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NBA Cup clinching scenarios for Tuesday's games: Who is in and out before the knockout rounds?

As we prepare for the final day of group play in the NBA Cup, only three teams have punched a ticket to the next round and five spots remain.

We know the Hawks (shockingly!), Rockets, and Warriors will all advance to the knockout phase of the tournament. But three of the other groups yet to have a winner while both the West and East wild card spots are still open as well.

Each group winner moves on to the next round, and one wild card from each conference advances as well.

With some very important games left on the last day of group play in the second year of this experiment by the league, here is how it all looks to play out:

East: Group A

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Orlando Magic 3 0 60 Alive
New York Knicks 3 0 15 Alive
Philadelphia 76ers 1 2 -9 Out
Brooklyn Nets 1 3 -39 Out
Charlotte Hornets 0 3 -27 Out

Orlando and New York play each other at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The winner will advance out of Group A. Orlando would likely advance through the wild card with a loss, though New York would hav a much tougher chance due to their point differential.

IMPORTANT GAME: Magic @ Knicks (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT)

East: Group B

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Milwaukee Bucks 3 0 29 Alive
Detroit Pistons 3 0 28 Alive
Miami Heat 2 2 20 Out
Toronto Raptors 0 3 -28 Out
Indiana Pacers 0 3 -49 Out

Milwaukee and Detroit play each other on Tuesday night, and the winner will officially take Group B. Both are still alive as potential wild cards with a loss, too, but need a better overall point differential than the Celtics and the loser of New York and Orlando.

IMPORTANT GAME: Bucks @ Pistons (7:00 p.m. ET)

East: Group C

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Atlanta Hawks 3 1 15 Clinched Group
Boston Celtics 3 1 23 Alive
Chicago Bulls 2 2 6 Out
Cleveland Cavaliers 1 2 -1 Out
Washington Wizards 0 3 -43 Out

Atlanta has already won this group and with the exception of the Celtics, every other team is eliminated. Boston could come out in the wild card spot, but it will depend on point differential.

IMPORTANT GAME: N/A

East: Wild Card

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Orlando Magic 3 0 60 Alive
Milwaukee Bucks 3 0 29 Alive
Detroit Pistons 3 0 28 Alive
New York Knicks 3 0 15 Alive
Boston Celtics 3 1 23 Alive

Orlando or New York will advance out of group play, and so will either Detroit and Milwaukee. Between the losers of those games, and the Celtics, the team with the best point differential of that bunch will earn the wild card.

IMPORTANT GAME(S): Bucks @ Pistons (7:00 p.m. ET), Magic @ Knicks (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT)

West: Group A

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Houston Rockets 3 0 49 Clinched Group
Portland Trail Blazers 2 1 -5 Alive
Minnesota Timberwolves 2 2 -13 Out
L.A. Clippers 1 2 -6 Alive
Sacramento Kings 0 3 -25 Out

Houston has already won this group, but Portland and L.A. are both potentially able to advance via the wild card based on how their game goes at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday.

IMPORTANT GAME: Trail Blazers @ Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET)

West: Group B

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
San Antonio Spurs 2 1 14 Alive
Oklahoma City Thunder 2 1 18 Alive
Phoenix Suns 2 1 19 Alive
Los Angeles Lakers 2 2 -24 Out
Utah Jazz 0 3 -27 Out

This is arguably the most fun group left because three teams all have a chance to win the group and the two that do not can still advance via wild card seeding.

IMPORTANT GAME(S): Jazz @ Thunder (8:00 p.m. ET), Spurs @ Suns (9:00 p.m. ET)

West: Group C

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Golden State Warriors 3 0 12 Clinched Group
Dallas Mavericks 2 1 41 Alive
Denver Nuggets 1 2 2 Alive
Memphis Grizzlies 1 2 -6 Alive
New Orleans Pelicans 1 3 -49 Out

Golden State has already won this group, but three other teams still have a real chance to advance based on the remaining games. The other games give the remaining teams a chance in the wild card, though.

IMPORTANT GAME(S): Grizzlies @ Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET), Warriors @ Nuggets (10:00 p.m. ET on TNT)

West: Wild Card

TEAM WINS LOSSES DIFFERENTIAL IN/OUT
Dallas Mavericks 2 1 41 Alive
Phoenix Suns 2 1 19 Alive
Oklahoma City Thunder 2 1 18 Alive
San Antonio Spurs 2 1 14 Alive
Portland Trail Blazers 2 1 -5 Alive
Denver Nuggets 1 2 2 Alive
Memphis Grizzlies 1 2 -6 Alive
L.A. Clippers 1 2 -6 Alive

One of the teams from Group B (San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Phoenix) will not need a wild card berth but instead advance from winning their group. Otherwise, while Dallas has the best chance of any team to win the wild card, there are plenty of other teams statistically still able to clinch a spot into the knockout rounds.

IMPORTANT GAME(S): Jazz @ Thunder (8:00 p.m. ET), Grizzlies @ Mavericks (8:30 p.m. ET), Spurs @ Suns (9:00 p.m. ET), Warriors @ Nuggets (10:00 p.m. ET on TNT), Trail Blazers @ Clippers (10:30 p.m. ET)

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