The NBA’s first in-season tournament has officially reached the halfway point of the event’s group stage. Seven teams remain undefeated, but the NBA champion Nuggets are no longer in that club after the host Pelicans defeated Denver on Friday night. With the win, New Orleans improved to 2-1, but most importantly took over the top spot in the West B group as it was now in a direct due-break with the Nuggets and the Clippers were able to record their first win over the James Harden era , after Los Angeles defeated the Houston Rockets, who were 1-0 in group play.
In the rest of the West game, the Lakers (3-0) are now alone at the top of Group A after the Suns defeated the Jazz. And the Kings (2-0) finished first in Group C with a +16 point advantage, which is six points more than the Timberwolves (2-0)’s +10. These two teams will face off in a West C battle on Friday in Minnesota. The current wild card frontrunners are the Jazz, whose +19 point advantage puts them 10 points ahead of the Nuggets’ +9.
With a huge 31-point win over the Hornets, the Bucks (2-0) overtake the Heat (2-0) and take command of the East B group based on a point differential of +36 for Milwaukee to +13 for Miami. If both teams reach a score of 3-0, the direct duel on November 28th in Miami would decide who wins this group. The Pacers (East A) and Celtics (East C), both of whom were idle Friday, remain atop their groups at 2-0. If group play ended today, the Heat (2-0) would advance as a wild card, narrowly edging out the 76ers (2-0) as they hold a one-point lead in points differential.
Here’s a quick refresher on what to expect at the in-season tournament. The league has divided each conference into three groups of five teams each. These teams will play group stage games on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. This season, the teams will be presenting the City Edition jerseys for the first time and the games will be played on specially designed pitches.
Once all five teams in each group have played against each other, the top eight will advance to the knockout rounds at the beginning of December. These eight teams include the six group winners and one wildcard team in each conference.
Below you will find the 2023 in-season tournament schedule, results, standings and more. All games on ESPN and NBA TV are streamed on fubo (try for free).
NBA regular season tournament schedule
(All times Eastern)
Tuesday, November 21st
Raptors at Magic, 7 p.m
Pacers at Hawks, 7:30 p.m
Cavaliers at 76ers, 7:30 p.m
Trail Blazers at Suns, 9 p.m
Jazz at Lakers, 10 p.m
Friday, November 24th
Celtics at Magic, 2:30 p.m
Sunning at Grizzlies, 5 p.m
Heat at Knicks, 7:30 p.m
Bulls at Raptors, 7:30 p.m
Pistons at Pacers, 8 p.m
Nuggets at Rockets, 8 p.m
Wizards at Bucks, 8 p.m
Kings at Timberwolves, 8 p.m
Spurs at Warriors, 10 p.m
Pelicans at Clippers, 10:30 p.m
Tuesday, November 28th
Bulls at Celtics, 7:30 p.m
Raptors at Nets, 7:30 p.m
Hawks at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m
Bucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m
Hornets at Knicks, 7:30 p.m
Thunder at Timberwolves, 8 p.m
Rockets at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m
Warriors at Kings, 10 p.m
Monday, December 4th
Quarterfinals: TBD at TBD
Quarterfinals: TBD at TBD
Tuesday, December 5th
Quarterfinals: TBD at TBD
Quarterfinals: TBD at TBD
Thursday, December 7th
Semifinals: TBD vs. TBD in Las Vegas
Semifinals: TBD vs. TBD in Las Vegas
Saturday December 9th
Final: TBD vs. TBD in Las Vegas
NBA tournament scores and results during the season
Friday, November 17th
Bucks 130, Hornets 99
Knicks 120, Wizards 99
76ers 126, Hawks 116
Cavaliers 108, Pistons 100
Celtics 108, Raptors 105
Kings 129, Spurs 120
Magic 103, Bulls 97
Pelicans 115, Nuggets 110
Suns 131, Jazz 128
Lakers 107, Trail Blazers 95
Clippers 104, Rockets 100
Tuesday, November 14th
Heat 111, Hornets 105
Hawks 126, Pistons 120
Pacers 132, 76ers 126
Nets 124, Magic 104
Thunder 123, Spurs 87
Pelicans 131, Mavericks 110
Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 99
Nuggets 111, Clippers 108
Timberwolves 104, Warriors 101
Lakers 134, Grizzlies 107
Friday, November 10th
’76 114, piston 106
Hornets 124, Wizards 117
Celtics 121, Nets 107
Rockets 104, Pelicans 101
Jazz 127, Grizzlies 121
Timberwolves 117, Spurs 110
Mavericks 144, Clippers 126
Kings 105, Thunder 98
Lakers 122, Suns 119
Friday, November 3rd
Pacers 121, Cavaliers 116
Bucks 110, Knicks 105
Heat 121, Wizards 114
Nets 109, Bulls 107
Warrior 141, Thunder 139
Nuggets 125, Mavericks 114
Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 113 (OT)
Eastern Conference Group A standings
Eastern Conference Group B standings
Eastern Conference Group C standings
Western Conference Group A rankings
Western Conference Group B rankings
Western Conference Group C rankings
A = Berth secured for advance
W = wildcard won
E = eliminated