Pacers given brutal group play draw in NBA Cup that includes Knicks
· Yahoo Sports
The NBA Cup final will be held in Indianapolis in December, but if the Pacers want to play in it and return to the finals for the first time since 2023 they're going to have to get through a brutal group that includes the defending NBA champion New York Knicks.
On the same day the NBA announced that the NBA Cup Finals would be held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Dec. 11, it also announced the assignments for the group play portion of the Cup with three groups of five teams in each of the two conferences. According to a release, the teams were randomly drawn into groups of five on the basis of their 2025-26 records, and the Pacers' 19-63 mark following their 2025 NBA Finals run clearly made them vulnerable.
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The other four teams in the East Group B with the Pacers are the defending champion Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat. The Knicks beat the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals and the 76ers in the conference semifinals, so the Pacers will be playing three of the final four teams standing in the East playoffs. The Heat finished 10th in the East and were defeated by Charlotte in the play-in round, but they just added two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade with the Bucks that could shift the East's balance of power.
Home-away pairings were also announced. The Pacers will play the Knicks and 76ers at home and the Cavaliers and Heat on the road. NBA Cup group play games will be played each Friday from Oct. 30 to Nov. 27 and there will also be group play games on Thanksgiving week on Nov. 24 and 25. The quarterfinals will be held Dec. 4 and 5, and the semifinals will be Dec. 8 and 9 with those games held in home markets. The semifinals had been held in Las Vegas along with the finals.
East Group A includes the Pistons, Magic, Raptors, Bucks and Nets. Group C includes the Celtics, Hawks, Hornets, Bulls and Wizards.
It must be noted, of course, that the Pacers are the last team to defeat the Knicks in a playoff series, taking them out in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers played last season without All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton -- out for the year with an Achilles tendon tear suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Thunder -- and got just five games of center Ivica Zubac.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers given brutal group play draw in NBA Cup that includes Knicks