The second year of the annual Emirates NBA Cup began this week and the league was treated to an exciting opening week of games.
The Los Angeles Lakers hit the road for their first game of group play against the San Antonio Spurs and took home a thrilling 120-115 victory. This marked the Lakers’ fourth consecutive victory and their first win in group play.
Dating back to last season, Los Angeles is undefeated in group play though it took a gargantuan effort from both Anthony Davis to pull out the win. Davis is still dealing with the eye injury he suffered against the Toronto Raptors but he showed up against the Spurs as he was everywhere on the offensive end.
Davis finished as the game’s leading scorer with 40 points, but he also got plenty of help from his co-star LeBron James. James has been playing the role of point guard for Los Angeles the past couple of weeks and it is paying off as he’s been able to impact the game in every area. James recorded his fourth consecutive triple-double putting up 15 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists.
With the Lakers’ win, they are now the third team to pick up a victory in group play. They currently sit in second place after this week’s slate of games finished.
The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a 99-83 win over the Phoenix Suns and are first in Group B due to the point differential. On the flip side, the Suns slipped from first to third with the loss though still are ahead of the Utah Jazz and Spurs who are winless after week one.
Earlier in the week, Phoenix edged out Utah with a 120-112 behind a strong performance from Devin Booker who scored 31 points.
Week 2 of the Emirates NBA Cup will begin on Tuesday and will feature matchups between the Thunder and Spurs as well as the Lakers and Jazz. Los Angeles returns home to Crypto.com Arena where they remain undefeated during the 2024-25 season, putting them in a good position to win another group play game.
Eight teams will advance to the knockout rounds, with the six winning teams in each group plus two wild cards. So far, the Lakers are well on their way to defending their crown.
Emirates NBA Cup West Group B standings
1. Oklahoma City Thunder: 1-0, +16 point differential
2. Los Angeles Lakers: 1-0, +5 point differential
3. Phoenix Suns: 1-1, -8 point differential
4. San Antonio Spurs: 0-1, -5 point differential
5. Utah Jazz: 0-1, -8 point differential
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