The Atlanta Hawks’ 117-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday resulted in plenty of collateral damage in the NBA Cup game.

The Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and last year’s NBA Cup runners-up, the Indiana Pacers, were all eliminated from group play after the Hawks improved their record to 3-1 and took first place in the East Group secured C.

Charlotte, Brooklyn and Indiana exited Friday with losses anyway, while Miami’s win didn’t matter as both the Hawks and Detroit Pistons won. The Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, both 3-0, will decide East Group B with their duel on Tuesday.

De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks with 23 points off the bench, followed by Trae Young with 20 points and 11 assists. Jalen Johnson collected 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Clint Capela added 13 rebounds while Dyson Daniels had three steals.

Cleveland got 29 points from Darius Garland (who shot 5 of 8 on 3s), while Evan Mobley added 24 points and 13 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell scored 11 points, shot 5 of 23, had 11 rebounds and six assists.

Defending champion Lakers are on the verge of elimination

The first in-season tournament was a bright spot for the Los Angeles Lakers in a difficult 2023/24 season. Things aren’t so easy for them in the second half.

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Lakers 101-93 on Saturday, putting the reigning IST champions on the brink of elimination in Group B. It was a brilliant night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 36 points, while Isaiah Hartenstein scored a season-high scored 17 rebounds.

The win puts the Thunder in a good position at 2-1 and the Lakers in a bad position at 2-2. The Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs are both 1-1, although with positive point differences. The Lakers, meanwhile, are at minus-24, which is not good when the point difference after the direct record is the second tiebreaker.

With no more games left to play, the Lakers will need some help moving forward.

The Celtics improve to 3-1 in East Group C

The Boston Celtics stayed alive with their 138-129 win over the Chicago Bulls in group play. The Celtics could have been eliminated with a loss, along with Detroit, Atlanta, the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic as winners.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 35 points (4-8 from 3) and 14 rebounds, while Peyton Pritchard contributed 29 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis each scored 21 points.

The Bulls were led by Nikola Vučević, who scored 32 points (on 6-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers) with 11 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 29 and Josh Giddey dished out nine assists.

Boston could have won East Group C with its win and a Hawks loss. Chicago also could have won East Group C if it had defeated the Celtics combined with the Cavs’ loss. But neither scenario occurred.

Knicks 3-0 in group play

The Hornets were eliminated from group play in the current NBA Cup tournament on Friday with a 99:98 defeat against the New York Knicks.

Charlotte was led by Brandon Miller with 20 points and Josh Green added 15. Tidjane Salaün contributed 14 points with eight rebounds, while Moussa Diabaté secured 11 boards.

The Hornets were without LaMelo Ball, who missed the game due to illness. Ball had averaged 40 points in his last four games, including 50 points last Saturday against the Bucks. For the season he is averaging 31.1 points, which likely would have made a difference in a one-point game.

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points (4 of 6 from 3), six rebounds and six assists to lead New York. Karl-Anthony Towns followed with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Josh Hart added 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Miles McBride scored 14 points off the bench.