"There's a little added juice to it knowing what's at stake. If you win, you move on and try to win something," one player said.

From Marcus Smart returns, to the Lakers' bench falling flat, here are three takeaways from the NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the Spurs.

On the Eastern Conference side of the bracket on Tuesday, the Orlando Magic came back from a 15-0 deficit to defeat their in-state rivals, the Miami Heat, while the surging New York Knicks used a dominant second quarter to race past the Toronto Raptors and win for the eighth time in their last nine games.

The early minutes of this game were competitive, but the Spurs went on a 19-6 run in the last 3:54 of the first quarter after the Lakers took a 24-20 lead. They held a 57-39 advantage with just under seven minutes left in the second period and extended it to 85-63 with 9:10 left in the third quarter,

As Suns-Thunder and Spurs-Lakers loom tonight, here's what to watch for in each matchup in the Emirates NBA Cup.

Victor Wembanyama could rejoin the San Antonio Spurs this weekend in their NBA Cup chase. After the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119 to secure a Cup semifinal game against Oklahoma City, coac

Allen was ejected after he shoved Thunder star Chet Holmgren while attempting to get around a screen in the third quarter of their blowout 138-89 loss to Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center. Allen extended hard with both arms and sent Holmgren flying to the ground, which sparked a bit of an altercation on the floor.

Orlando Magic shooting guard Desmond Bane commented on his $35,000 fine after his 37-point NBA Cup game against the Miami Heat.