NBA In-Season Tournament schedule, standings, scores: For Celtics, Timberwolves, a win secures knockout stage

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We've officially reached the home stretch of the group stage of the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers became the first two teams to advance to the knockout stage, and over the course of November, while the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz have all been eliminated from contention. That leaves 22 teams left fighting for six spots in the knockout stage, and Friday's slate of games should go a long way in whittling that field down.

Four marquee games stand out from the pack. The first, due to the holiday weekend, will tip off at 2:30 pm ET. The Boston Celtics will travel to Florida to face the Orlando Magic in a game that may ultimately decide East Group C. The Minnesota Timberwolves will host the Sacramento Kings later on in a matchup that has similar implications in West Group C. In both cases, one team (the Celtics and Timberwolves) can clinch their group with a victory. The two other teams would still have some work to do.

And then there's the mess that is West Group B. All five teams currently have either one or two wins and either one or two losses, so theoretically, any of the five teams involved could potentially win the group. Fortunately, we'll gain some clarity after Friday's contests. The 1-1 Rockets will host the 2-1 Nuggets at 8 p.m., and then at 10 p.m., the 2-1 Pelicans will face the 1-2 Clippers. Right now, the Pelicans have a notable point-differential advantage over the field. They've outscored their tournament opponents by 23 points. Denver is 14 points behind at plus-9.

Here's a quick refresher on what to expect in the In-Season Tournament. The league has divided each conference into three five-team groups. Those teams will play group stage games on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. The teams are debuting this season's city edition uniforms and the games will be played on specially-designed courts.

Once all five teams in each group have played one another, the top eight will advance to their quarterfinal game on Dec. 4 or 5. The Lakers will host a game on one of those two nights, and the Pacers could with a 4-0 mark, providing that either they're one of two undefeated teams in the East or their point differential is higher than at least one of the other squads should that conference's group play produce three unblemished records. In all, eight teams -- the six group winners along with one wild-card team in each conference -- will reach the knockout stage.

Below is the 2023 In-Season Tournament schedule, scores, standings and more. All games on ESPN and NBA TV are streaming on fubo (try for free).

NBA In-Season Tournament schedule

(All times Eastern)

Friday, Nov. 24
Celtics at Magic, 2:30 p.m., NBA TV
Suns at Grizzlies, 5 p.m., NBA TV
Heat at Knicks, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Bulls at Raptors, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Pistons at Pacers, 8 p.m., League Pass
Nuggets at Rockets, 8 p.m., League Pass
Wizards at Bucks, 8 p.m., League Pass
Kings at Timberwolves, 8 p.m., League Pass
Spurs at Warriors, 10 p.m., ESPN
Pelicans at Clippers, 10:30 p.m., League Pass

Tuesday, Nov. 28
Bulls at Celtics, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Raptors at Nets, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Hawks at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Bucks at Heat, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Hornets at Knicks, 7:30 p.m., League Pass
Thunder at Timberwolves, 8 p.m., League Pass
Rockets at Mavericks, 8:30 p.m., League Pass
Warriors at Kings, 10 p.m., TNT

Monday, Dec. 4
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT

Tuesday, Dec. 5
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT
Quarterfinal: TBD at TBD, time TBD, TNT

Thursday, Dec. 7
East semifinal: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, time TBD, ESPN
West semifinal: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, time TBD, TNT

Saturday, Dec. 9
Final: TBD vs. TBD at Las Vegas, 8:30 p.m., ABC

NBA In-season Tournament scores, results

Tuesday, Nov. 21
Magic 126, Raptors 107
Pacers 157, Hawks 152
Cavaliers 122, 76ers 119 (OT)
Suns 120, Trail Blazers 107
Lakers 131, Jazz 99

Friday, Nov. 17
Bucks 130, Hornets 99
Knicks 120, Wizards 99
76ers 126, Hawks 116
Cavaliers 108, Pistons 100
Celtics 108, Raptors 105
Kings 129, Spurs 120
Magic 103, Bulls 97
Pelicans 115, Nuggets 110
Suns 131, Jazz 128
Lakers 107, Trail Blazers 95
Clippers 104, Rockets 100

Tuesday, Nov. 14
Heat 111, Hornets 105
Hawks 126, Pistons 120
Pacers 132, 76ers 126
Nets 124, Magic 104
Thunder 123, Spurs 87
Pelicans 131, Mavericks 110
Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 99
Nuggets 111, Clippers 108
Timberwolves 104, Warriors 101
Lakers 134, Grizzlies 107

Friday, Nov. 10
76ers 114, Pistons 106
Hornets 124, Wizards 117
Celtics 121, Nets 107
Rockets 104, Pelicans 101
Jazz 127, Grizzlies 121
Timberwolves 117, Spurs 110
Mavericks 144, Clippers 126
Kings 105, Thunder 98
Lakers 122, Suns 119

Friday, Nov. 3
Pacers 121, Cavaliers 116
Bucks 110, Knicks 105
Heat 121, Wizards 114
Nets 109, Bulls 107
Warriors 141, Thunder 139
Nuggets 125, Mavericks 114
Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 113 (OT)