Category: NBA

Right before Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder tipped off on Tuesday, May 5, Lakers head coach JJ Redick took a seat on the bench, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He's going to need to take a few more throughout this series.

Because even though the Lakers led for most of the first quarter, even though they hung around for the first three quarters and were a foul call and a missed buzzer-beater away from going into halftime trailing by just five points, it just wasn't enough to keep it all from unraveling in a 108-90 loss.

Redick's gameplan was solid. LeBron James had 27 points, six assists and four rebounds. Four of the Lakers' five starters scored in double figures. None of it was enough.

Not against this Thunder squad. Redick said it himself when he told reporters pregame that "we've sucked against this team."

Sure, Austin Reaves had a very, very rough night. And LA as a whole struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 33% from long range. But it was clear that the Lakers were simply bested and worn down by a well-rounded team. They were outscored 39-25 over the final 18 minutes. They had no answer for Chet Holmgren and their offense looked completely stumped by OKC's physical defense by the final frame, which translated to easy buckets far too often as the Lakers allowed 20 points off of their 18 turnovers.

"Once you make a couple mental mistakes, it seems like they take advantage of every one of them," Reaves told reporters.

It all underscores one simple sentiment that has reverberated throughout NBA discussion circles: the Lakers just don't have a chance of winning this series. Not without Luka Doncic.

NBA GAME 1 WINNERS, LOSERS: Thunder overpower Lakers; Pistons prevail

"When you play against great defense, you have to have guys that can attract multiple defenders on the floor at all times," James told reporters. "... When you play against the world champions, having a guy that averages 34, 35, that's special."

But even if Doncic — whose rehab from a Grade 2 right hamstring strain that's kept him sidelined since April 2 has been slow going — returns at some point this series, how effective will he really be? That's not to say he won't play well, because he more than likely will. Doncic has historically played some of his best ball in the playoffs, even in series that his teams have been overmatched in (see: 2020 and 2021 against the Clippers, 2024 NBA Finals against the Celtics), and that has a good chance of being the case in this series.

The Lakers did many things right in Game 1, like holding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a season-low 18 points and just three free throws and forced him to turn the ball over seven times, the most he's had since last season's Finals. They had open shots that just didn't drop. The offense was hot to start the game and good enough to claw back into it in stretches, but they weren't able to keep a consistent effort on both ends of the floor throughout the entire game. Each time the Lakers made a run, OKC responded with a bigger one. The Thunder showed just how much deeper their roster is, as shown by their bench outscoring LA, 34-15.

"We had some gameplan breakdowns," James told reporters. "They're gonna test you. They're gonna see how many times they can make you have gameplan breakdowns, and we had a few. Almost too many versus a team like this."

There's plenty of areas for the Lakers to clean up for Game 2 and beyond. Reaves can play better and Doncic can come back before it's too late, but there's a decent chance almost none of it might matter beyond a game or two.

That's just how much of a gap there is between them and a championship team.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers outclassed by Thunder in Game 1

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.

Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Detroit.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, ending his NBA-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in nine straight series openers.

James Harden had 22 points and Max Stus scored 19 for the No. 4-seeded Cavs, who pulled into a tie midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the night and by as much as 18 points.

Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was limited to two points and three rebounds, coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound performance in an elimination game against Toronto.

THUNDER 108, LAKERS 90

OKLAHOMA CITY, (AP) — Chet Holmgren had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Oklahoma City routed Los Angeles in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points for the Thunder. The defending champions improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams with an injured left hamstring for the third straight game. The Thunder shot 49.4% from the field and made 13 of 30 3-pointers.

Oklahoma City will host Game 2 on Thursday.

Los Angeles struggled to find offense without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who has missed the past month with an injured left hamstring. LeBron James scored 27 points and Rui Hachimura added 18 for the Lakers. Austin Reaves, who averaged 23.3 points in the regular season, was held to eight on 3-for-16 shooting.

Lakers coach JJ Redick was succinct about what it was like for his group to face the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder during the regular season.

“We sucked against this team,” he said pregame.

The Lakers lost all four regular-season games against the Thunder by double figures, making L.A.’s 108-90 defeat to Oklahoma City in Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs just another big loss to the talented Thunder.

LeBron James led the Lakers with 27 points and six assists while Rui Hachimura had 18 points, but Austin Reaves had only eight points, shooting three for 16 from the field.

The Lakers doubled-teamed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander frequently, limiting him to 18 points and forcing him into seven turnovers.

But the Thunder just turned to Chet Holmgren, who had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

The Lakers shot only 41.7% (35 of 84) from the field and 30% (10 of 30) from three-point range while the Thunder shot 49.4% (42 of 85) from the field and 43.3% (13 of 30) from deep.

Game 2 is here Thursday night.

The Lakers didn’t help themselves at the beginning of the fourth quarter, turning the ball over on two of their first three possessions. When Marcus Smart, who finished with 12 points on four-of-15 shooting and seven assists, turned the ball over to Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso waltzed in for a layup, the Lakers went down by 15 points and had to call a timeout with 10 minutes and 41 seconds left to regroup.

The Lakers never did.

They fell into a 19-point hole in the final 12 minutes of play and never recovered.

The Lakers lost by almost 30 points per game in their four-game series against the Thunder during the regular season, and one of the games was a 43-point shellacking.

But the Lakers found their groove in the first round against the Houston Rockets and that has fueled their belief in this series against the Thunder.

“We've been able to execute, even just going back to the last three games of the regular season,” Redick said. “Again, we kind of had to reset with not a lot of time and build something a little bit new on the fly. I think our guys were able to find their way and find their way from an execution standpoint, and for the most part, did a good job of that on both ends in the Houston series.

"This is a different team and the best team, and it's going to require more. I think every round that you advance in the playoffs, you need to elevate all of the stuff even more. …That's our attention to detail, that's our belief, that's our poise. We got to be great in all those areas.”

The Lakers talked every practice about the runs the Thunder go on and how they had to limit them.

Well, it happened at the end of the first quarter, when Oklahoma City scored the last five points of the period, and it happened at the outset of the second quarter, when the Thunder scored the first five points to open a 10-point lead.

Redick leaped off the bench to call a timeout with 10:36 left in the second to get things back in order for the Lakers.

The Lakers recovered, but they then went down 56-43 in the second quarter and had to recover again.

They did, pulling to within 61-53 at the half.

Note: Lakers reserve forward Jarred Vanderbilt injured his right finger in the second quarter and didn’t return. Vanderbilt tried to block a dunk by Holmgren, but instead hit hand on the backboard and went down in pain.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Cleveland Cavaliers missed an opportunity to steal Game 1 against the Detroit Pistons.

Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.

LOSER – Turnovers

Cleveland turned it over 20 times tonight, allowing 31 points off those turnovers. That might be the fastest way to guarantee yourself a loss on the road.

The ball was especially slippery for James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, who combined for 10 turnovers to just 9 assists. Harden was the primary culprit, coughing it up seven times tonight and a whopping 43 times throughout the playoffs so far.

Harden has felt like an offensive stabilizer for the Cavs. Even more so when Mitchell was struggling in round one. But he’s got to be more careful with the ball, or these ugly turnovers will seal their fate. There’s no way around it.

As for Mitchell, the Cavs are waiting for him to spark back to life. He’s been dormant since Game 2 versus Toronto — and they can’t afford for their star player to finish games with more turnovers than assists. Cleveland is desperate for some efficient playmaking, and neither Mitchell nor Harden is ringing that bell at that moment.

WINNER – Max Strus

You can only afford so many record scratch moments in the NBA Playoffs. If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, imagine a perfect drive-and-kick opportunity that turns into a Dean Wade pumpfake that resets the offense.

That’s a record scratch.

The Cavs have loved having Wade on the floor with the core four, as his defensive versatility turns them from mediocre to elite. But Wade’s inability to shoot with volume or create off the dribble has severely limited his ceiling on the big stage. Strus doesn’t have that problem.

You won’t get the same defensive effort from Strus, but the Cavs offense has access to more options when he’s on the court. That’s because he’s a volume shooter who puts pressure on a defense to stay attached to him. The Cavs guard-guard screens are effective with Strus being a threat to pop for a three-point attempt.

Strus scored 19 points on 7-13 shooting tonight (4-8 from deep). He also added 5 rebounds. We know that Strus is a streaky shooter and could just as easily struggle in his next game. Still, added offensive production from Strus is something the Cavs can reasonably expect to get at various points in a playoff series. Tonight was one of those nights. They should have taken advantage.

LOSER – Rotations

There’s a reason that most teams shrink their rotations once the playoffs begin. You aren’t going to find more than eight or nine guys who can hang on the floor as the margins for error get smaller.

The Cavs played 11 guys tonight. That’s hard to explain.

Sure, Sam Merrill left the game with a hamstring after only playing seven minutes. So a spot in the rotation was opened for Keon Ellis to get his first run in four games. And, Jarrett Allen found himself in foul trouble, so Thomas Bryant was dusted off the bench for a few runs.

But the problem isn’t that Bryant and Ellis had to play minutes in a pinch. It’s that Kenny Atkinson chose to dig deeper into his bench rather than simply adding more responsibility to his star players. Again, there’s a reason most teams choose the latter in the playoffs. You’d rather lose with your best players deciding the game than start the fourth quarter with three reserves.

Seriously, the Cavs opened the fourth with Bryant, Ellis, and Dennis Schroder on the court. It didn’t go well, and all momentum from their third-quarter rally was lost.

No one played more than 36 minutes tonight for Cleveland. Allen, who was the hero in Game 7, played just 18 minutes with four fouls. Are we aware that fouling out doesn’t come with a suspension? Why not trust the Fro to play with two fouls to give instead of playing him just eight more minutes than Bryant?

Conversely, Cunningham played 43 minutes for Detroit. Tobias Harris played 39. There’s value in leaning on your best players. The Cavs will need to do that moving forward.

A rough offensive night for the Lakers left them struggling to find enough scoring to keep up with the Thunder in Game 1 as they fell to OKC, 108-90.

After a fast start to the contest, LA trailed OKC for the final three quarters. However, the lead would ebb and flow as the purple and gold had brief runs that seemed to get them back into the game.

Each time, though, the Thunder had a response to gain breathing room once more. By the end of the game, the Lakers had run out of gas as OKC had repeatedly found answers to the problems LA presented them.

The Lakers shot 41.7% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line. They turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 20 points for OKC.

LA started hot offensively, going up by seven early. OKC eventually caught up and tied the game, but LeBron continued his hot shooting. He was cooking with 10 points, the first player from either team in double figures. Chet Holmgren was leading the Thunder with seven points.

At the 6:56 mark, it was a tie game.

The Lakers did a great job defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who only had three points on two shot attempts. Los Angeles was shooting 47% from the field, while Oklahoma City was at 42%. 

At the 2:37 mark, LA was up by three. 

Jaylin Williams scored on a triple to tie it up again as part of a 9-2 OKC run to take a five-point lead going into the second. 

The Lakers led 24-22 with 1:44 left in the 1st Q, but allowed a 9-2 OKC run that put them down by 5 after 12 minutes of action.

LeBron's 12 points led all scorers.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) May 6, 2026

Both teams opened the second period missing their first shot attempts before Ajay Mitchell was fouled and converted on both free throws. Jared McCain then drained a 3-pointer, putting even more distance on OKC’s lead and forcing a timeout.

Ayton stopped the bleeding for LA with back-to-back baskets. 

The Lakers cut the deficit to three thanks to Ayton scoring again and Luke Kennard converting on three free throws. Cason Wallace stopped Los Angeles’ run with a triple. OKC responded well, giving themselves a bigger lead. 

Austin Reaves scored his first field goal on a layup. 

After a dunk by Holmgren, Jarred Vanderbilt, who was defending him, doubled over in pain and went straight to the locker room. He would eventually be ruled out for the game.

Marcus Smart splashed his first 3-pointer of the half. SGA started cooking, scoring a quick four points to make it a double-digit lead for Oklahoma City.

Smart stopped OKC’s 8-1 run with a triple. With the half winding down, Kennard knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer. On the other end, LeBron stole the ball and took it all the way for a dunk to make it a single-digit deficit. 

At halftime, the purple and gold were down by eight. 

The Thunder lead the Lakers 61-53 at the half. LeBron James has 16 points. Deandre Ayton has 10 and a team-high six rebounds. Luke Kennard has six points off the bench.

— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) May 6, 2026

Mitchell opened the third with a layup for the Thunder. After a few missed attempts from Ayton, Holmgren dunked on the other end. He was now up to 20 points. Smart got the Lakers on the board with a midrange jumper. 

LA continued to hang around with Smart scoring again, and Rui Hachimura knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game. 

It was a seven-point deficit at the 8:03 mark. Los Angeles was playing good defense and doing well, keeping themselves within striking distance. Hachimura drained another triple and made it a four-point deficit. 

SGA was up to five turnovers. 

It didn’t matter as OKC scored seven in a row, forcing a timeout from Los Angeles. Out of the break, LeBron scored a bucket in the paint. The quarter closed on a four-point play by Mitchell. Going into the fourth, the Lakers were down by 12. 

Instead of holding for the last shot of the quarter as is typical, Mitchell rose up for a contested corner 3 with 12.3 seconds in the 3rd … and hit it, plus the foul on Smart.

That gave OKC an 84-72 cushion heading into the 4th Q.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) May 6, 2026

A Los Angeles turnover started the final frame. Luckily for LA, the Thunder missed on the other end, which led to Hachimura being fouled and converting one of two free throws.

Oklahoma City then scored four in a row, which included a dunk by Alex Caruso, to make it a 15-point game. McCain drained two triples in a row as OKC built the lead to 19 points.

The Lakers tried one last time to get back into the game, pulling within 14 points with 6:08 left after a Hachimura triple. However, it’s as close as they would get as, with 3:50 left, Oklahoma City went up by 17, sealing the win for the Thunder. 

Key Player Stats

LeBron finished with 27 points, four rebounds and six assists. Ayton had 10 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. Austin Reaves had a rough offensive game with eight points on 3-16 shooting to go with his five rebounds and six assists. 

Smart pitched in with 12 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Hachimura put up 18 points, going 7-13 from the field. Kennard ended with seven points and five rebounds. 

Game 2 will be on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 6:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

Luka Doncic is still building towards a return, but it won't come in time for the start of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without Doncic for the start of their second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported on "Inside the NBA."

Charania reports the Lakers are evaluating Doncic on a week-to-week basis, and he is currently on a "slow path" in his recovery from a Grade 2 hamstring strain that has kept him sidelined for the past month.

"He's doing more and more on the court," Charania reported. "But right now, still not full-fledged running or full-contact workouts."

Did Luka Doncic play Tuesday night vs. Thunder?

No, he was out for Game 1.

When is Luka Doncic returning?

The timeline for his return is also still unclear, according to ESPN.

Doncic was seen putting shots up during Lakers practice on Monday, May 4, but he has yet to progress to 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 drills. Lakers head coach JJ Redick had no update for reporters.

Doncic has missed 11 games since straining his left hamstring against Oklahoma City on April 2. The Lakers have gone 7-4 in that span and ran out to a 3-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs against the Houston Rockets before winning the series in six games.

Luka Doncic, getting up shots Monday. When asked about his availability for Game 1, JJ Redick said, “no update.” pic.twitter.com/UZBw9x2E9R

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 4, 2026

The odds are stacked against Los Angeles yet again with a matchup against the defending NBA champion Thunder, who won a league-best 64 games in the regular season. The absence of Jalen Williams makes things slightly less lopsided, especially if the Lakers keep producing total team efforts with contributions from Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura.

Make no mistake, though: Doncic, who led the league in scoring with 33.5 points per game and finished third in assists with 8.3 per game, will be needed this series, as evidenced by the result of Game 1.

It just remains to be seen when – or if – he'll be back in time.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When will Luka Doncic return? Status for Lakers vs. Thunder series

The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit to tie the Detroit Pistons midway through the fourth, but an inability to get stops and scores when they needed them wound up in Detroit escaping with a 111-101 Game 1 victory.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents that player performing to our expectations for them.

James Harden

22 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds

Harden was brought in to help with games like this. They needed someone who could provide consistent ball-handling, playmaking, and relieve some of the pressure off Donovan Mitchell. Throughout the regular season and parts of the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors, he did that. However, there’s also been too many times he seems a step slow and isn’t able to take care of the ball. We saw that latter version far too much in Game 1.

Turnovers are painful in any context, but they hurt so much more against a team that struggles with its half-court offense. The amount of giveaways allowed Detroit to get out in transition and pick up easy baskets.

To be clear, turnovers were a team-wide issue. Harden isn’t the only one to blame. At the same time, there’s no excuse for your starting point guard to have seven giveaways.

Harden turned things around in the fourth quarter. Seven-straight points allowed the Cavs to tie the game. However, if he takes care of the ball like he should’ve they don’t find themselves in the hole they were in.

Grade: D

Donovan Mitchell

23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists

Mitchell hasn’t been himself since Game 2 of the first round. He’s registered fewer than 25 points in his last six games and hasn’t been forceful in getting to the basket. This game was no different, as he took just one shot in the restricted area and had only two free-throw attempts.

There isn’t much else to Mitchell’s game if he isn’t a premier scoring threat. Additionally, Cleveland’s margin for error is so thin if he’s not scoring at an elite level. This team was built around him taking games like this over.

Twenty-three points on 9-19 shooting just isn’t going to cut it in a road playoff game.

Grade: D+

Evan Mobley

14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks

The Cavs needed a big game from one of the members of the core four to steal this one. There were times in the first half where it felt like it was going to come from Mobley, but that didn’t pan out.

Cleveland needed Mobley to step up with Allen in foul trouble, and he didn’t. Detroit’s offensive rebounding helped win them this game. And even though it’s unfair to pin that all on one person, Mobley could’ve done a better job of keeping Detroit’s bigs, particularly Jalen Duren, off the glass.

There were some positive signs from Mobley. I thought the passing was quite good. But this is a game they needed their big man to set the tone in the paint, and he couldn’t.

Grade: D+

Max Strus

19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Strus’s 10-point third quarter got the Cavs back into a game. His shooting and grit helped turn the momentum and were much needed on a night that Cleveland struggled to get any offensive consistency.

Sometimes Strus’s impact isn’t felt on the box score. It was tonight with his efficient 19 points on 13 shots.

Grade: A+

Keon Ellis

3 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists

Ellis got his first real minutes of the postseason since he was benched after Game 4 against the Raptors, after Sam Merrill left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury.

He performed adequately in his role. Ellis picked up Cade Cunningham full court and showed his active hands, registering two steals. That’s exactly what you want to see from Ellis if he’s forced into minutes.

Grade: B-

Jarrett Allen

2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist

Allen picked up three fouls in the first quarter, which limited his minutes the rest of the game. Head coach Kenny Atkinson should’ve given him more than just 16 minutes after the first quarter, but Allen also can’t put himself in that position in the first place.

The Cavs needed Allen’s rebounding and the rim pressure he provides. Neither was possible due to foul trouble.

Grade: D

Dennis Schroder

9 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound

Schroder provided some scoring punch and energy off the bench. That was needed. What wasn’t was the four turnovers he also committed.

Giveaways were what cost them this game. Schroder was the team’s second biggest offender. That’s going to knock his grade significantly.

Grade: D+

Dean Wade

5 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds

The Cavs needed Wade’s defense on Cade Cunningham. Conversely, they also struggled offensively whenever he was on the floor due to Detroit cheating off him and his inability to make them pay with either his outside shot or attacking off-the-dribble.

Grade: C-

Thomas Bryant

4 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists

I’m not sure why Bryant got meaningful minutes in the second half of this game. He hasn’t made a positive impact in the previous postseason games he’s played in, and didn’t do so again tonight. Once again, Bryant was a step slow defensively, wasn’t able to clean the glass, and didn’t provide anything on offense.

I get that they needed some additional minutes at center with Allen in foul trouble. But there wasn’t room in this game to give him 10 minutes of run.

Grade: D

Sam Merrill

0 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist

Merrill left the game in the first half with a hamstring injury. He was limited to under seven minutes in Game 1.

Grade: Incomplete

Jaylon Tyson

0 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

Tyson didn’t make an impact as a scorer, but he did a good job of staying with Detroit’s wings — including Cunningham — defensively. That, combined with being a reliable rebounder, made him a useful player.

Grade: C+

The injury luck for the Los Angeles Lakers, somehow, just got worse.

Backup forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a right hand injury on Tuesday, May 5 during the second quarter of Los Angeles’ conference semifinal game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The injury took place with 5:51 left in the first half, when Vanderbilt’s fingers swiped against the left side of the backboard as he attempted to block a shot by Thunder center Chet Holmgren.

As soon as Vanderbilt made contact into the padding, he went down to the court in visible discomfort and was yelling as he was grabbing his hand.

According to ESPN, Vanderbilt suffered a full dislocation of his right, pinky finger.

“I just talked to him,” Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters after the game. “He’s in as good of spirits as you can be in this situation, obviously frustrated with what happened.”

pic.twitter.com/JqH86uzL8B

— Follow: @PurpGoldLakers (@PGMediaaa) May 6, 2026

It’s unclear how long this might keep him out, but it’s worth noting that Vanderbilt is a left-handed shooter.

The NBC broadcast reported the injury was “gruesome” and indicated that Lakers trainers had to put a towel over it to conceal the injury.

In fact, the NBC broadcast showed the moment when it happened, and the Oklahoma City bench had a visible reaction when players got a closer look at Vanderbilt’s hand as he was being ushered off the floor.

“I went to go check on him (during the game) because it looked bad,” Redick said. “He was screaming and knew he had done something. We’re obviously disappointed that it happened. It’s just a freak injury.”

Look at the Thunders reaction to Vando’s injury. pic.twitter.com/KknAV1Yg2e

— Showtime Luka (@showtimeluka) May 6, 2026

The Lakers ruled Vanderbilt out for the rest of the game.

His injury comes as the team continues to be without All-Star guard Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain) and is only a week or so since Austin Reaves returned from his oblique injury.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jarred Vanderbilt injury update: Lakers forward suffers finger injury

Well, I missed the first few minutes of this game because we had to take our puppy to the pet urgent care after she found some chocolate on the floor of the pantry – just to turn right back around as soon as we got there to find out she didn’t eat enough chocolate for it to be toxic. Fun times!

Now, back to basketball.

Cleveland big man Jarrett Allen picked up three quick fouls early and Detroit was able to take advantage. After Cleveland started the game 5-0, Detroit responded with a 30-9 run to take a 30-14 lead late in the first quarter. Javonte Green drilled a buzzer-beating three to give Detroit a 37-21 lead after one.

Donovan Mitchell looked good early as he was the focal point of the Cavs offense. They opened the quarter on a 7-2 run, but James Harden was struggling against Detroit’s defense as the Pistons held a 49-35 lead with five minutes left in the half. Ausar Thompson chased down Keon Ellis in transition with one of the nastiest chase-down blocks I’ve ever seen:

DEFENSIVE MENACE https://t.co/Ws2wzJQe4wpic.twitter.com/LtqABmVtf4

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) May 6, 2026

Detroit was up 59-46 at halftime after leading by 18 late in the first quarter. Cleveland turned the ball over 11 times in the half as Detroit’s defense was giving the Cavs issues, particularly for Harden as he was guarded mostly by Cade. Cunningham led the way for the Pistons with 14 points while Tobias added 10 – the two combined to shoot 11-for-13 from the free throw line. Donovan Mitchell had 14, but no other Cavs player was in double-digits.

The Pistons opened the second half with back-to-back threes from Duncan Robinson, but Cleveland was battling back despite more Harden turnovers turning into Detroit points. After being up 16 early in the third, Cleveland cut the Detroit lead to four after a 23-10 run. The momentum looked to be shifting in the Cavs direction until a Ron Holland three at the buzzer ended the third with Detroit up 83-76.

In what should be an incredibly fun series, things got chippy after Dennis Schröder got a technical foul for standing over Robinson. Detroit responded with some incredible play from Jalen Duren. He had a great block at the rim on Thomas Bryant, then snagged an offensive rebound off a missed free throw to find Duncan for an open three. After Robinson followed that up with an and-one layup, both of them let James Harden hear about it – this picture captures it in all its glory:

GAME ONE SECURED. ✅ pic.twitter.com/Jd6qQPnyZI

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) May 6, 2026

Cleveland responded with an 11-0 run behind some Harden floaters and flopping free throws to tie the game at 93, but that’s when Cade and Duren took over. Cunningham found JD on three consecutive possessions for dunks, including two pretty drop off passes after Cade collapsed the Cleveland defense. It was too much for Cleveland to come back from and Detroit would go on to win Game 1 111-101.

THAT CADE TO JD CONNECTION 😤 pic.twitter.com/4fdZyUDBph

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) May 6, 2026

Cunningham led the way for Detroit with 23 points despite not shooting it well, but five other Pistons were in double-digits to help him out. Tobias “Unc” Harris had another 20-point game along with eight rebounds and continues to wear the #2 scorer’s hat for the Pistons this postseason. Duncan Robinson had 19 points and added five threes while Daniss Jenkins provided some quality backup PG minutes off the bench with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren both had 11 points, but Detroit does not win this game without their effort, rebounding, and defense. Duren added 12 rebounds and four assists while Thompson had eight rebounds and five assists. If you only check the box score, it’s going to severely underscore the impact that Duren had on this game. He had some fantastic contests at the rim and had multiple sequences that helped Detroit maintain the lead – the few that come to mind are the block on Thomas Bryant, the offensive rebound and pass to Duncan for three, and his three consecutive dunks late in the fourth. This was JD’s best game of the postseason.

It was way more of a team performance for Detroit in their first game of Round 2. They were able to force 19 Cleveland turnovers to turn that into 31 points, and I believe them turning their defense into offense was what carried them to beating the Cavs tonight. We’ll see if they can repeat this performance in Game 2 Thursday night on Amazon Prime.

Three more wins to go.

Go Stones.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to win a playoff series in the Donovan Mitchell era after losing Game 1. They hope that trend ends after they were defeated by the Detroit Pistons 111-101.

Cleveland had plenty of chances to win this game, but a poor start and too many turnovers allowed Detroit to come away with the win.

The Cavs found themselves down early. They opened the game on a 5-0 run, but quickly relinquished all the momentum from there. The Cavs turned it over six times in the first quarter, which led to 12 points going the other way.

Meanwhile, Detroit didn’t turn it over once in the first quarter.

This meant that the Cavs had to work for everything offensively in the half-court, while the Pistons were able to supplement their offense with easy transition baskets. This all added up to Detroit taking an 18-point lead in the first quarter and closing the frame up 16.

Cleveland settled down a bit in the second quarter. They closed the gap to nine midway through the quarter, but couldn’t get it lower than that. Turnovers, particularly from the guards, remained an issue.

The Cavs got back into the game in the third. A 7-0 run at the start and middle of the quarter allowed Cleveland to chip away at the deficit.

Max Strus provided a scoring spark in that frame. He had 10 points on 4-6 shooting, which included going 2-3 from beyond the arc with a steal.

The Cavs cut the Pistons’ lead down to three, but a strong close to the quarter, which included a Ronald Holland buzzer-beating triple, gave Detroit a seven-point lead heading into the fourth.

Cleveland carried the momentum into the fourth quarter. They pulled even midway through the final frame with seven-straight points by James Harden, after he had an awful first three quarters.

Detroit’s offense responded from there. After coming up empty on their next trip down the court, the Pistons scored on their next six possessions. The Cavs couldn’t keep pace as the Pistons came away with a 10-point victory.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson has stressed the importance of winning the possession battle all year. This game showed why.

The Cavs lost this one with their careless turnovers and inability to secure defensive rebounds.

Cleveland gave it away on 21.3% of their possessions (5th percentile). This translated to 20 turnovers, leading to 31 points for Detroit.

Harden was the worst offender. He gave it away seven times of his own. That’s unacceptable from a veteran starting point guard who was brought in to help in high-leverage situations.

This was coupled with the Pistons retrieving 34% of their missed shots (77th percentile). This allowed them to win in second-chance points 19-11.

The Cavs weren’t able to overcome these issues with their star backcourt

Donovan Mitchell wasn’t great by his standards. He was held to just 23 points on 9-19 shooting and had just two attempts at the free-throw line. Mitchell has yet to register 25 or more points or shoot better than 50% from the field in a road playoff game this season.

Harden provided 22 points, seven assists, eight rebounds, and seven turnovers in the loss. He shot just 6-15 from the field, which included going 1-7 from three. Most of Harden’s scoring came at the line, where he went 9-9.

Strus had 19 points on 7-13 shooting with five rebounds and two assists.

Evan Mobley was good for spurts, but couldn’t establish a consistent scoring rhythm. He had 14 points on 6-11 shooting with nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.

Foul trouble limited Game 7 hero Jarrett Allen to just 18 minutes. He had just two points on 1-4 shooting.

The Pistons were led by 23 points from Cade Cunningham on 6-19 shooting with seven assists. Tobias Harris and 20 points on 6-14 shooting, while Duncan Robinson provided 19 points on 5-8 shooting from three.

The Cavs had chances to win this game, but they couldn’t make the plays on either end when they needed to.

Game 2 in Detroit is set for Thursday at 7 PM.

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown $50,000 for public criticism of game officials following Boston's first-round exit from the playoffs.

The fine was announced by NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations James Jones on Tuesday night, two days after Brown said in a livestream he hosts that game officials “clearly had an agenda” to call fouls against him for "pushing off" when he drove toward the basket while handling the ball.

“There’s some referees that need to be investigated,” Brown said on the livestream Sunday, a day after the Celtics' 109-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series.

“Every good basketball player does this. What are y’all talking about? They clearly had an agenda,” Brown said.

Brown was previously fined $35,000 in January after a two-minute postgame rant about the officiating following Boston's loss to San Antonio.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Turns out smack-talking officials on Twitch comes with a cost.

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown learned this the hard way.

The NBA announced Tuesday, May 5 that Brown has been fined $50,000 for comments he made during a Twitch livestream Sunday, May 3, one day after the Celtics fell in Game 7 of the first round of the NBA playoffs.

NBA executive vice president, head of basketball operations James Jones announced the fine in a statement.

Brown expressed his displeasure about several specific plays from Boston’s 109-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and insinuated that he was being officiated differently from his competitors.

“They clearly had an agenda, maybe because I spoke so critically of them in the regular season,” Brown said during the livestream. “I actually spoke to some refs, and they told me there’s an agenda going on each game, every time Jaylen puts his arm up, just call it.”

Brown said that it was a simple basketball play that several other players do.

“Philly took advantage of that and the officiating and it cost us to some degree,” he added.

During the livestream, Brown even replayed film of the plays in question and also called out 76ers center Joel Embiid by name, accusing him of embellishing contact to get to the line.

“Flopping has ruined our league,” Brown said. “Joel Embiid is a great player. One of the best bigs in basketball history. Flops. He knows it.”

The first-round elimination was Boston’s earliest exit in the postseason since 2021.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA punishes Jaylen Brown for comments about refs

The back half of the NBA conference semifinals tipped off with another pair of series openers.

In the first game Tuesday, May 5, the No. 1 Pistons built an early lead against No. 4 Cavaliers, extending it to as many as 18 points, but Detroit needed to fend off a Cleveland rally in the fourth to defend homecourt.

In the nightcap, the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder continued their quest to repeat with a defensive masterclass at home against the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Lakers.

Here are the winners and losers from Tuesday night’s conference semifinal games between the Pistons and Cavaliers and Thunder and Lakers:

LAKERS VS. THUNDER: Updates, highlights, scores from Game 1

Lakers vs. Thunder Game 1 box score

• Oklahoma City Thunder 108, Los Angeles Lakers 90

Cavaliers vs. Pistons Game 1 box score

• Detroit Pistons 111, Cleveland Cavaliers 101

WINNERS

Jared McCain, Cason Wallace and the Thunder bench deliver

Oklahoma City’s bench is one of its several strengths, and the group was ready in Game 1. The Thunder bench outscored L.A.’s by a 34-15 margin, which put intense pressure on the Lakers when their starters sat.

Jared McCain led the way with 12 points, but Isaiah Joe chipped in 9 and Alex Caruso and Cason Wallce added 5 points apiece. It’s not just offense, however, where this group makes its mark. Wallace and Caruso are excellent defenders and Wallace — as he has most of the season — was a menace; he swiped 3 steals and also recorded 1 block.

So on a night when the Lakers threw bodies at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the role players delivered.

Detroit gets to the line

How does a team shoot a worse percentage than its opponent, have only one more field goal yet win by 10? Get to the free throw line.

The plan for the Pistons early in the game was clear: attack the paint and put Cavs defenders in compromising positions. The Pistons went to the line 35 times and converted 27 of those for a solid 77.1% from the stripe.

And for all the free throws the Pistons shot, the Cavaliers were on the opposite end, going 15-of-16 (93.8%). That means that, in a 10-point game, Detroit’s advantage from the line created a +12 edge.

“I want to separate this from the game,” Donovan Mitchell told reporters after the loss. “The free throw disparity is not why we lost tonight — I want to make sure I say that, but I don’t know, I’m trying to get downhill.

“A friend of mine (Jaylen Brown) got fined for talking about flopping, so I’m not going to try to double down, but, like, I feel like that’s what I’ve got to do at this point. I’m trying to get downhill, get to the bucket and sometimes people are in my way and I’m trying to fight through contact and I’m not getting these calls.”

JAYLEN BROWN: NBA punishes Celtics star for Twitch comments about refs

Pistons turn turnovers into points

The other reason Detroit launched massive runs was because it turned defense into offense. Detroit’s perimeter players smothered Cleveland’s guards, jumping passing lanes and forcing tough passes in pick-and-roll actions. That flustered the Cavs and led to easy Pistons points in transition.

The Pistons forced 19 turnovers (compared to only 11 committed), which led to a 31-16 edge in points off turnovers.

Not surprisingly, Detroit also sprinted to a 15-6 advantage in fastbreak points.

The Pistons find balance

They’ll still want more offense out of Jalen Duren (11 points on 4-of-11 shooting), but the Pistons didn’t need to rely entirely on Cade Cunningham. And, for Detroit, that’s a recipe for success.

Tobias Harris (20 points) continued his hot start to the playoffs, Duncan Robinson (19) drained 5 3-pointers and Daniss Jenkins  (12) provided a spark off the bench.

LOSERS

Austin Reaves

Essentially, with Dončić out, the Lakers need to play as close to perfect hoops as possible to have a chance against the defending champs. Austin Reaves is playing in just his third game since returning from an oblique injury, so some initial struggles are to be expected. Los Angeles, however, cannot afford that.

Reaves was harassed by Oklahoma City’s perimeter defense and he shot just 3-of-16 from the field, finishing with only 8 points.

One issue Reaves may face in this series is the size and length of the Thunder defenders. Whether it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso — all excellent defenders in their own right — their physicality made it tough for Reaves all night long.

Cavaliers' James Harden and Donovan Mitchell

Simply put: there’s no way the Cavaliers will have a chance in this series if their top two scorers struggle through three quarters the way they did Tuesday night. Mitchell showed some promise in the first half, scoring 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Yet, he scored only 3 in the third quarter.

The night for Harden was even worse. After averaging 23.6 points per game in the regular season, Harden had committed more turnovers (5) through three quarters than he had made field goals (2).

The pair did pick it up in the fourth to combine for 19 points, but playing from behind is a tough task against Detroit.

Jarrett Allen's early fouls cost Cavs

He was, arguably, the biggest reason why Cleveland topped the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 in the first round. Allen was a force Sunday, May 3, scoring 22 points and hauling in 19 rebounds, eight of which were offensive.

Tuesday night it was a different story. The Pistons went right at Allen in the first quarter, drawing three early fouls on him in the first 5:58 of the game. That took him out of the game completely, and he finished the night with just 2 points and 3 rebounds in 18:22 on the floor.  

Jarred Vanderbilt injury worsens Lakers tough luck

It’s bad enough that Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain) remains out and may miss the entire second round against the Thunder, but things got worse for Los Angeles.

Backup forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a right hand injury when his fingers swiped against the left side of the backboard as he attempted to block a shot. The NBC broadcast reported the injury was “gruesome” and indicated that Lakers trainers had to put a towel over it to conceal the injury. The Lakers ruled him out for the rest of the game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cavaliers vs Pistons, Lakers vs Thunder: Winners, losers in NBA today