The NBA Cup group stage takes over Friday night with six games on the docket, and one matchup stands above the rest: Oklahoma City at Memphis, where the 6-2 Thunder visit the 6-2 Grizzlies in a meeting of two of the West's hottest starts.

The East card features Boston (6-2) traveling to Charlotte (3-6), with the third-place Celtics heavy favorites against a Hornets side sitting tenth in the conference. In Milwaukee, the Raptors (4-4) face a Bucks team off to a bruising 1-7 start that has them fifteenth in the East.

Out West, Minnesota (6-3) visits a New Orleans squad at 4-4, while Dallas (4-4) hosts a Utah team languishing at 1-7. The late window belongs to San Antonio, as the 6-2 Spurs travel to Sacramento to face the 1-7 Kings in a game tipping at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Beyond the standings stakes, every result counts toward NBA Cup group play, where point differential and head-to-head records decide who advances to the knockout rounds — meaning even the lopsided matchups carry incentive to run up the margin.