Emirates NBA Cup: Knicks vs Pacers and Warriors vs Spurs Showdown
The Emirates NBA Cup rolls back into focus on Friday night, and the league has lined up a showcase worthy of the new tournament’s growing edge.
Prime Video carries a doubleheader that feels like a snapshot of where the NBA is right now: the defending champion New York Knicks trying to rediscover their identity in Indiana, and a Stephen Curry–less Golden State Warriors team walking straight into the fire of a surging San Antonio Spurs side led by Victor Wembanyama.
This isn’t just group play. It’s an early test of who can adapt fastest in a season already tilting in unexpected directions.
Knicks chasing their old rhythm in Indiana
The night opens in Indianapolis, where the Pacers host the Knicks in an East Group B clash at 7 ET.
New York arrives with something to fix. They dropped a 115-107 decision to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, the first stop on a four-game road trip that will say a lot about how ready they are to defend their crown.
One thing doesn’t need repairing: Karl-Anthony Towns’ production. He has opened the season with 11 straight double-doubles, becoming only the third player in Knicks history to do so. The streak is not just franchise history; league-wide, it’s the longest run to start a season since Nikola Jokić opened 2023-24 with 13 in a row.
Even with that, the Knicks have looked oddly muted in one key area. Through their first 11 games, they’ve played at one of the slowest paces in the NBA, a sharp break from the tempo that powered last season’s title run.
Against Indiana, at least early, that old gear seemed to click back in.
With 7:39 left in the first quarter, New York led 16-9 and, more importantly, looked like itself again. The ball snapped around the perimeter. Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart carved up the floor with sharp, early passes that turned into transition layups and clean looks at the rim. The Knicks buried seven straight shots and strung together a pair of 7-0 runs, the kind of sustained pressure that used to bury opponents last spring.
They’ve already taken six of their last eight. If this uptick in pace sticks, that stretch might just be the warm-up.
Spurs’ streak meets a wounded Warriors giant
The late game belongs to the West, Group C, and to one of the most intriguing storylines of the young season.
At 9:30 ET, the Spurs welcome the Warriors to San Antonio, with both teams walking in on very different emotional currents.
Golden State will not have Stephen Curry, sidelined by an oblique tear. His absence would normally leave a scoring and leadership void that few teams can patch overnight. But Yaxel Lendeborg has refused to let the Warriors sag.
He has become the next man up in the truest sense. In their last outing against the Houston Rockets, Lendeborg delivered another double-double, piling up 25 points and 10 rebounds as Golden State collected yet another win. The Warriors have now taken eight of their last nine, a run that has steadied them through injuries and reshuffles.
Waiting for them is the hottest team in the competition.
The Spurs, built around the towering presence of Victor Wembanyama, roll into Friday riding a 10-game win streak. The number alone is impressive. The context makes it historic.
San Antonio opened the season 0-2. Since then, they haven’t lost. Only one other team in NBA history has rattled off 10 straight after such a start: the 2017-18 Boston Celtics, who stretched their run to 16 in a row.
The Spurs now have that benchmark in front of them, clear and tantalizing. Golden State, even without Curry, offers the kind of measuring stick a young group craves. Survive this test, and the comparisons to that Celtics team grow louder. Push the streak closer to 16, and they move from curiosity to genuine contender in this new Cup landscape.
A full slate with stakes everywhere
The Emirates NBA Cup schedule on Friday is packed, and every matchup feeds into the group-stage puzzle.
In the East, Group A sees Milwaukee travel to Orlando (7 ET), while Group B mirrors the Knicks-Pacers clash with Cleveland visiting Miami (8 ET). Group C brings Atlanta into Chicago (8 ET), with seeds and tiebreakers already lurking in the background.
Out West, Group B features Memphis at New Orleans (8 ET) and Oklahoma City at LA (10:30 ET), while Group A sends Utah to Houston (8:30 ET). Group C is the most crowded battleground of the night: Warriors at Spurs (9:30 ET) and Portland at Sacramento (10 ET).
Every possession in November suddenly carries a little more weight. Standings matter. Point differentials might, too. Coaches know it, and players are starting to feel it.
The Cup is still new. The habits it rewards are not. Win early, bank momentum, and force everyone else to chase.
On Friday, the Knicks chase their old pace, the Warriors chase stability without their star, and the Spurs chase history. Which pursuit survives the night?
