It’s time for the NBA Cup quarterfinals as four Eastern Conference teams battle it out on Tuesday for a spot in the semifinals.
THE Magic of Orlando will host in-state rival Miami Heat before the New York Knicks take on the Toronto Raptors on the road.
Orlando is 2-0 this season against Miami while both teams have identical 14-10 records. The Magic will be deprived of their top scorer, the forward Franz Wagnerdue to a high sprain of the left ankle he suffered on Sunday. However, after out for almost a month due to groin injurythe Magic will move forward Paolo Bancherowho participated in the team’s last two games.
The Heat are coming off three straight losses – their longest streak of the season – and are trailing from behind. Norman PowellThat’s 24.8 points per game. With a revamped offense, Miami leads the league in pace (number of possessions per 48 minutes for a team) with 105.4 after finishing 27th last season with 97.1.
In this last game, the Knicks blew out the Raptors. 116-94 during their only meeting last month. New York has won seven of its last eight games and leads by 28 points per game from behind. Jalen Brunsonwhile Cities of Karl-Anthony is averaging 22.5 points and 11.9 rebounds himself. Under new head coach Mike Brown, the Knicks have the third-best offensive rating (121.7) and the fourth-best net rating (+8.2).
After winning nine straight games, Toronto has lost five of its last six games. Before Brandon Ingram (21.2 points per game) and Scottie Barnes (20.0 points per game) led the Raptors, while former Knick RJ Barrett — who will not playing due to knee injury — contributed 19.4 points. The other former Knick Emmanuel Quickley is averaging 16.5 points per game.
Who will travel to Las Vegas to play for a spot in the NBA Cup Finals? Follow below for live updates and highlights.
