Welcome back, NBA Cup.

The first night of the 2026 NBA Cup was jam-packed with star performances, wild highlights and, of course, wacky court designs. The 76ers beat the Knicks for the second time in 11 days, the Heat answered some troubling questions about their star duo and the Warriors completed a historic comeback and turned it into a laugher at Chase Center. 

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the opening night of the NBA Cup:

Winner: Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors

The Warriors’ NBA Cup opener against the Lakers felt like it was over after one quarter. In those opening 12 minutes, Luka Dončić drained five three-pointers and scored 21 points to grab a 38–15 lead heading into the second quarter. The Warriors shot 22.7% from the field. But the game flipped on its head in the second. Golden State responded by outscoring the Lakers 38–15—yes, the exact same score!—in the second quarter behind 13 points off the bench from De’Anthony Melton. 

Curry finished the night with 31 points in the Warriors’ 112–95 victory. Golden State is the first team to trail by at least 23 points after one quarter and tie the game by halftime. Additionally, per ESPN, the 17-point victory is the largest win by any team to trail by at least 25 points in the last 30 seasons.

Curry also had one of the nastiest highlights of the year, which leads us to …

Loser: Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers

Not only did the Lakers blow a 23-point first-quarter lead in the NBA Cup opener, but also Dončić found himself on the wrong side of an all-time great Curry highlight. In the third quarter—with the Warriors trailing by nine points—Curry was guarded closely by Dončić when he unleashed a dribbling sequence that had the Lakers’ superstar tripping over his feet. Dončić hit the floor, and Curry stepped back and nailed the three-pointer.

STEPH CURRY, ARE YOU SERIOUS??? 😱 pic.twitter.com/0XSBhsnHpy

— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2026

The two stars shared a laugh about it at the end of the game.

WHAT A BATTLE BETWEEN THESE TWO SUPERSTARS 🤩

LUKA: 37 PTS
STEPH: 31 PTS, W pic.twitter.com/8pNrM3Bjv8

— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2026

Winner: Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets

O.K., KD! In the third quarter of the Rockets’ NBA Cup opener, Durant threw down one of the best dunks of his career. Starting at the perimeter, Durant crossed over P.J. Washington, took two more dribbles and threw down a thundering slam over Mavericks big man Daniel Garrod. Now that’s an NBA Cup poster right there. 

ABSOLUTE POSTER FROM KEVIN DURANT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/eKL5UsNclB

— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2026

The Rockets, however, suffered their first loss of the year as Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving combined for 68 points in the Mavericks’ 116–111 win. 

Loser: Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets’ offense is hard to watch. In their 95–79 loss to the Wizards, Charlotte scored over 20 points in just one quarter. The Hornets shot 30% from the field and 21% from three-point range. Charlotte now has three of the NBA’s six lowest-scoring efforts of the young 2026–27 season: 79 points against Washington, 81 points against Atlanta and 89 points against Detroit. The Hornets’ 584 points is the lowest total for any team through six games since the 2021–22 Pistons (577 points). Kon Knueppel and Coby White can’t get back fast enough. 

Winner: Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves

Things were not looking good for the Frenchman heading into Friday night’s NBA Cup action. Gobert went 0-for-13 shooting from the field in his previous two games, and he was involved in an intense discussion on Minnesota’s bench with LaMelo Ball. Gobert responded nicely Friday night, scoring nine points on 4-of-7 shooting with 13 rebounds and a season-high four assists. Minnesota has plenty to figure out without Anthony Edwards, but they looked much better in their 127–101 win over the Clippers.

Loser: Chicago Bulls

The Bulls (1–5) have been a tough watch this year. Chicago has surrendered at least 124 points in all six of its games so far after dropping another to the Celtics, 125–111. For context, eight NBA teams have yet to allow 124 points in a single game. Commiserations to rookie Caleb Wilson for labeling the Bulls as a loser on this list, because after the game, he said, “I’m never going to accept being a loser.” Wilson did have a nice offensive game, draining six threes on his way to a 23-point night. 

“I’ve never been a loser in my whole life, so I’m going to try my best to make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m never going to accept being a loser.”

Caleb Wilson following the Bulls’ 125-111 loss to the Celtics tonight pic.twitter.com/1O1VAQMRYM

— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) October 31, 2026

Winner: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo

Hey, look at the Heat! After a horrific 0–4 start to the Giannis-Bam era in South Beach, the Heat defeated Atlanta on Wednesday night and started NBA Cup play 1–0 with a dominant 145–125 win over the Pacers. Antetokounmpo was incredible again, notching his second triple-double of the season with 31 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. But the bigger story is Adebayo, who poured in 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting with nine boards, quieting concerns about his awful start to the year. The Heat are 2–0 when both Antetokounmpo and Adebayo score at least 20 points.

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