The NBA Cup’s Group Play schedule delivers two marquee matchups Friday night on Prime Video, with the defending champion New York Knicks traveling to face the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the Golden State Warriors visiting the San Antonio Spurs at 9:30 p.m. ET.
New York enters the night under some pressure. The Knicks won both the NBA Cup and the NBA championship last season, but their title defense has stumbled out of the gate. They opened Group Play with a 98-93 loss to Philadelphia and followed that with a 115-107 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday. With only four Group Play games per team, every result carries added weight.
Indiana is in a similar bind. The Pacers dropped their own Group Play opener, falling 145-125 to Miami, and will look to right the ship at home against New York.
Across the country, San Antonio has picked up where last season left off. The Spurs, who reached the NBA Finals a year ago, sit at 10-2 and rank second in the Western Conference. They’ll host a Golden State team that has opened the season 8-4 while leaning on one of the league’s most potent perimeter attacks, averaging 16.5 made 3-pointers per game.
The Spurs’ offense runs through Victor Wembanyama, with San Antonio averaging more than 119 points per game this season. Golden State’s attack, by contrast, is built around Stephen Curry, who has averaged just over 23 points per game across his last 10 outings.
Friday’s slate includes nine Group Play games in total. Beyond the Knicks-Pacers and Warriors-Spurs matchups, the night features Cleveland at Miami, Utah at Houston, and Oklahoma City closing out the schedule at the Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 p.m. ET.
