Jalen Brunson drives to the basket during the Knicks' April 30 game.
The top-seeded Pistons — one year removed from being eliminated by the Knicks — need to win a third consecutive elimination game to advance to the second round for the first time in 18 years.
The Cavaliers — who haven’t been past the second round since LeBron James left Cleveland for the second time — are on the verge of underachieving again, needing to win Game 7 against the Raptors to keep their season alive.
And the Eastern Conference favorite was eliminated Saturday night when the 76ers completed their comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and defeated the Celtics 109-100 in Game 7 in Boston, setting up a rematch of the electric 2024 first-round matchup, when the Knicks beat Philadelphia in six games.
Jalen Brunson drives to the basket during the Knicks’ Game 6 series clinching win over the Hawks on April 30, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg
The Knicks — coming off three of their best efforts of the season, including a 140-89 beatdown of the Hawks to reach the second round for the fourth straight season — will have had three days off before Monday’s game at Madison Square Garden against the 76ers and oft-injured nemesis Joel Embiid.
They return a core that broke a 25-year conference finals drought.
Now, there is no question of the team to beat in the East.
“I haven’t heard of it,” Jalen Brunson said Saturday, “and I don’t care.”
He is supposed to ignore what Nick Saban long described as “rat poison,” the kind of premature praise that can make a team overconfident and underprepared.
The Knicks captain is supposed to embody the cliches they have perfected — getting one percent better every day, controlling the controllables, etc. — leading a group that has made the East’s most convincing case as a contender on both ends of the court.
Jalen Brunson is pictured during his May 2 press conference for the Knicks. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
Chemistry, health and momentum are on their side.
So is history, which has seen the Knicks defeat the conference’s biggest remaining threats (Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia) in the playoffs in recent years.
“I mean, I would hope that when we step on the court against anybody, I feel we could beat anybody,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “So, [the past three] games shouldn’t be the reason we have confidence. We should have confidence because we put the work in and we put the time in in the gym. So, then we have trust in each other. I feel like our confidence was built way before the game was played.”
Mike Brown is in his first season with the Knicks, but in his 17th postseason as an NBA coach.
In Cleveland, he led the Cavs to the NBA Finals.
As an assistant in San Antonio and Golden State, he won four rings.
Even without the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry or Tim Duncan, Brown sees similarities between these Knicks and some of the most successful teams of all time.
“The first thing is they’re resilient,” Brown said. “… The connectedness that this group has is similar. The sacrifice that this group has is similar, the competitive spirit that this group has is similar and then the belief is similar as well.
“It’s been like that since the beginning of the year and this group is up there with those other groups.”
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 02: Pitcher Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves throws against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Coors Field on May 02, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With a chance to secure the series win, the Braves had ace Chris Sale on the mound at Coors Field with young Rockies star Chase Dollander expected to take the mound after an opener.
The Braves followed my recommendation in the first inning, jumping on the opener Brennan Bernardino, as Ronald hit a line drive single and Drake Baldwin sent an opposite field shot over the left field wall for a two-run homer. Ozzie doubled before Bernardino recorded two outs and was yanked for Dollander to face Dubon. That’s a pretty disastrous opener scenario for Colorado. Dubon walked, but Austin Riley struck out to end the inning.
Chris Sale worked a clean first and handed things back to the offense. Jorge Mateo doubled with one out in the second and advanced to third on a Ronald Acuna groundout. Unfortunately, Ronald pulled up limping on that play and appeared to have injured his hamstring, walking off under his own power. Drake Baldwin brought Mateo home with a opposite field line drive single. The next threat was in the bottom of the third, as the Rockies got a leadoff single from Karros. Mauricio Dubon made a spectacular sprinting catch, crashing into the wall in center field, robbing double bases and an RBI for the first out of the inning. That was a big deal, as the Rockies ended up getting an RBI double, but that easily could have been a 2 or 3 run inning without that catch.
The Braves broke things open in the fourth, however, scoring three runs on an Austin Riley walk, a Jorge Mateo infield single, an Eli White bunt single, and a Drake Baldwin frozen rope double. Atlanta now carried a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, where Chris Sale worked around a walk for another scoreless frame. Onto the fifth and Michael Harris doubled ahead of Austin Riley, who absolutely launched a homer off a 98 MPH fastball into the left field seats. That’s Austin’s second productive game straight at the plate, as getting real production from him would be huge for this team.
Chris Sale lost his command to start the bottom of the fifth, walking the first two batters. This seemed to frustrate Sale a bit, as he started pumping upper 90s with his fastball. One soft grounder and two strikeouts later, the inning was over with no damage done. The game settled down from here, and Sale completed two more innings, finishing with a flourish of three consecutive strikeouts following a leadoff single in the seventh. Chris ended up with 7.0 innings of 1-run ball with a season-high 11 strikeouts on a monstrous 20 whiffs.
Dylan Lee pitched a clean eighth inning and Matt Olson launched a moonshot of a solo homer in the ninth, at just under 110 MPH off the bat and a 39 degree launch angle, his 11th homer of this young season.
Hunter Stratton got mop-up duty in the ninth, with an eight run cushion. He had no issue finishing the game, with some assistance from a tailor-made double play to end the ballgame. That’s now 10 series wins and one split through 11 series and a 23-10 record for Atlanta. They will go for a sweep behind the returning Spencer Strider tomorrow.
Joel Embiid showed just how tired of losing to the Celtics he was — he overpowered the Celtics inside and scored 16 of his 34 on the night in the paint, plus he pulled down 12 rebounds. He was the best player on the court and a force all night.
And he got help, especially from Tyrese Maxey, who scored eight straight points in the clutch, finishing with 30 on the night.
Tyrese Maxey TOOK OVER down the stretch to help the Sixers get the Game 7 win! pic.twitter.com/D6DJ3DdT1c
Embiid also got help from the Celtics, who shot just 13-of-49 (26.5%) from 3-point range on the night and were 0-of-9 in the clutch (the final five minutes).
All of that combined to give the 76ers a 109-100 victory and make history: Philadelphia beat Boston in a Game 7 for the first time since 1982. It's the first time the 76ers have ever come back from 3-1 down to win a series in franchise history, and also the first time Boston has ever lost a series up 3-1 (it is now 32-1).
Philadelphia advances to take on a rested New York Knicks team starting Monday night in Madison Square Garden. "What changed this series is Joel Embiid came back and they're a completely different team," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Boston had to play Game 7 without star Jayson Tatum, who was ruled out earlier in the day with left leg stiffness. It's a sad way for Tatum's season to end after he battled back from a torn Achilles last playoffs to be on the court for his team in this series, only not to be able to play in the biggest game of the season.
On the other side, this was a cathartic moment for Embiid, who was 0-for-3 in Game 7s in his career — and was gutting it out at the end. He earned this win, and in the final minutes was playing through a sore knee after Maxey had fallen into him.
This night went Philadelphia's way from the start.
With Tatum out, Mazzulla tried to inspire his team by making a dramatic change to his starting lineup. Only Brown and White remained as starters from Game 6, with Baylor Scheirman, Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. getting the start.
It didn't work. Boston started 1-of-7 from the floor with three turnovers and was quickly down nine, which grew to 13 points by the end of the first quarter. Boston became the first team in NBA playoff history to have three starters go scoreless (Scheirman, Garza and Harper).
Things started to change in the second, and Boston went on a 22-6 run behind White getting red hot and Mazzulla leaning more into guys he had gone to all season in Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta. It also started to change because the Celtics hit their 3-pointers. After going 2-of-12 from deep in the first quarter, they hit 5-of-7 in the second, and Derrick White led the way with 19 points. Still, Philadelphia was up five at the half, 55-50. Embiid had 19 points, five boards and five assists in the first half, plus one monster block on Brown at the rim.
"EMBIID MET HIM AT THE SUMMIT!"
Jaylen Brown challenged Joel Embiid at the rim and Embiid pulled off the INSANE denial.
"[VJ Edgecombe] came out at halftime said "I got White"…." Philly coach Nick Nurse said. "White was cooking, and I think he had 2 points in the 3rd quarter. Those are the things that make a big difference in these games."
The third quarter looked a lot like the first, except that Mazzulla went small for a stretch and Embiid just started to take over, overpowering Brown in the post and talking to him the whole time. Mazzulla was banking on the math of made 3-pointers, but the Celtics made just 4-of-17 in the quarter (23.5%) while the 76ers were scoring comfortably every time down. The lead was 13 after three.
Boston started the fourth on a 16-4 run, and suddenly it was a one-point game. Boston was touching the paint on drives, not settling for 3s, and got some old-school 3-point plays, while their zone defense was confounding the 76ers, who started playing slowly. That said, Philly took the punch from Boston, stayed upright, and the game remained tight the rest of the way.
However, in the clutch, Maxey took over for Philadelphia while Boston went cold from 3, and that ended up being the game. And the series.
ST. LOUIS — Roki Sasaki might’ve finally turned a corner from his recent struggles Saturday night.
Too bad the Dodgers’ offense took too long to do the same.
Despite a season-best six-inning, three-run start from Sasaki, the Dodgers remained mired in their recently maddening slump during a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
In their latest sign of futility, they endured eight shutout innings that included as many hits as double plays (four each). Then, despite some good batted-ball luck that keyed a last-gasp, two-run rally in the ninth, they fittingly ended the game by stranding the tying and go-ahead runners on base.
“Just comes down to, we didn’t score enough tonight,” manager Dave Roberts said.
Roki Sasaki might’ve finally turned a corner from his recent struggles Saturday night. Getty ImagesDespite a season-best six-inning, three-run start from Sasaki, the Dodgers remained mired in their recently maddening slump during a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Getty Images
Indeed, Saturday followed what has become an uncomfortably common script for the Dodgers (20-13) in recent days.
They couldn’t generate power, failing to hit a home run for a fifth straight game (the longest drought for the club since 2015). They couldn’t take advantage of situational opportunities, either, going hitless with runners in scoring position until their short-lived comeback attempt in the top of the ninth.
That inning was keyed by three two-out singles that all deflected off the glove of a Cardinals fielder. Andy Pages then snuck a seeing-eye grounder through the infield to cut the deficit to one.
Alas, Dalton Rushing struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the game and send the Dodgers to a fourth straight defeat.
They still somehow finished with six runners left on base, even when accounting for all the double plays they hit into.
Andy Pages then snuck a seeing-eye grounder through the infield to cut the deficit to one. AP
In the first inning, Will Smith became the first victim on an inning-ending grounder that was turned by shortstop Masyn Winn. In the third, Alex Freeland got doubled off after an overly aggressive jump on a lineout to second from Shohei Ohtani. Another double play ended the fourth, when JJ Wetherholt made a spinning turn at second on a ground ball from Teoscar Hernández. Then in the fifth, Hyeseong Kim couldn’t leg out a tapper back to the mound that was also turned for two.
“Once we started to build something, the double plays got us,” Roberts said. “They turned a couple really good ones. That certainly kills innings.”
It also meant that, when Sasaki stumbled in a three-run third inning, the 3-0 deficit might as well have felt like 30.
Even with some fortunate bounces at the end, the Dodgers fell to 5-9 in their last 14 games.
“There’s gonna be times where we’re not clicking,” Pages said through an interpreter afterward. “And this is one of those times right now.”
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Before Saturday’s game, Roberts joked he was an “eternal optimist” while declaring “today’s the day” the lineup would finally turn things around.
By the end of the night, such laughter was gone –– but the manager was still trying to put a spin on the team’s confounding recent struggles.
Roberts maintained that the club’s slide is “what every team is going to go through in baseball throughout the course of a season.” He downplayed the notion that it has revealed larger concerns in the offense, noting what he felt were higher quality at-bats throughout Saturday’s game.
“I thought the intentions were better on balls in the hitting zone,” he said, after noting pregame that his hitters seemed too “passive” on pitches they should attack.
“Yes, we hit into some double plays tonight. But I thought we took some good walks and, obviously, in the ninth inning, I thought we put together some good at-bats. I just think we need to be aggressive and take what the pitcher gives you. But every team goes through this through the course of the season.”
The Dodgers continue to look for answers to their offensive shortcomings. Getty Images
Who’s hot
Sasaki … at least by the end of the night.
After drastically changing his signature splitter last week — abandoning his traditional forkball grip for a more prototypical splitter release — the right-hander used both variations of the pitch Saturday. It led to varying degrees of success.
Early on, Sasaki had his usual command problems, walking two batters and hitting another in his first two innings. Then in the third, the Cardinals finally got to him. Iván Herrera and Alec Burleson hit back-to-back doubles off his fastball. Jordan Walker got a hanging forkball in an 0-2 count that he belted for a two-run blast.
Just like that, it was 3-0 with no outs in the inning.
Another disastrous performance seemed to be at hand.
The one thing Sasaki has done well this season, however, is bounce back from such adversity. And over the rest of Saturday night, he provided his best example yet. The 24-year-old retired 12 of his final 13 batters to complete six innings for the first time this year. He also recorded only his second “quality start” (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs) in 14 career starting performances in the majors.
There’s still a long way to go in his development. And his ERA is still an unsightly 5.97.
But the trend line, for the first time this year, finally appears to be pointing up.
“I do think that there was a lot of growth,” Roberts said. “Each of his last handful of starts, he’s gotten better.”
Early on, Sasaki had his usual command problems, walking two batters and hitting another in his first two innings. Getty Images
Who’s not
Of the many, many hitters who don’t look right in the Dodgers’ lineup, no one’s slump has been more consequential than Ohtani’s.
After his ice-cold bat, the rest of the offense seemed to follow his lead.
On Saturday, the two-way star went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. In this series, he has now made an out in all nine trips to the plate. Overall, Ohtani hasn’t recorded a hit since Monday. And after it seemed like he was getting back on track last week, his season batting average is back down to .252 and his OPS is down to .835.
When Ohtani last spoke to reporters Tuesday, he framed his slow start as nothing out of the ordinary, saying it usually takes until May for him to typically find his swing. However, he also acknowledged that, when his hitting mechanics are off, his two-way duties can make it more difficult (or at least take longer) to get his swing synced back up.
Case in point: He has just one home run in his last 18 games and only two extra-base hits in his last 12.
Up next
The Dodgers will try to avoid getting swept for the first time this season Sunday, when Justin Wrobleski (4-0, 1.50 ERA) will face off against ex-Dodger Dustin May (3-2, 5.28 ERA).
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 24: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers drives against Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks during the first half at Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 24, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Sixers are moving on to the second round of the 2026 NBA playoffs!
There should be plenty of time for the fanbase to bask in the glory of this comeback and true signature playoff moment for Joel Embiid. There won’t be much rest for the weary, though. Their next opponent in round two will be the New York Knicks, and the first game will be Monday, May 4, at 8 p.m. at MSG.
The TV networks seem to be spinning on a wheel again as Game 1 will be on NBC and Peacock. Game 2, also in New York, will be on ESPN, and that one’s at 7 p.m. on Wednesday May 6. Game 3 will be on Prime Video as the series shifts back to Philadelphia — that one will be on Friday May 8, also at 7 p.m. Game 4 will be a Sunday matinee and another chance for the Sixers to ruin Mother’s Day as that one will be at 3:30 p.m. on ABC on the 10th.
If a Game 5 is necessary, that will be on the 12th, Game 6 the 14th. A potential Game 7 would be the first time these teams would have more than a day of rest as that would take place on May 17. TV networks are not assigned to games until they are sure to be happening.
Eastern Conference Semifinals schedule: New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/q1UMwKeGDu
So with such a quick turnaround, the Sixers will hope Joel Embiid’s knee didn’t get too banged up from the collision he had with Tyrese Maxey in Game 7 against the Celtics. It will take the Sixers’ best to pull off another upset against an Atlantic Division rival.
PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 24: Jrue Holiday #5 of the Portland Trail Blazers looks on during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Round One Game Three of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2026 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
According to Jake Fischer, the Blazers will “field plenty of external trade interest in (Jrue) Holiday in coming weeks and months.”
There’s quite a bit of detail in here on Atlanta, Houston and Washington, but the item you’re going to see aggregated — and want to read more about — is the belief that Portland, sources say, wants to get back into this summer’s Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
Fischer also writes that Holiday hopes it doesn’t happen and wants to be a part of something and build.
Too bad.
Holiday might be the perfect addition for this Utah Jazz team, and if they want to make a bid for him, they should. Utah will need more ballhandling and defense, and Holiday would provide both. That said, Holiday is 35 years old and also has two years left on his contract ($34.8M for the next two seasons).
Would Utah be willing to make a trade happen? It might be difficult. Utah has a few big contracts to send, but they don’t make sense. The only ones close are Markkanen and Jackson’s contracts, and they’re obviously not going to do that. So the question is: is there a sign-and-trade that makes sense? Outside of that, it probably can’t happen. But it is worth considering moves like this going forward for the Jazz. Now that they are in win-now mode, there’s no reason they shouldn’t look at moves that could help them fill gaps in their roster. Maybe Jrue Holiday could be one of those additions at some point.
MESA, AZ - MARCH 21: Kaleb Wing #51 of the Chicago Cubs pitches during the game between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Aryanna Frank/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Arizona Complex League, a.k.a. Rookie Ball, started this afternoon. I normally don’t do a full recap of the ACL Cubs. Instead, I just give a link to the box score and comment if anything extraordinary happened today. I also don’t wait for the ACL Cubs to finish before I hit “publish” on the nightly wraps. I’d rather get the recaps to you before you go to bed at night than wait for a West Coast rookie ball team to finish up. Today was a day game so that was not a problem, but once summer rolls around and things get scorching hot in Arizona, the games will almost all start near sundown.
Last night shortstop Ty Southisene scored the winning run for Myrtle Beach in the bottom of the ninth. That’s the last thing he’s going to do for the Pelicans because he was promoted to High-A South Bend.
So the Saints scored in every inning but the sixth. Doug Nikhazy’s I-Cubs debut was one he’d like to forget as he got clobbered for eight runs on six hits over 2.2 innings. Nikhazy walked three and struck out four.
Close to all of the I-Cubs offense came from right fielder Kevin Alcántara. Alcántara singled and scored in the second inning on a double by DH BJ Murray. Then in the seventh inning, Alcántara hit his league-leading 11th home run of the year.
Alcántara went 3 for 4 with the home run and he scored both of Iowa’s runs.
Murray was 2 for 3 with the double and a walk.
Center fielder Brett Bateman went 1 for 2 with two walks.
Starter Tyler Schlaffer pitched 4.1 innings and surrendered two runs, one earned, on three hits. Schlaffer did walk four while striking out three.
Schlaffer was relieved by Jace Beck who allowed one inherited runner to score and five more of his own. Beck’s final numbers were five runs on seven hits over 1.2 innings. Beck walked one and struck out two.
Left fielder Andy Garriola homered twice tonight: a two-run home run in the second inning and a solo home run in the fourth. Garriola leads the Smokies with seven home runs. Tonight he finished going 2 for 3 with walk and the two home runs.
Shortstop Jefferson Rojas was 2 for 4 with an RBI double in the sixth inning. Rojas scored on Garriola’s first home run.
Kevin Valdez started and allowed four runs on six hits over 3.2 innings. He walked three and struck out two.
Ethan Flanagan took over in the fifth inning and gave up just one run on four hits over the next four innings. Flanagan struck out four and walked one.
JP Wheat was called upon to get the save in the top of the ninth and in typical wild JP Wheat fashion, he took the loss after allowing two runs on no hits and four walks. Wheat also uncorked two wild pitches. He struck out one in the one inning of work.
Second baseman Drew Bowser tied the game up 5-5 with a two-run double in the fifth inning. Bowser went 1 for 2 with two walks and a hit batsman.
First baseman Cole Mathis was 1 for 3 with a triple and two walks. One of the two walks came with the bases loaded for one run batted in. He scored twice.
Dominick Reid turned in a decent start, going five innings and allowing just two runs on five hits. He did walk four batters while striking out six.
Hayden Frank tossed the final four innings, gave up his first two runs of season and took the loss. Frank allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits. He walked one and struck out two.
Catcher Logan Poteet was 1 for 2 with two walks and an RBI single in the seventh inning.
Left fielder Jose Escobar went 1 for 4 with a two-run single in the first.
Kaleb Wing, the Cubs’ fourth-round pick last year, made his professional debut in this game and allowed one run on two hits over four innings. He struck out six and walked no one. Something tells me he’ll be in Myrtle Beach soon.
Second baseman Juan Cabada, a top 20 prospect in most Cubs prospect lists, went 3 for 5 with a triple, a run sored and three RBI in his stateside debut.
Mitchell Robinson (23) participates in a scuffle during the Knicks' April 30 win.
Mike Brown is bringing a second pair of glasses to the second round.
It wasn’t until the Knicks coach fell to the floor of State Farm Arena and veered toward Jeff Van Gundy-like infamy — while attempting to prevent Mitchell Robinson from fighting Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels in Game 6 — that Brown’s priority shifted.
“I had a lot of the right thoughts going in when I got in the middle of it [and] they all went out the window,” Brown said Saturday. “The only thing I could think of is that I had one pair of glasses … I’m blind as a bat … Once I went down, my glasses came off my head. I didn’t care about anything else. It was to get my glasses and protect them.
“It helped me because now I will carry a second pair of glasses.”
The incident was also a reminder that there is no replacement for Robinson, who was ejected in the second quarter and likely would have faced a suspension in the second round if coaches and teammates didn’t stop the 7-footer from his heated and desperate attempt to get Daniels.
Mitchell Robinson participates in a scuffle during the Knicks’ Game 6 win over the Hawks on April 30, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Robinson, who also received a technical foul in Game 2 after walking over Daniels, was fined $50,000 for the altercation that nearly spilled into the crowd, with the league factoring in the Knicks center’s “inappropriate post on social media” following the scuffle.
Before the game, Robinson — who hasn’t been available to the media since the incident — wrote, “My mental just not the same. I’m just lost in the world at the moment.”
Previously, he posted, “Trying so hard to be calm.”
The challenge will be even greater for the 28-year-old in a second-round matchup against the 76ers and Joel Embiid, the former MVP who embraces the animosity he inspires at Madison Square Garden and infamously committed a dirty foul on Robinson during the 2024 playoffs.
“The playoffs are a lot more physical than the regular season,” Brown said. “Stuff happens. Everybody is human … [But] it’s extremely important in that situation to not have anything result in a future suspension or anything like that.”
Mitchell Robinson dunks the ball during the Knicks’ Game 4 win over the Hawks on April 28. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
The first-round series was another showcase of Robinson’s strengths and limitations.
The longest-tenured Knick averaged 6.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 16-for-18 on field goals and posting a plus-30 rating in less than 14 minutes per game, but Robinson also spent much of the series on the bench after failing to make Atlanta pay for its Hack-a-Mitch strategy — he was 5-for-13 on free throws — and having inconsistent success alongside Karl-Anthony Towns.
Robinson remains an intimidating defensive presence and alley-oop threat, who led the league in rebounding percentage, but also ranked last in free-throw percentage (40.8).
He is the wild card — who wrote “Standing on Business” on his ankle tape before Game 2 against the Hawks — capable of swinging a series or taking a swing.
“What he does on the court, obviously I know he impacts winning, and he does a lot of things that sometimes don’t end up on the stat sheet but makes us come out with a ‘W,’” Towns said. “Mitch is very vital for our locker room, for our team, and we’re always gonna support him. We’re always gonna stand behind him when he wants to, I guess, quote unquote ‘Stand on business.’”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 02: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers defends Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in Game Seven of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at TD Garden on May 02, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Two hours before tipoff, Boston learned they’d be without Jayson Tatum. Two and a half hours after tipoff, the Celtics traded punches with the 76ers all game and whittled 18-point deficit to 1 with two minutes left, but fell 109-100 in Game 7 to end their season.
In an effort to shift the energy, head coach Joe Mazzulla shook up the starting lineup with Ron Harper Jr., Baylor Scheierman, and Luka Garza joining Derrick White and Jaylen Brown for the clincher.
It wasn’t enough and Boston suffered the same fate they have in the back half of the series after going up 3-1.
In losses in Game 5 and 6, the Celtics did not win the possession battle, an edge they took an advantage of throughout their regular season campaign. Whether it was winning the turnover, offensive rebounding, or three-point differential, Boston was frequently on the plus side of those ledgers and finished a surprising 56-26.
Mazzulla tried everything, including inserting Hugo Gonzalez in the rotation, benching Nikola Vucevic, going small, and going zone. Unfortunately, it was a third straight game losing in the margins. While Boston did limit their turnovers to just five, Philly was just the better offensive team.
Tyrese Maxey (30 points), VJ Edgecombe (23 points), and Paul George (13 points) finished a combined 10-of-20 from behind the arc. Brown, White, Pritchard, and Sam Hauser buoyed Boston’s efforts hitting 13-of-38, but the Celtics again finished under 30% from 3 for the third straight game, include missed threes from all four in the final two minutes.
Joel Embiid was simply a force, finishing Game 7 with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 rebounds. Brown battled him in a war of words in the fourth quarter and led the Celtics in scoring with 33 points.
The Celtics will now enter the summer with available options to get better. After finishing second in the Eastern Conference in what many expected to be a gap year, they trimmed salary to avoid the luxury tax, opened up access to exceptions, and welcomed back Jayson Tatum to an earlier-than-expected return. They’ve got the 27th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and #40 in the second round. So, while an early exit is disappointing after such a promising year, Boston’s future remains bright under Mazzulla’s management and Brown and Tatum’s leadership.
The Knicks will face the 76ers in the second round of the playoffs.
BOSTON — Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics 109-100 on Saturday night to complete the NBA’s 14th comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
Embiid finished with 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Tyrese Maxey added 30 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
VJ Edgecombe scored 23 points and Paul George had 13.
Joel Embiid drives to the basket during the 76ers’ 109-100 Game 7 series-clinching win over the Celitcs on May 2, 2026 in Boston Imagn Images
Philadelphia, the No. 7 seed, will visit No. 3 Knicks on Monday night at the Garden in Game 1 of the second round.
The Sixers franchise, including its time as Syracuse Nationals, improved to 2-10 in road Game 7s. Its only other win came in 1982 at the Boston Garden. It’s a small measure of revenge after Boston blew out Philadelphia in Game 7 in the second round of the 2023 playoffs.
“We had a chance to beat them three years ago, didn’t do it. We came in and got it done,” Maxey said.
Embiid, who debuted in Game 4 after recovering from appendectomy surgery, is the first player in NBA history to score 100 points in a playoff series despite missing the first three games.
He and Maxey also became the third duo in league history to each have 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Game 7.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 33 points and nine rebounds.
Derrick White had 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Neemias Queta finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Jalen Brunson celebrates after the Knicks’ Game 6 series-clinching win over the Hawks on April 30, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg
The Celtics struggled from the 3-point line for the third straight game, finishing 13 of 49.
Brown said Embiid changed tenor of the series.
“He put a lot of pressure on us,” Brown said. “We didn’t really have the answers for him.”
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla shrugged off any notion that his team was too dependent on 3s in the series.
Jaylen Brown attempts a shot during the Celtics’ Game 7 loss to 76ers on May 2, 2026. Anadolu via Getty Images
“I love the looks that we got. I love the process that we had.. But I hate the result,” Mazzulla said.
The second-seeded Celtics made their earliest exit from the playoffs since the 2020-21 season. Boston fell to 32-1 when leading a series 3-1.
The Celtics played without Tatum after he was ruled out about 90 minutes before tipoff with left knee stiffness. Brown said he didn’t find out until about 45 minutes before the game.
“Nobody told me anything. But my mindset was the same,” Brown said.
Philadelphia led for all but 31 seconds in the game, increasing a five-point halftime edge to 18 points in the third quarter. It was down to 13 at the start of the fourth and Boston opened the period on a 16-4 run to pull within 92-91.
The 76ers were leading 101-98 when Maxey got free for a layup with 1:15 remaining. Boston missed its next four shots and Philadelphia pushed it to 105-98 on a pair of free throws by Maxey.
Mazzulla said Tatum came to the team facility Saturday with knee discomfort, and the medical team decided for him not to play.
Tatum briefly left Game 6 in the third quarter for unspecified treatment to his left calf. Mazzulla downplayed the significance, saying initially Tatum would play in Game 7.
With Tatum out, Mazzulla made radical changes to the starting lineup, opting to start Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. alongside Brown and White.
It was the first time that group started together this season and the Celtics quickly fell into a 9-0 hole. Philadelphia led by 15 in the first quarter and 32-19 when it ended.
Unlike in their losses in Games 5 and 6, the Celtics weren’t as quick to fire up 3s, instead opting to attack the interior of Philadelphia’s defense to get easier looks.
Boston started the second on an 18-4 run to take its first lead of the night, 37-36, on a 3-pointer by Payton Pritchard. The 76ers led 55-50 at halftime.
The Knicks will begin their journey to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
New York, the higher seed, will start the best-of-seven series with home-court advantage. Here are the full dates and times for the upcoming series...
Apr 29, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) talks to guard James Harden (1) against the Toronto Raptors in the first quarter of game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of chances to end this series in Game 6 on Friday night. They didn’t come out with the effort they needed, the late-game offense was bad, and a costly turnover with the shot clock off cost them a chance to put the game away at the line.
They need to put all of those blunders behind them. Their season, and maybe this era of Cleveland basketball, comes down to just one game. Game 7 on Sunday evening against the Toronto Raptors.
This group, led by Donovan Mitchell, has only played in one other Game 7. That was back in 2024 when they defeated the Orlando Magic. Back then, they also had an ugly Game 6 loss where Cleveland failed to win a single game on the road that series. The Cavs are hoping history repeats itself on Sunday.
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Arizona Diamondbacks' #06 Ildemaro Vargas celebrates after hitting a home run during the MLB World Tour Mexico City Series game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres at Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium in Mexico City on April 26, 2026. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
And, so, it ends. By going 0-for-4 today, Vargas’s streak ended at 27 games. That’s still the second longest in franchise history. You have to go all the way back to the early stages of the franchise’s sophomore season in 1999, to find the only bigger streak. Club legend Luis Gonzalez reached 30 games between April 11 and May 18 that year. But, as we’ll see, there are grounds for thinking Ildemaro’s may be more impressive, given the offensive environment of the time. It’s been a while since any D-back has come close to approaching Gonzo. Over the past twenty years, just three reached 20 games: Paul Goldschmidt (26 in 2013-14), Ketel Marte (21 in 2024) and Vargas. Here’s the top dozen.
What’s most impressive is, nobody saw this coming. Of all the people potentially to challenge the record in 2026, he was likely among the longest odds. Corbin Carroll? Sure. Ketel Marte? Of course, especially given his previous 21-game streak. They have a far better track record. For most of the other entries on the chart above, the players concerned were well known to be decent hitters. Even the notoriously light-hitting Tony Womack came in to the 2000 season with a .278 career average. But at the end of last year, when the streak was just three games old, Vargas was a career .249 hitter. His previous high hit streak before this? Just ten games, in 2022 when he was with Washington.
The 24-game streak at the start of the season makes it particularly impressive. That’s the longest streak to open a campaign for fifty years. Ron LeFlore of Detroit reached thirty at the beginning of 1976. Doing so also allows Vargas to get into some uncharted territory elsewhere. At the end of the streak yesterday, he was batting .404 on the season with 99 PA in the books. That’s comfortably the deepest into the season that an Arizona player has been able to post a .400 average. Here are the five previous D-backs with the most PA to reach the .400 mark (only stats at the end of the game being counted):
77 PA: Geraldo Perdomo, May 3, 2023, BA .409
67 PA: Mark Reynolds, June 1, 2007, BA .413
64 PA: Greg Colbrunn, May 25, 2000, BA .404
60 PA: Orlando Hudson, April 15, 2007, BA .411
58 PA: Pavin Smith, April 18, 2025, BA .408
Gonzalez came achingly close to smashing them all, including Vargas. On June 4th, 1999 he went 2-for-4 and raised his average for the season to .398. That was as close as he got in a meaningful size. But that .398 did come over a much longer period, covering 227 plate-appearances and 201 at-bats. On the surface, that’s much more impressive than Vargas. Except, 1999 was a very different era, as Jack reminded me on X. There are reasons hit streaks of over 25 games have become much less frequent. The overall batting average that year was .271: this year, it’s .243. Put another way, if we assume 4 AB per game, a league average batter hitting 25 games in a row was roughly five times more likely in 1999.
The actual results bear this out. We asked Baseball Reference for all the hitting streaks of 25 games within a single season during the divisional era, led by Pete Rose’s 44 games in 1979. There were 82 all told over the fifty-seven seasons from 1969-2025, so about one and a half per year. But there have only been six since the end of 2016, and none of those got past 26 games. [Vargas’s season-spanner doesn’t count, of course] In contrast, 2011 alone had four, two of which reached the thirty-game checkpoint. Things peaked, unsurprisingly, in 1999, with six 25+ streaks. Gonzo’s 30-game run was surpassed later in the year by Vlad Guerrero reaching 31.
The other unexpected bonus in this being an early-season surge, is seeing a Diamondback hitter as the #1 for the batting title. When was the last time a Diamondback was in that position? The most literal answer is boring, albeit with a surprising name. Jeff Mathis went 3-for-4 on Opening Day 2017, and that .750 batting average was tied with six others for the major-league lead after that day. But that’s also not really what we’re wondering. What about as late in the season as we are now? Then the answer is a more predictable name: Paul Goldschmidt led all of MLB in batting average on August 18, 2015. Here’s the relevant Fangraphs leaderboard.
In fact, again looking from May 1 onwards in each season, only 2015 Paul Goldschmidt and 1999 Luis Gonzalez have ever led MLB in batting average. The latest date Gonzo led was June 5, 1999 — when he was hitting .390, the day after coming one hit short of batting .400. Again, it was a very different offensive environment, let’s say. As some of you might know, we have never had a full-season batting champion. 2015 Goldy would finish 4th, while 1999 Gonzo would finish 6th. The closest we’ve ever come was 2019 Ketel Marte, who finished 3rd, and never led.
Here are the others who led after only 1 or 2 games besides Mathis: 2000 Steve Finley, 2013 Gerardo Parra, and 2014 Goldschmidt (after just the Australia series; it helps that only two teams had played!). And here are the others who led later on in April: 2001 Jay Bell (April 18-19), 2007 Orlando Hudson (April 15 and 20), and 2011 Miguel Montero (April 8-10, 13-14). All told, that’s some pretty good company for Vargas. Is it sustainable? Almost certainly not, though even after this afternoon’s ohfer, Ildemaro still has a striking 47-point lead over the current runner-up, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez.
Still, we’ll continue to enjoy it while it lasts. You can only appreciate the wonders of a game where, for more than a month an unheralded journeyman on his fifth stint with the Diamondbacks, was the best hitter in baseball.
May 2, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) looks on after striking out against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images
The Dodgers nearly suffered their second shutout loss in as many weeks, managing to get a pair of late runs in the ninth inning but falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Saturday.
Roki Sasaki had a decent start in the first inning, getting his first two outs on eight pitches, but put two men on with two outs by walking Alex Burleson and allowing a single to Jordan Walker. A bookend strikeout of Nolan Gorman helped him get out of the inning unscathed. Sasaki needed just three pitches to get two outs in the bottom of the second, but plunked Ramón Urías on a 1-1 count before walking Victor Scott II to once again put two on with two outs. Sasaki got another bookend strikeout— this time against J.J. Wetherhold— to strand the pair.
Once the Cardinals came to bat in the bottom of the third, Sasaki got ambushed early with a pair of doubles from Iván Herrera and Burleson to give St. Louis the early lead. Walker got to an inside slider from Sasaki and drilled a line drive that snuck over the left field wall to give the Cardinals a three-run lead. It was the eighth home run that Sasaki has allowed this season— tied for fifth most this season— and the fourth allowed over his last two starts. He would follow up that inning by retiring nine hitters in a row as he completed six full innings for the first time while tossing a career-high 104 pitches.
Sasaki has continued to display dominant results over the first two innings of his starts, as he has allowed just one run in innings 1 and 2 over his six starts, but he has allowed 18 runs after the start of the third inning, resulting in a 9.72 ERA from innings 3 and beyond this season. A positive note for Sasaki is that the walks have decreased dramatically, as he has walked just three hitters over his last 11 innings.
The Dodgers on offense were left stunned by the Cardinals defense as they couldn’t get anything going against Michael McGreevy. Will Smith hit into an inning-ending double play in the first inning, and the Dodgers couldn’t come through with two men on base and less than two outs in the second. The Dodgers were able to get the leadoff man on in the third with a bunt single from Alex Freeland, but Shohei Ohtani’s line drive was snared on a diving catch by Wetherholt, doubling up Freeland at first for another double play. The Cardinals would turn another pair of double plays to end both the top of the fourth and fifth innings.
The Dodgers managed to put multiple guys on base against Ryne Stanek in the top of the seventh, including their first hit since the third inning from Teoscar Hernández, but Andy Pages struck out swinging representing the tying run to get the Cardinals out of trouble. Jojo Romero followed Stanek with a perfect eighth inning, striking out both Miguel Rojas and Ohtani.
The Dodgers put up a two-out rally against closer Riley O’Brien as Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández reached on infield singles. Max Muncy lined a ball just over a leaping Wetherhold into right field to bring home Tucker and score the first Dodger run since the sixth inning on Friday. Pages kept the rally going with a base hit to left field to bring home Hernández, putting both the tying and go-ahead runs on base in a one-run game. Dalton Rushing came in to pinch hit, but went down swinging as the Cardinals took the series from the Dodgers and rattled off their sixth consecutive win.
In what has been an utterly brutal week for an anemic Dodgers offense, the team is averaging just 2.4 runs per game this week while recording just five extra-base hits— all doubles, no home runs— over that stretch. The Dodgers have performed miserably with runners on base this week, as they are hitting just .225 with runners in scoring position while leaving a combined 40 runners on base over their last five games. The Dodgers have now dropped four of their last five games against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium dating back to last season.
The Dodgers close out their series in St. Louis on Sunday (11:15 a.m. PT, SportsNet LA) before heading down to Houston for a three-game set against the Astros. Justin Wrobleski makes his fifth start while old friend Dustin May goes for the Cardinals.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 2: Right fielder Jordan Walker #18 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inningat Busch Stadium on May 2, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Le/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Excuse me while I pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. No, this is real. The St. Louis Cardinals continue to prove they are more than just a timid rebuild as Michael McGreevy threw a gem and Jordan Walker’s bat continued to provide the power leading the Cardinals to a 3-2 win over the overpaid Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cardinals bats would ignite starting in the 3rd inning as Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson hit back-to-back doubles giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead. They would add to that score immediately afterward as Jordan Walker powered a 372 foot shot barely over the left field wall giving the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Michael McGreevy appeared to be channeling his inner Greg Maddux as he kept the Dodgers on the ground tossing 6 innings allowing only 3 hits and no runs including a Sportscenter double play turned by now and future up-the-middle combo JJ Wetherholt and Masyn Winn. Someone find the radar gun and measure the velocity of Winn’s throw to first. 91.6 mph!That had to sting Burleson’s glove.
Ryne Stanek came in to handle the top of the 7th inning and after getting the first two outs decided to allow some drama. He gave up a single and a walk, but managed to get Pages to chase two pitches out of the zone to escape with no damage. All’s well that ends well. JoJo Romero was the designated 8th inning guy and he got the Dodgers out 1-2-3 including striking out Shohei Ohtani who was held hitless by the Cardinals pitching staff Saturday night.
Riley O’Brien was brought in to lock down another Cardinals victory in the top of the 9th inning. He was tasked with tackling 2-3-4 of the Dodgers lineup and struck out Freddie Freeman on 3 pitches with an ABS challenge assist from eagle-eye Ivan Herrera. Smith lined out to Jordan Walker in right field. Kyle Tucker reached on a sinking line drive that Masyn Winn was not able to pick in time. Hernandez also reached on a ball that Masyn Winn was not able to snag cleanly up the middle which brought up the tying run in Max Muncy. He lined a ball just over JJ Wetherholt’s leap to bring in Tucker for the Dodgers lone run making it 3-1 Cardinals. Andy Pages singled in Hernandez pulling the Dodgers to within a run of the Cardinals making it 3-2 St. Louis. Pinch-hitter Dalton Rushing fortunately struck out to end the game.
I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but the Cardinals will go for a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday as Dustin May will pitch the most appropriate jersey number to calendar day in history with his May 3 attire. First pitch is scheduled for 1:15pm at Busch Stadium Sunday.
