Magic · MSG
Group play opens; Towns 31 and 12
Chapter 03
The NBA Cup
Seven games, zero losses, and the first trophy of a season that was still learning what it could become.
Proof, not fulfillment
Not the thing,
but something
The Spurs led by eleven. New York closed on a 43–21 run, and Mitchell Robinson's offensive rebounding gave the abstract idea of winning possessions a physical form.
The Knicks had won something — and refused to hang a banner for it. Championships in December do not protect a team from January.
43–21The closing run
0Banners raised for it
Official NBA highlights
Cup
Emirates NBA Cup · 2025
Champions
7–0 in the tournament · Las Vegas
The run
Seven games,
zero losses
Group play swept at a canter. A quarterfinal held at the Garden, then two nights in Las Vegas where the December version of this team looked, briefly, finished — before January proved otherwise.
Brunson took Cup MVP. The trophy went in a case, not on a banner.
118–109 W
Raptors · Toronto
Bridges 24 on 16 shots
Celtics · MSG
The group decided in one Friday night
Bulls · Chicago
Group swept, 4–0; point-differential first seed
Bucks · MSG
Hart everywhere: 14 rebounds, 4 steals
Thunder · Las Vegas
Brunson 38, seven straight to close
Spurs · Las Vegas
Down 11, the 43–21 close; Brunson Cup MVP
