Emirates NBA Cup Standings Update: Lakers Likely Eliminated After Loss To Thunder

11/30/2024 09:00 AM

The knockout rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup is beginning to come into full focus after the latest slate of games concluded.

Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, it looks like they won’t get the opportunity to defend their title as the reigning champions of the NBA Cup are likely eliminated after losing a heartbreaker to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

The Lakers lost to the Thunder 101-93, virtually eliminating them from the knockout stage of the tournament. This was a must-win for the Lakers if they hoped to advance, but they committed too many mistakes down the stretch to overcome Oklahoma City. The loss concluded their slate of group play games and now their fate is entirely dependent on a string of unlikely scenarios.

Los Angeles, now with a 2-2 record, can no longer win Group B and can only advance to the knockout rounds via one of the two wild card spots. However, there are several instances that need to occur simultaneously for the purple and gold to make it out and thus will likely be watching a new champion be crowned in December.

The Lakers had an opportunity to beat the Thunder as they were able to take a late lead, though a couple of bad plays cost them. First, LeBron James turned the ball over on a late-game possession that led to an easy Oklahoma City bucket. Afterwards, Max Christie committed a foul on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that sent the latter to the free throw line.

Christie presumably thought Los Angeles had a foul to give, but the team was already over the limit. The last dagger came on the Lakers’ final possession where they threw the ball inbounds just for Jalen Williams to steal it and dunk it for the exclamation point .

Meanwhile, the Thunder had a lot riding on their matchup as a loss would’ve officially eliminated them. Now, they have a chance to win Group B if they beat the Utah Jazz and the San Antonio Spurs lose to the Phoenix Suns.

The head-to-head record serves as the first tiebreaker and Oklahoma City owns the tiebreaker over the Phoenix Suns. However, if the Spurs manage to beat the Suns then they will win Group B assuming the Thunder take care of business against the Jazz.

Emirates NBA Cup West Group B standings

1. Phoenix Suns: 2-1, +19 point differential

2. Oklahoma City Thunder: 2-1, +18 point differential

3. San Antonio Spurs: 2-1, +14 point differential

4. Los Angeles Lakers: 2-2, -24 point differential

5. Utah Jazz: 0-3, -27 point differential

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