340 |
+8 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
333 |
-9 |
|
|
3 |
312 |
-21 |
Western Conference Group A standings
| Wins | Losses | Points Scored | Point Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4 |
494 |
+74 |
||
|
3 |
1 |
480 |
+34 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
469 |
-13 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
416 |
-39 |
|
|
4 |
430 |
-56 |
Western Conference Group B standings
| Wins | Losses | Points Scored | Point Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 |
1 |
463 |
+33 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
347 |
+16 |
|
|
2 |
2 |
432 |
-10 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
368 |
-14 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
446 |
-25 |
Western Conference Group C standings
| Wins | Losses | Points Scored | Point Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
3 |
358 |
+29 |
||
|
2 |
1 |
332 |
-3 |
|
|
2 |
1 |
360 |
+5 |
|
|
1 |
2 |
360 |
+27 |
|
|
4 |
429 |
-58 |
A = advances as group winner
W = advances on wild card berth
E = eliminated
