Nuggets lead off the 2026 NBA Cup 1-0 in West Group A with three group games left

The Denver Nuggets have already banked their first NBA Cup win. Their 127-120 win at Phoenix on the tournament's Oct. 30 opening night counts in the West Group A standings. That leaves Denver 1-0 in a five-team group with the Suns, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz, according to ESPN's tournament guide.

The rest of Denver's Cup schedule is backloaded and mostly at home. Houston comes to Denver on Nov. 20 in a 10 p.m. ET Prime window. Dallas visits on Nov. 24 in an NBC slot during the league's Thanksgiving-week Cup nights. The group stage then ends for Denver on Nov. 27 in Utah. Dallas opened group play by beating Houston 116-111 on Oct. 30, so the Mavericks already look like the team Denver will have to chase down in the group.

The format hasn't changed much in the tournament's fourth year. ESPN lays it out this way: the 30 teams are split into six groups of five, and each team plays every other team in its group once. The six group winners advance, along with the best non-winners, to fill out the knockout bracket. The big change is where those knockout games are played. Quarterfinals (Dec. 4-5) and semifinals (Dec. 8 and/or 9) are now held at home sites. The Dec. 11 championship moves from Las Vegas to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The schedule stakes work the same way as before. Clubs that miss the knockout round get their final two regular-season games assigned later. The Cup final itself is an 83rd game that doesn't count in the standings.

For Denver, two home dates in the final week give the group a clear shape. Wins over Houston and Dallas would most likely leave the Nuggets needing only to finish the job in Utah. Losing either one would bring the point-differential race for the wild-card spot into play.

What it means for Saturday against Indiana

The Nuggets' next game, Saturday against the Indiana Pacers (NBA TV), isn't a Cup game. Denver comes in at 4-3 and has won three of its last four. The run includes the Phoenix win, a 104-91 win in New Orleans and Thursday's 128-109 handling of Toronto. The only loss in that stretch was 118-110 at home to Portland. Seven games in, Denver is scoring about 115.4 points a game and allowing about 114.7. The defense has been uneven, with 134 allowed to Golden State and 135 to New Orleans. Indiana opened its own Cup schedule with a 145-125 loss at Miami, per ESPN.

The board has Denver favored across nine venues. Novig prices the Nuggets at -223, a $44.84 profit on $100. The Pacers are +203 on Novig, and Polymarket has the best Indiana price at +212. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.7% to 5.1%.

The venues don't agree on the spread. BetRivers has Denver -6.5 at -107, while DraftKings has its best Indiana number at +7.5 for -114. That full point between them is the widest gap on the board. On the total, Novig is at 228.5, with the over at -113 and the under at -108. theScore Bet is a point lower at 227.5, with the over at -115. A 228.5 total sits just under Denver's season pace, since its games have averaged about 230 combined points. Spread and total hold run 4.7% to 5.2%.

The Cup race picks up again for Denver on Nov. 20. Until then, the Nuggets have regular-season games to keep their recent form going before Houston and Dallas come to Ball Arena.