How the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the NBA Cup

The Celtics’ NBA Cup run ends in group play.

With a 138-129 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Boston stayed alive in the second annual tournament, finishing group play with a 3-1 record and a +23 point lead.

However, the Atlanta Hawks were the group winners at 3-1 (+15), thanks to their head-to-head win over the Celtics at TD Garden on November 12th. So Boston’s only hope of advancing to the Knockouts came via the Wild Card (the team from each conference with the best record in group play, finishing second in their group) – and they needed help with that.

Boston’s most realistic path required the Orlando Magic to beat the New York Knicks and either the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons by five or more points or for the Pistons to win by six or more points.

The Celtics got the lead they needed as the Bucks won by 11, but New York shut out Orlando. Nevertheless, Boston’s chances were not yet exhausted.

In the event of an Orlando loss, Boston could have advanced if the Knicks had beaten the Magic by 37 points or more – and it would have been closer than many expected.

The Knicks held a 34-point fourth-quarter lead against a Magic team that had won six straight and 12 of the last 13 games. Orlando, which had to lose by less than 37 points to clinch the Eastern Conference wild card, kept its starters in the starting lineup and outscored New York 28-15 in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter attempt cut the deficit to 15 and eliminated the Celtics from the contest.

With the Celtics now eliminated, two regular-season games will be added to their schedule – one on December 12th or 13th and another on December 15th or 16th. One game is played at home, the other away. Boston will only play two games between December 8th and 18th.

These games will be played against two of the other ten teams that did not make it to the knockout stages. The Eastern Conference teams that advanced were the Bucks, Knicks, Hawks and Magic (Wild Card). The single-elimination knockout round will pit Magic against the Bucks and Hawks against the Knicks.

The Celtics (+425) were the betting favorites to win the tournament.