Lakers Clinch NBA Cup Quarterfinal Berth with Win over Clippers
lakers-clinch-nba-cup-quarterfinal-berth
The Los Angeles Lakers locked up first place in Western Conference Group B on Tuesday, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 135-118 to move to 3-0 in NBA Cup group play and guarantee a quarterfinal appearance. They are the second club to reach the knockout stage, following the Toronto Raptors.
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James powered the victory, combining for 99 points, 24 rebounds, and 22 assists. Doncic led the trio with 43 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds.
The Lakers have one round-robin game remaining, a Friday matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. At 1-2, Dallas cannot overtake Los Angeles, nor can the 1-1 Memphis Grizzlies or the 0-3 New Orleans Pelicans. Tuesday’s loss dropped the Clippers to 2-1 and handed the Lakers the head-to-head tiebreaker.
A win over the Mavericks would secure home-court advantage for the Lakers in the quarterfinals.
Race for Remaining Knockout Spots
All other group games conclude Wednesday and Friday, leaving six quarterfinal positions—three in each conference—still unclaimed.
- Western Conference Group A: The Oklahoma City Thunder (2-0), Phoenix Suns (2-0), and Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1) remain in contention. Oklahoma City hosts Minnesota on Wednesday and Phoenix on Friday, while the Suns visit Sacramento on Wednesday.
- Western Conference Group C: The Portland Trail Blazers (2-1) can claim the group by beating the San Antonio Spurs (1-1) on Wednesday. A Spurs win would set up a winner-take-all meeting with the 2-1 Denver Nuggets on Friday.
- Eastern Conference Group B: The Orlando Magic (3-0) and Detroit Pistons (2-0) square off Friday. Detroit would clinch the group with a victory, even if it drops Wednesday’s game at Boston.
- Eastern Conference Group C: The Milwaukee Bucks (2-0) visit the Miami Heat (2-1) on Wednesday and the New York Knicks (1-1) on Friday. Both Milwaukee and New York are aiming to become the first teams to reach the NBA Cup knockout round in three consecutive seasons, and Milwaukee could have Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the lineup.
Source: HoopsRumors
