We’ve had fun these past six weeks, but December is the NBA’s first signature month. There’s the in-season tournament finish and the Christmas Day slate. And apparently, Dec. 21st is World Basketball Day? We will celebrate accordingly.

Here’s your viewing guide to the week ahead in professional basketball — which features a decisive Orlando Magic-New York Knicks Cup matchup, national looks at the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets, and three prime-time Golden State Warriors games.

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Full NBA national TV schedule

For games Dec. 2-6, all times Eastern

* denotes NBA Cup game

NBA Cup games to watch

Orlando Magic at New York Knicks

Time: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: TNT

The movie trailer logline: A torrid offense meets a smothering defense in Midtown Manhattan. Things will get interesting.

The Magic have been in New York since Friday, and they look quite comfortable — perhaps they’re inspired by Met Opera revival season, or maybe the Wagner brothers found the best dollar slice in the city. Orlando’s defense looked hellacious in consecutive wins at Brooklyn, forcing 20 turnovers Friday and holding the Nets to 38 percent shooting Sunday.

The 15-7 Magic enter this week first in points allowed per game and third in defensive rating. They have persisted through Paolo Banchero’s absence, climbing to third in the Eastern Conference. Franz Wagner is a budding star, averaging career bests in points, rebounds, assists and steals. His usage rate is higher than that of Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum, and his game is shrewd and dogged on both ends of the floor.

Granted, the Knicks are far better than the Nets. They come in at 12-8, fourth in the East, and there’s a patient swagger to their offense. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are trying to become the first guard-center teammates to each average 25 points per game since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant two decades ago. New York is first in offensive rating and second in true shooting percentage. This team is hooping.

New York’s struggles have come on the other side, an unusual development for Tom Thibodeau-coached teams. The Knicks were 10th in defensive rating last year and are 20th right now. Those blemishes are especially pronounced in clutch minutes, where the team is 27th in plus-minus and second-to-last in 3-point defense.

Both teams are 3-0 in Cup play, tied atop East Group A. Tuesday’s winner hosts a quarterfinal. But these two sides do not share the same stakes. Barring a blowout of historic proportions, Orlando would still get a wild card berth through point differential. New York’s slimmer margins of victory would put it on the outside looking in, even at 3-1.

Starting five to wear each jersey (minimum 50 games with each franchise):

• G — Anfernee Hardaway
• G — Steve Francis
• F — Evan Fournier
• F — Trevor Ariza
• C — Patrick Ewing

Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets

Time: Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET
TV: TNT

The movie trailer logline: Stephen Curry. Nikola Jokić. Coming to a theater near you!

Two of the league’s best teams roll into this matchup on slight downturns. The Nuggets (10-8) have gone 2-3 since Jokić returned from a personal absence, and the Warriors (12-7) are 5-5 in their last 10 games. But these crews are among the most entertaining watches in the sport and title contenders at full strength. Denver enters Tuesday’s contest with seven consecutive head-to-head wins.

The league’s reigning MVP presents a uniquely disorienting challenge for Golden State’s stout defense. Jokić is a basketball fever dream, on the verge of averaging a 30-point triple-double with unparalleled efficiency. He’s leading the league in offensive win shares for a fifth straight season.

Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun have both played above expectations this season. The former has hit four or more 3-pointers in six games. The latter has a newfound tenacity around the rim and is in the 94th percentile for points per shot, according to Cleaning the Glass. But Jamal Murray is seriously slumping to the worst shooting marks since his rookie campaign. And the defense looks off without Aaron Gordon (calf).

This Warriors squad is not exactly the Curry-centric team we’ve come to know in past iterations. Don’t get it twisted — Curry is still an all-universe player who distorts space and makes volcanic highlights. But he’s taking his fewest shot attempts per game since 2011-12. Andrew Wiggins looks rejuvenated, averaging more than 21 points per game in his last six outings and putting up the best 3-point field goal percentage of his career. And Buddy Hield should be on the shortlist for Sixth Man of the Year. He’s looking like a long-lost Splash Brother, or at least a Splash Cousin, at 44 percent behind the arc.

Golden State has already locked up West Group C. Denver is pursuing a wild card spot based on point differential.

Most important trade: Jul. 10th, 2013 — in a dense and consequential three-team deal with Utah, the Warriors acquired Andre Iguodala, while the Nuggets got Randy Foye and a trade exception. Iguodala declined Denver’s contract offer during free agency and was thus routed to the Bay via sign-and-trade. Just two years later, Golden State raised the Larry O’Brien Trophy, and Iguodala was named Finals MVP.

Other national games

Denver Nuggets at Cleveland Cavaliers

Time: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET
TV: NBA TV

The Cavs are a force, leading the East at 18-3 and third in the league in net rating. They are shooting 51 percent as a team, which is brain-melting stuff. They are on pace for the best mark in 30 years. For reference, the 72-win Warriors shot 48.7 percent in 2015-16. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley going to battle with Jokić should make for great television. Cleveland plays with the league’s sixth-fastest pace, while Denver is 10th.

All-time series: Nuggets lead 54-44. Denver’s longest winning streak is nine games, which it held from 1981-85.

Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors

Time: Thursday, 10 p.m. ET
TV: NBA TV

Ime Udoka’s Rockets outfit is one of the biggest surprises of this nascent season. Houston enters the week at 15-6, second in defensive rating with the second-best mark on Basketball Reference’s simple rating system. Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet are shooting under 40 percent from the field, and the team is 26th in 3-point percentage, but the defense is inspired. Tari Eason leads all of basketball in defensive rating; Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson rank third and fourth. The Warriors have won 14 — 14! — straight games against the Rockets. The last one was a banger, a 127-121 overtime finish on Nov. 2.

Buzzer beaters: The Warriors have three against Houston: Rick Barry (1974), Sonny Parker (1981), and Stephen Curry (2022). The Rockets have two against Golden State: Hakeem Olajuwon (1992) and Moochie Norris (2000).

Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics

Time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN

At 16-4, Boston is second in net rating — Oklahoma City is first — and off to a better start through 20 games than last year’s title team. Five Celtics are averaging 15 or more points, and Jayson Tatum is third in MVP odds on BetMGM (+425). Giannis Antetokounmpo is right behind him, fourth at +650, and the Bucks are 10-9 after a dire 2-8 start. December was Damian Lillard’s best statistical month last season, and he looks to be rounding into his usual excellence. Doc Rivers returns to the city where he won his championship ring.

If there were a rivalry trophy, it would be: The Don Nelson Big Blind

Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors

Time: Friday, 10 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN

Minnesota is still in search of its best self. The Timberwolves won 56 games last season but enter December under .500 at 9-10. Anthony Edwards is balling out, and Julius Randle is having his most efficient shooting season since 2017-18. But the team is last in fast break points, 26th in turnover percentage and has a negative rebounding differential. Draymond Green caught a five-game suspension last year for head-locking Rudy Gobert. These teams do not like each other.

Wildest moment: Avert your eyes, Minnesotans. Wolves general manager David Kahn held the fifth and sixth picks in the 2009 Draft. They went with two point guards, Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. Warriors GM Larry Riley took Stephen Curry with the next selection.

(Photo of Andrew Wiggins: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)