Timberwolves have huge early advantage in NBA Cup group play

Saturday night was the Timberwolves’ first outing in the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup. The win couldn’t get much easier for Minnesota as they manhandled the Jazz with a 137-97 victory. That 40-point win gives the Wolves a huge early advantage in group play of the NBA Cup as point differential is a tiebreaker.

In his second game back after missing 4 in a row with a strained right hamstring, Anthony Edwards looked back to his normal self in scoring 37 points. Julius Randle secured his second triple-double in three games with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. For all intents and purposes, this game was over after the first 12 minutes as the Timberwolves owned a 43-15 lead after one quarter. It was yet another win for Minnesota against an under-.500 team.

Wolves have early advantage in group play

If it seems like there are more blowout victories during NBA Cup contests, that is for a reason. Four teams in each conference advance to the quarterfinals: the three group winners as well as a wildcard. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record in the group stage, while the second is point differential.

Minnesota is in Group B along with the Thunder, Suns, Kings, and Jazz. All have played one NBA Cup game thus far, other than Utah, which is now 0-2 and essentially eliminated. Oklahoma City and Phoenix each won their opener as well, by 30 and 22, respectively.

The Timberwolves’ remaining group stage schedule consists of a home game against the Kings on November 14, followed by road outings against the Suns (November 21) and the Thunder (November 26). With a 40-point win in their pockets, Minnesota may be able to afford a loss and still advance.

Looking to advance for first time

Last year, there wasn’t a single team in the Western Conference that went 4-0 in group play. The three group winners went 3-1, as did the Mavericks, who made the quarterfinals as a wildcard due to a +46 point differential.

Point differential was why Minnesota didn’t advance in 2023 in what was then known as the In-Season Tournament. They went 3-1 but had an even point differential, so the 3-1 Suns advanced with a +34 point differential.

This is the third year that the NBA has had a tournament in the midst of the regular season. The Timberwolves are looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time. They went 2-2 in group play last year.