It’s that time of year again when the NBA Playoffs come around with every team competing to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. Teams that looked strong during the regular season suddenly have to prove they can maintain that level of play, while lower seeds get the chance to prove they can perform on the biggest stage. Through the first two rounds, this year’s playoffs has had a widespread of results. Here’s a look at how each series played out so far.
The No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder faced the No. 8 seed Phoenix Suns, with the Thunder coming in as heavy favorites to repeat and win another championship. Oklahoma City opened the series with a dominant 35-point win, even though reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a rough shooting night, going just 5-for-18 from the field. From there, the Thunder maintained control of the series and completed a sweep, winning the series 4-0. Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back in a big way over the rest of the matchup, averaging 33.8 points and 8.0 assists per game, and Oklahoma City moved on to face either the Los Angeles Lakers or the Houston Rockets in the next round.
Next, the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Lakers took on the No. 5 seed Houston Rockets in a series that had several injury storylines. The Lakers were missing six-time All-Star Luka Dončić due to a hamstring strain, while Rockets star Kevin Durant was also dealing with his own minor injuries and would miss Game 1. Los Angeles still came out with a nine-point win, led by Luke Kennard’s 27 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting from three. Kevin Durant then returned in Game 2, hoping to even the series out. Game 3 was close the whole way, and the Lakers were even down six with 40 seconds left before forcing overtime and stealing the win. Houston fought back with two straight wins, but the Lakers ended the comeback attempt with a blowout Game 6 win. Los Angeles would advance to face Oklahoma City in the second round.
The No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs matched up with the No. 7 seed Portland Trail Blazers, and Portland was able to make things interesting early, despite San Antonio being heavy favorites. The Spurs would win game 1 by 13 points, led by a 35-point performance from San Antonio’s young star Victor Wenbanyama. The Trail Blazers then won Game 2 by three points as Portland’s Scoot Henderson finished with 31 points on an efficient 11 for 17 shooting. But after that, San Antonio looked like the better team. The Spurs won the next three games by 12, 21, and 19 points, using their size and depth to wear Portland down. San Antonio finished the series with a 114-95 win in Game 5. The Spurs advanced to face either Minnesota or Denver in the next round.
The No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets faced the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves in a series that was slated to be one of the most exciting round one matchups. Denver would win Game 1 116-105, but the Timberwolves responded by winning the next three games. Their defense became the biggest difference, especially in Games 3 and 4, when they held Denver to 96 points in back-to-back games. The most impressive feat was that Minnesota was able to suppress 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic, forcing him to average 3.8 turnovers a game and holding him to 19.4% on three-pointers. Denver tried to stay alive with a 125-113 win in Game 5, but Minnesota closed the series on the road with a 110-98 win in Game 6. Minnesota moved on to face San Antonio in the second round, unsure if Anthony Edwards would be able to recover in time for that series.
The No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons opened their playoff journey against the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic, but the series ended up being much closer than the seeding made it seem. While Detroit was a No. 1 seed and won 60 games in the regular season, they were still a very young team with little to no playoff experience. Orlando pushed Detroit all the way to seven games and had many chances to pull off the upset as they went up 3-1 in the series. The biggest individual battle came between Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero, especially in Game 5, when both players scored 45 points. But when Detroit needed to respond late in the series, their defense came through. The Pistons held Orlando to only 79 points in Game 6, then finished the series with a 116-94 win in Game 7. Detroit advanced and would face either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Toronto Raptors in the next round.
The No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers took on the No. 5 seed Toronto Raptors in one of the toughest first-round series. Cleveland started well, winning the first two games at home, with Donovan Mitchell scoring at least 30 points in each game. Toronto answered with two wins of their own with a dominant 22-point victory in Game 3 and a dominant defensive game as they held the Cavaliers to just 89 points. Toronto forced a Game 7 with a 112-110 overtime win in Game 6, where RJ Barrett hit an improbable shot which bounced off the back rim then back in to win the game. But in the final game, the Cavaliers found enough offense and rebounding to pull away. Cleveland won Game 7 114-102, and would lead to an extremely rare case where neither team won an away game in the series. The Cavaliers would move on to face Detroit in the second round.
The No. 3 seed New York Knicks faced the No. 6 seed Atlanta Hawks, and for a while, the series looked like it could go either way. New York won Game 1, but Atlanta came back with two close wins, including a 107-106 win in Game 2 and a 109-108 win in Game 3. Instead, New York figured it out and responded with three straight wins, and the series became much more one-sided. The Knicks won those final three games by 16, 29, and 51 points, ending the matchup with a huge 140-89 win in Game 6. Atlanta competed early, but once New York settled in, the Hawks could not keep up, especially with their lack of star power. The Knicks advanced to face either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Boston Celtics.
The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics faced the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers in one of the most surprising series of the first round. Boston had moments where they were entirely in control, winning Game 1 by 32 points and Game 4 by 32 points again. The turning point of the series was when Philadelphia’s former MVP, Joel Embiid, made his return after an emergency surgery for appendicitis. Embiid would go on to average 28 points, 9 rebounds, and seven assists for the remainder of the series. This allowed Philadelphia to force Game 7, and in the deciding game, Embiid and his fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey carried the Sixers. Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 33 points for Boston, but without their 6-time All-Star Jayson Tatum, the Celtics did not have enough late in the game, and Philadelphia would win 109-100 and advance to face New York in the second round.
Starting off in the Western Conference semifinals, the No. 1 seed Thunder faced the No. 4 seed Lakers. Oklahoma City came into the series after sweeping Phoenix, and that momentum carried into the next round. The Lakers were still missing their star player, Luka Doncic, but another key piece in Austin Reaves returned this series. The Thunder opened with a 108-90 win, where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another underwhelming Game 1 performance, scoring only 18 points but having 7 turnovers. The Thunder then followed it up with 125 and 131-point performances in Games 2 and 3, where the large turnover deficit ended up being the deciding factor. The Lakers had a closer chance in Game 4, but Oklahoma City still won 115-110 to complete the sweep. The Thunder advanced and would await either San Antonio or Minnesota.
The No. 2 seed Spurs took on the No. 6 seed Timberwolves in the other Western Conference semifinal. The biggest news regarding this series was the fact that Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards had been declared active for Game 1 despite suffering a hyperextended knee just nine days prior. Minnesota started the series well by winning Game 1 104-102 in a close defensive battle. San Antonio answered with a 133-95 win in Game 2. From there, Victor Wembanyama became the biggest problem for Minnesota. He would have 39 points and 15 rebounds in Game 3, but in Game 4, Wenbanyama would be ejected early from the game after elbowing opposing player Naz Reid and receiving a Flagrant Two foul, and the Spurs would later lose this game 114-109. In Game 6, the Spurs’ Stephon Castle had one of the best games of his playoff run so far, finishing with 32 points and 11 rebounds as the Spurs won 139-109. San Antonio would advance to face Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals in a highly anticipated matchup.
In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the No. 1 seed Pistons faced the No. 4 seed Cavaliers in a series that changed quickly. Detroit won the first two games by ten points each, and it looked like Detroit might be on its way to the conference finals. But Cleveland came back with three straight wins, led by dominant performances by both of their star players, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, including a 43-point outing from Mitchell in Game 4. The Pistons responded with a commanding 115-94 win in Game 6, which sent the series to a Game 7. In the final game, though, Cleveland played their best basketball of the series. The Cavaliers won 125-94, shooting 50.6% from the field while holding Detroit to 35.3%. Cleveland would advance and face either New York or Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The No. 3 seed Knicks faced the No. 7 seed 76ers, and Philadelphia was coming off a long and exhausting seven-game series win over Boston, but New York made the series difficult from the start. The Knicks won Game 1 137-98, following their other blowout win against Atlanta just a few days prior. Philadelphia kept Games 2 and 3 more competitive, losing by six and 14 points, but the Knicks still controlled most of the series. In Game 4, New York finished it off with another blowout win as they completed the sweep with a 144-114 win in Philadelphia. The Knicks had more energy, more depth, and a more balanced offense over the duration of the series. New York would advance to face Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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