After NBA Cup elimination, Rockets add Clippers, Nuggets to schedule

Each year, only four teams out of the 15 in each conference advance to the knockout rounds of the Emirates NBA Cup. Based on that math, a 2-2 record in group-stage play isn’t usually enough to finishing among the top four.

So, even though the Rockets (12-4, 2-2) won Wednesday’s group-stage finale at Golden State (10-10, 1-3), two earlier losses to Denver and San Antonio had already doomed Houston’s chances of advancing in the league’s 2025 in-season tournament.

To ensure that all teams play 82 regular season games, teams who don’t advance in Cup play have two additional December games scheduled versus same-conference opponents who also did not advance.

Early Saturday, it was announced that Houston’s add-on games will be played against:

• Thursday, Dec. 11 vs. Los Angeles Clippers (home); 7:00 p.m. Central tipoff

• Monday, Dec. 15 at Denver (road): 8:30 p.m. Central tipoff

Ultimately, those matchups came down to a formula. Each year, Houston’s schedule includes two games (one home, one away) versus Eastern Conference opponents and four games (two home, two away) versus most Western Conference opponents.

However, if that was the case for all same-conference opponents, each team’s schedule would be at 86 games in length. So, there is a select group — rotating each year — of same-conference opponents on the docket only three times.

To trim down to 80 games (to account for the possibility of Cup advancement), the six West teams on Houston’s initial 2025-26 schedule only three times were the Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers.

Add-on games are typically chosen from that group, and the Thunder and Lakers advanced in Cup play, thus taking them off the table. So, it came down to two teams from the other group of four.

Both the Clippers and Nuggets went 2-2 in Cup play, equal to the Rockets. The Clippers are 5-14 on the season, while the Nuggets are 13-5 — including a Nov. 21 victory in Houston. All-Star center and perennial Most Valuable Player (MVP) frontrunner Nikola Jokic was dominant with 34 points (55.0% FG), 10 rebounds, and 9 assists in that game.

On the other side, Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun struggled., and those two 2025 All-Stars will be looking to make amends when Houston pays Denver a return visit less than a month later.

Led by James Harden, the struggling Clippers have yet to play Houston this season, though they will meet again on Dec. 23 in Los Angeles.

More: Rockets’ stars underwhelm in NBA Cup loss to Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: After NBA Cup elimination, Rockets add Clippers, Nuggets to schedule