NBA In-Season Tournament standings, clinching scenarios, scores: Warriors, Knicks avoid elimination

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. 28Bulls at Celtics, 7:30 p.m., League PassRaptors at Nets, 7:30 p.m., League PassHawks at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m., League PassBucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m., TNTHornets at Knicks, 7:30 p.m., League PassThunder at Timberwolves, 8 p.m., League PassRockets at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m., League PassWarriors at Kings, 10 p.m., TNT

Monday, Dec. 4Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNTQuarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT

Tuesday, Dec. 5Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNTQuarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT

Thursday, Dec. 7East semifinal: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, time TBD, ESPNWest semifinal: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, time TBD, TNT

Saturday, Dec. 9Final: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, 8:30 p.m., ABC

NBA In-season Tournament scores, results

Friday, Nov. 24Magic 113, Celtics 96Suns 110, Grizzlies 89Knicks 100, Heat 98Raptors 121, Bulls 108Pacers 136, Pistons 113Rockets 105, Nuggets 86Bucks 131, Wizards 128Kings 124, Timberwolves 111Warriors 118, Spurs 112Pelicans 116, Clippers 106

Tuesday, Nov. 21Magic 126, Raptors 107Pacers 157, Hawks 152Cavaliers 122, 76ers 119 (OT)Suns 120, Trail Blazers 107Lakers 131, Jazz 99

Friday, Nov. 17Bucks 130, Hornets 99Knicks 120, Wizards 9976ers 126, Hawks 116Cavaliers 108, Pistons 100Celtics 108, Raptors 105Kings 129, Spurs 120Magic 103, Bulls 97Pelicans 115, Nuggets 110Suns 131, Jazz 128Lakers 107, Trail Blazers 95Clippers 104, Rockets 100

Tuesday, Nov. 14Heat 111, Hornets 105Hawks 126, Pistons 120Pacers 132, 76ers 126Nets 124, Magic 104Thunder 123, Spurs 87Pelicans 131, Mavericks 110Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 99Nuggets 111, Clippers 108Timberwolves 104, Warriors 101Lakers 134, Grizzlies 107

Friday, Nov. 1076ers 114, Pistons 106Hornets 124, Wizards 117Celtics 121, Nets 107Rockets 104, Pelicans 101Jazz 127, Grizzlies 121Timberwolves 117, Spurs 110Mavericks 144, Clippers 126Kings 105, Thunder 98Lakers 122, Suns 119

Friday, Nov. 3Pacers 121, Cavaliers 116Bucks 110, Knicks 105Heat 121, Wizards 114Nets 109, Bulls 107Warriors 141, Thunder 139Nuggets 125, Mavericks 114Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 113 (OT)

Eastern Conference Group A standingsEastern Conference Group B standingsEastern Conference Group C standingsWestern Conference Group A standingsWestern Conference Group B standingsWestern Conference Group C standings

A = advances as group winnerW = advances on wild card berthE = eliminated