Magic to host Heat on Prime in NBA Cup quarterfinals

After winning East Group B on Friday night thanks to a 112-109 victory against the Pistons, the Magic will host the Heat during the NBA Cup quarterfinals at Kia Center on Dec. 9, the league announced.

Orlando earned the top seed in the East’s Cup standings by winning all four of its group-stage matchups. Miami is the No. 4 seed and the lone wild-card team in the conference.

The quarterfinal contest will tip-off at 6 p.m. ET and stream nationally on Amazon Prime.

The Raptors already had won East Group A, and on Friday the Knicks captured East Group C with a 9-point win over the Bucks. In the West, the Thunder won Group A, the Lakers took Group B and the Spurs secured Group C. The Suns are the West’s wild-card squad.

Orlando’s quarterfinal matchup with Miami means the Sunshine State foes will meet each other five times in the regular season, something that hasn’t happened since the 1993-94 season.

The Magic won the first meeting of the season on opening night 125-121 on Oct. 22 at Kia Center. They were already scheduled to face each other four days prior to the Cup quarterfinals on Dec. 5 in Orlando.

Miami then hosts the Magic on Jan. 28 and March 14 inside Kaseya Center. All five regular-season matchups come after the sides faced each other twice in the preseason, including once in Puerto Rico.

The Magic improved to 37-36 at home all-time against the Heat with their opening-night victory, winning 11 of their last 20 games at Kia Center.

If Orlando were to win again, it would travel to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals, which are set to take place on Dec. 13 at T-Mobile Arena at 5:30 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET. The Cup championship is scheduled for three days later at 8:30 p.m. ET in Vegas.

All of the Cup games, except for the championship, count toward the regular-season standings.

By making the Cup quarterfinals, each member of the Magic already has secured at least $53,093 apiece in bonus money through the league’s in-season tournament. That prize number increases with each round.

Players who reach the semifinals earn $106,187 apiece while those who finish as Cup runners-up receive $212,373 apiece. Winners of the Cup get $530,933 per player.

Regardless, the Magic are just pleased to host a Cup quarterfinal game. Last season Orlando missed out on a trip to Vegas when it fell on the road at Milwaukee in the quarterfinals.

“We’re so happy to be home,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Friday night in Detroit. “We have some of the best fans in the NBA and they’re going to be back there supporting us, ready to go.”

Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]