It could get real quiet in Madison Square Garden.
The Atlanta Hawks already topped Group C of the 2024 edition of the Emirates NBA Cup by virtue of going 3-1 in the group and winning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Boston Celtics.
Now, with the conclusion of the games on Tuesday, we know the Hawks’ opponent in the quarterfinals of the single elimination portion of the tournament.
The New York Knicks knocked off the Orlando Magic and won Group A, but since the Milwaukee Bucks handily beat the Detroit Pistons earlier in the evening, they captured Group B and the top seed as a 4-0 team with the best point differential.
#EmiratesNBACup Eastern Conference Seeds ⬇️
Quarterfinals Matchups:
▪️ The No. 4 Magic will play the No. 1 Bucks in Milwaukee
▪️ The No. 3 Hawks will play the No. 2 Knicks in New York pic.twitter.com/W8SkGYfJHK— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 4, 2024
Therefore, the 2-seeded Knicks host the 3-seeded Hawks in a match sure to evoke memories of the epic 4-1 opening round 2021 postseason series win over the Knicks when Trae Young made his name known in every tri-state area household.
While quarterfinal games will take place across both the 10th and 11th of December, per Ian Begley of SNY, that game will take place on Wednesday, December 11 — unsurprising given the Knicks also play that Monday.
Knicks will face the Hawks at the Garden on Wednesday, Dec. 11 in an NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup. If they win, they head to Las Vegas for the semifinals on Dec. 14.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 4, 2024
Atlanta would then either advance to the semifinals held in Las Vegas with a win or likely play host to one of the other quarterfinals losers with a loss. The game in Madison Square Garden and the follow-up game will both count in the regular season standings as well, but an appearance in the Cup Final would be a rare 83rd game in the season that would not.