NBA Cup Standings: Mavericks Sit Second in West Group A After Opening-Night Win Over Houston
One night into NBA Cup group play, Denver leads West Group A on point difference, +7 to Dallas's +5 - and in a four-game group, that five-point margin over Houston is the Mavericks' first asset.
DALLAS - The first night of NBA Cup group play left the Dallas Mavericks exactly where a home win puts them, and no further. Dallas beat Houston 116-111 at American Airlines Center on Friday, and the West Group A standings after opening night read: Denver 1-0, Dallas 1-0, Utah 0-0, Houston 0-1 and Phoenix 0-1, according to the Cup standings published by Sportsnet.
What separates the two winners is point difference, the Cup's first tiebreaker. Denver beat Phoenix 127-120, a +7 margin; Dallas's five-point win is +5. Houston sits at -5 and Phoenix at -7, and Utah - the group member that has not yet played a Cup game - is the variable still to come. Group games run on Tuesdays and Fridays through November 27, and every game except the final also counts in the regular-season standings.
Dallas's next Cup game is at home on Friday, November 6, against Utah - the same night the group picture starts to sort itself out. The quarterfinals are set for December 4 and 5 and the semifinals for December 8 and 9, with the final on December 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. For Dallas, the arithmetic of the format is already plain: win, and mind the margin.
