December 15 brings a full NBA slate with important conference matchups and several games that could shape the scenario before the holiday stretch. Some teams arrive red hot, while others are searching for answers after recent struggles.

The NBA Cup moved into the quarterfinal rounds with two games in the East Tuesday and two in the West on Wednesday.

The NBA Cup is winding down and the final four teams will meet in Las Vegas this weekend. Here’s the schedule for the knockout round.

The 19-1 Thunder are currently the favorites to win the 2025 NBA Cup (-125 at FanDuel ). The Bucks won the competition last year, and the Lakers won the initial version in 2023.

The 2025 NBA Cup continues with the semifinals on Saturday. Here's everything you need to know about the third annual in-season tournament.

Dec. 9 How they got here: Orlando clinched East Group B and the No. 1 overall seed with a win over Detroit on Friday. That Pistons loss, plus a Cavaliers loss, opened the door and Miami walked through it to advance as the Wild Card with a 3-1 record.

The NBA schedule remains somewhat irregular due to the in-season NBA Cup tournament. The final goes down tomorrow between the Knicks and Spurs, but first, we've got a nice little five-game regular-season slate on tap this evening.

In the quarterfinals Wednesday night, the Thunder easily handled the Suns 138–89 on an efficient night from reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who tallied 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting in 27 minutes. In the other matchup, Stephon Castle posted 30 points—his third career game with 30+ points—to help the Spurs take down the Lakers 132–119.

Calf strains are up some this season, but time missed to calf strains is way up as teams are being more conservative.