The squad for the knockout stages of the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup has been officially announced and includes just two of the eight quarter-finalists from last year’s in-season tournament.

The Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks all punched their tickets to the quarterfinals with wins on Tuesday or a loss in the Magic’s case. Last year’s finalists, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers, are not in the field.

Here are the Eastern Conference games for the NBA Cup quarterfinals:

No. 4 Magic at No. 1 Bucks

No. 3 Hawks at No. 2 Knicks

And the Western Conference:

No. 4 Mavericks at No. 1 Thunder

No. 3 Warriors at No. 2 Rockets

All four quarterfinal games will be played on Tuesday, December 10th and Wednesday, December 11th, followed by the semifinals and final on December 14th and 17th in Las Vegas. Exact dates and times for the encounters have yet to be determined.

This is how all the important games went on the last day of the group phase:

Luka Dončić grabs the wild card for the Mavericks with a monster game

The Mavericks were on the verge of elimination in the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies, trailing by 15 points early in the fourth quarter. In the end they won the game that had to be won and the key, as always, was Luka Dončić.

The All-Star scored a whopping 37 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and four steals and led Dallas to the knockout rounds. Spencer Dinwiddie and PJ Washington also had big success with three consecutive three-pointers in the final two minutes.

If the Mavericks had lost, the Suns would have advanced to the quarterfinals.

However, Dallas’ fate was not assured. The Portland Trail Blazers still had a chance to win in the final game of the evening and could have advanced with a win against the Los Angeles Clippers. By 52 points.

Unfortunately, Portland ended up losing 127-105.

Giannis leads the Pistons’ blowout and secures East Group B

The Bucks and Pistons met Tuesday in Milwaukee in a matchup for the Group B title. The Pistons never had a chance.

The Bucks built a 36-31 lead in the first quarter, which they extended to 78-59 at halftime. There was no Pistons rally in the second half as Milwaukee secured a 128-107 win. Now a slow 11-9 start in Milwaukee brings with it the silver lining of a 4-0 record in NBA Cup group play and a place in the knockout rounds.

The Pistons lost 3-1 in group play and were eliminated from the NBA Cup.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks from the field on a near-perfect night. Antetokounmpo made his first 10 field goal attempts before missing his 11th and final one en route to a 28-point, eight-rebound effort.

The Bucks secured the Group B crown with wins over the Raptors, Pacers and Heat in addition to the Pistons. After a 4-9 start, Milwaukee has now won seven straight games and is one of the hottest teams in the NBA heading into the knockout phase.

Thunder Cruise to West wins Group B, gets help from Suns

The Thunder are the No. 1 seed in the West, but entered Tuesday’s game with their fate unknown due to an earlier loss to the San Antonio Spurs. To get to Las Vegas, OKC needed both a win over the last-place Utah Jazz and a Spurs loss to the Phoenix Suns.

They won first. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Thunder built a lead that grew to 33 points in the second half. Seven different players scored in double figures – led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 26 points – while the defense forced a total of an annoying 29 Utah turnovers.

The game ended with the Thunder winning 133-106, then the scoreboard observation followed.

The Suns pulled off a needed 104-93 win despite losing Kevin Durant to a sprained ankle in the second quarter. Victor Wembanyama had one of his worst games of the season as he shot 6 of 18 from the field and scored 15 points with four turnovers as well as 13 rebounds and seven assists.

The Knicks dominate the Magic and secure East Group A

Like the Bucks and Pistons, the Knicks and Magic met on Tuesday night in a winner-take-all match of their group. Like the Bucks and Pistons, this one wasn’t close.

New York built a 36-27 lead in the first quarter and celebrated a 121-106 win at home. The Knicks win Group A with a 4-0 NBA Cup record that also includes wins over the 76ers, Nets and Hornets. The Magic finish group play 3-1 with wins over the Hornets, 76ers and Nets.

Karl-Anthony Towns led a balanced Knicks offense with 23 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.

Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Miles McBride each scored at least 18 points. Josh Hart added a triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.

Magic sweat, but persevere and secure your place as a wildcard for the knockout rounds

The drama in the Group A game quickly shifted from the outcome to the final lead. The Magic entered the game with a plus-37 point lead over the Celtics and were fighting for the wild card spot in the East. As long as they didn’t lose by more than 36 points, the Magic would still secure the wild card spot as the top-performing second-place team in the three Eastern Conference groups.

The Knicks extended their lead to 37 points late in the third quarter at 103-67. Unfortunately, the Magic were able to avert complete disaster and cut the deficit to 15 points by the final whistle. They will join the Knicks in the Group A knockout round as a wild-card team from the East. The Celtics are eliminated.

Group C has already been decided. The Hawks secured Group C with a win over the Cavaliers on Friday. Their 3-1 record in group play also included wins over the Celtics and Wizards and a loss to the Bulls.