Raptors Secure Historic NBA Cup Knockout Spot as Cooper Flagg Shatters Personal Scoring Record – What’s Next for This Rising Star?

Eight teams are gearing up for the knockout phase of the 2025 NBA Cup — and guess what? One’s already locked in. The Toronto Raptors punched their ticket Friday night with a commanding 140-110 rout of the Washington Wizards. They’re now cruising through group play undefeated at 3-0, sporting an East-leading plus-53 point differential that’s turning heads. Having already toppled the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers, who sit at 2-1, the Raptors claimed the top spot in East Group A — every victory a decisive double-digit blowout. On the flip side, the Dallas Mavericks are still hanging tough in the Western Conference after a nail-biter win against the New Orleans Pelicans, carried by Cooper Flagg’s career-high 29 points at just 18 years old. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ late-game meltdown handed an opportunity to rivals like the Suns and Thunder — shaking up the standings in a way nobody saw coming. There’s drama, there’s upsets, and it’s only getting juicier as teams clutch for those playoff spots. The chase for NBA Cup glory is on! LEARN MORE.

The 2025 NBA Cup will see eight teams play in the upcoming knockout round. We now know who one of them will be.

The Toronto Raptors became the first team to clinch the next round of NBA Cup play on Friday, via a dominant 140-110 win over the Washington Wizards. The win improved their record in group play to 3-0, with an East-best plus-53 point differential.

Having already beat the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers, who are now 2-1, the Raptors clinched Group A of the East. Every win was by double digits.

Friday’s game saw Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Sandro Mamukelashvili all score between 23 and 24 points against the Wizards, who hold the worst record in the NBA at 1-14. Immanual Quickley also chipped in 17 points and seven assists.

There basically wasn’t a facet of basketball where the Wizards were better than them during the night. The win is also Toronto’s sixth overall and 10th in their past 11 games, after a 1-4 start.

In the West, the Dallas Mavericks stayed alive with a 118-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, via a career night from Cooper Flagg.

The 18-year-old posted a career-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting, plus 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. It was as comfortable as he’s looked since the beginning of the season, and he did it with the Mavericks still short-handed.

The Mavericks are still a longshot to emerge from group play at 1-2 and score differential, but the team’s bigger goal this season is developing Flagg at this point. Which made Friday a good day for them.

The biggest howler of the night belonged to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were leading the Phoenix Suns by eight points with 50 seconds left in the game. The rest of the night didn’t exactly go their way.

Here are how the next 10 possessions ended:

Royce O’Neale putback lay-up
Anthony Edwards turnover
Jordan Goodwin 3-pointer
Julius Randle turnover
Jordan Goodwin layup
Julius Randle turnover
Ryan Dunn offensive foul
Anthony Edwards misses both free throws
Collin Gillespie jump shot
Julius Randle misses 3-pointer

It was a brilliant game for Anthony Edwards up to that point, with 41 points, but there’s no redeeming an ending like that.

“We lost out minds. Poor execution,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said after the game. “Just didn’t stay locked in for the last 90 seconds.”

The loss is a costly one for Minnesota tournament-wise. Previously in first place in Group A of the Western Conference, the T-Wolves fell into third place behind the Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder, who took care of business and then some against the Utah Jazz.