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NBA Cup Eastern standings set after Magic win over Pistons
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- NBA Cup Eastern standings set after Magic win over Pistons
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The post NBA Cup Eastern standings set after Magic win over Pistons appeared first on ClutchPoints .
We now know the four teams emerging from the Eastern Conference's side of the NBA Cup.
Following the Orlando Magic 's 112-109 road win vs. the Detroit Pistons , it is confirmed that Orlando will be Group B's representative, while the Toronto Raptors took the top spot in Group A, the New York Knicks finished atop Group C, and the Miami Heat , who came in second in Group C behind New York, earned the lone Wild Card spot with a 3-1 record, the best for any non-group winner.
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Since the Raptors and Magic each went 4-0 in group play, point differential was used to decide who would be the No. 1 and No. 2 seed; Orlando won its four games by a combined 64 points, more than Toronto's +55 point differential, giving the Magic the top seed. As a result, Orlando will host the Heat, while Toronto will host the Knicks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
As has been the case with the previous two versions of the in-season tournament, the winners of the quarterfinals will advance to Las Vegas, where the final four teams (two from the Western Conference and two from the East) will play. The semifinals will be played on Dec. 13, and the finals will be on Dec. 16.
This is the first time that either Toronto or Miami has qualified for the knockout stage of the NBA Cup, while it is the second consecutive appearance for Orlando and the third straight for New York, which is the only team to do so regardless of conference.
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Had the Pistons handily beaten the Magic last night, the NBA Cup's Eastern Conference quarterfinalists would have reflected the top four of the regular-season standings. Currently, Detroit is one game ahead of the second-place Raptors, two games ahead of the Heat, and 2.5 games ahead of the Knicks. Orlando is tied for fifth place with the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers .
Both NBA Cup games — Magic-Heat and Raptors-Knicks — will be played on Dec. 9.
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