The NBA Cup Knockout Round opened with two competitive matchups that brought clarity on which teams are trending toward Las Vegas — and what decisions fantasy basketball managers need to make at the midpoint of Week 8.
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Here’s a full breakdown of Orlando, Miami, New York and Toronto, followed by updated streaming recommendations for the Wednesday Cup slate.
Orlando Magic: 5 starters in double figures help punch their ticket to Las Vegas
Orlando shook off a 15–0 start by Miami and responded with one of its most complete team efforts of the season. Led by Desmond Bane’s 37 points and Jalen Suggs’ tenacity and grit, all of the Magic starters scored at least 10 points. As a team, they connected on 46% of their 3s to edge out a 117-108 win over the Heat.
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Desmond Bane: 37 points with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and six 3s
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Jalen Suggs: 20 points with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals
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Paolo Banchero: 18 points, 7 boards, 4 assists and 1 block. Shot 6-for-7 from the line, too.
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Wendell Carter Jr.: 14 points with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block
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Anthony Black: 10 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 stocks
Black earned another start with Franz Wagner out, playing 34 minutes. Even on an inefficient night where he shot 5-for-15 from the field, he’s a hold in all formats while Wagner remains sidelined.
Fantasy pickups for Saturday: Tristan da Silva posted 11 points and 7 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench, making him a strong streaming option for Saturday’s two-game slate. Goga Bitadze also did his thing in limited minutes, scoring 7 points with 6 boards and 2 blocks.
Miami Heat: A hot start cooled off by 3-point variance and a slow third quarter
The Heat owned the first quarter, but the Magic chipped away slowly, closing the gap in the second and third quarters to eventually take control of the game. Miami dominated the paint (60 points) and limited turnovers (8), but shooting 8-for-33 from 3 was the difference.
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Norman Powell: 21 points with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals
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Tyler Herro: 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists
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Bam Adebayo: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal
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Andrew Wiggins: 19 points with 2 stocks
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Davion Mitchell: 11 points with 2 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 steal
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 10 points with 3 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench, but the most concerning aspect of the Heat’s performance was the nothing burger from Kel’el Ware. He had 4 points with 6 rebounds and was a -15 in 12 minutes of action. He might be trending towards drop territory.
New York Knicks: Brunson’s a problem, but NYK supporting cast shows out too
Brunson scored a season-high 26 points in the first half, eventually finishing with 35 points (13-19 FG) with 3 boards, 4 dimes and six 3s. But the supporting cast showed out too. New York posted 25 second-chance points and suffocated Toronto into 43% shooting in a 117–101 victory.
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Josh Hart: 21 points with 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals
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Karl-Anthony Towns: 14 points, 16 rebounds with 3 stocks
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Mikal Bridges: 15 points with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 stocks
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OG Anunoby: 13 points, 6 boards and 4 stocks
Fantasy pickups for Saturday:
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Mitchell Robinson — If you need boards and defensive stats, he’s an option, but beware: he’s currently on pace for one of the worst free-throw shooting seasons in NBA history.
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Jordan Clarkson — As long as Miles McBride remains out, Clarkson is an option for teams needing points.
Toronto Raptors: Ingram balled, Shead impressed but the depth tanked
The Raptors were outrebounded, outhustled and flat-out outplayed beyond a couple of strong efforts from Brandon Ingram and Jamal Shead.
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Brandon Ingram: 31 points with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals
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Scottie Barnes: 13 points with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals
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Jakob Poeltl: 10 points with 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals
Jamal Shead stepped up as the second-best Raptor on the night, finishing with 18 points, 8 assists, 4 3s, while filling in for Immanuel Quickley.
Shead is not a streaming option for the remainder of Week 8 (TOR has no games left), but monitor Quickley’s availability heading into Monday. If Quickley sits again, Shead becomes a strong spot-start candidate in Week 9.
NBA Cup schedule update
Because Orlando and New York advance to Saturday’s semifinal, Miami and Toronto will not play again until Monday of Week 9.
Fantasy Advice 👉 Drop fringe Raptors and Heat players immediately.
Wednesday NBA Cup streaming options
There are only two games on Wednesday, so it’s fairly slim pickings for streaming options. Here’s how I’d play it by each team:
San Antonio Spurs
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Lakers
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