MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 11: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs goes to the basket against Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter at Target Center on January 11, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 David Berding/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Ah, yes, it’s the Spurs-Wolves second-round clash that everyone anticipated! No one around here penciled in a Spurs-Nuggets tilt, and there’s also no evidence of yours truly crashing out following San Antonio’s final regular-season loss to Denver.
Now that we have our matchup set, it’s time to dive into some stylistic battles that could take place. Given the small sample size of the first round, the stats used will come from the regular season, and Minnesota’s numbers will reflect data from lineups without Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards — although the latter could come back later in the series.
Let’s start with the Wolves’ shot diet.
Minnesota’s shot chart
The Wolves take 36.3% of their shots at the rim (top 5 league-wide) while converting on just 64.5% of those attempts (bottom5). It goes without saying that Wemby will make their lives much tougher, as opponents are shooting just 60.8% in that area with him playing. More importantly, only 26.2% of attempts are at the rim when Wemby’s on, and the Alien’s presence will force Minnesota to shoot from farther out.
Assuming Wemby camps in the paint due to Gobert’s lacklustre offensive game, the Wolves will focus on pull-up 3s and long 2s. Some of their guards caught fire in round 1, but the full-season stats indicate that Minnesota is a below-average shooting team from every area of the floor except above-the-break 3s, and even that came on extremely low volume. The Wolves will need to find other sources of offense if their shooting reverts to the norm, and one potential solution is to crash the boards.
Offensive rebounding
The biggest matchup advantage Minnesota has over San Antonio is their size at the forward positions. None of the Spurs’ forwards can match up physically against Julius Randle and Naz Reid, which could allow the Wolves to fatten up on the offensive glass. Still, that is easier said than done, as the Wolves’ 28.6% OREB is decidedly average, while the Spurs’ 74.1% DREB ranked first league-wide.
If they decide to go down this route, Minnesota will need to be comfortable taking shots deeper in the paint to force Wemby to commit, leaving the backline more exposed. Even so, there’s a good chance that the Alien will either block the shot or recover fast enough to grab the rebound. The Wolves might be forced to play lineups featuring all of McDaniels, Reid, Randle, and Gobert — a quartet that saw minutes in the Denver series but only logged 71 possessions together in the regular season.
Transition opportunities
If the Wolves prioritize the offensive glass, then they’ll be giving the Spurs easier opportunities to run. Minnesota would be playing into a strength of San Antonio’s, as they rank 6th and 8th, respectively, in transition frequency and points per play. On the other hand, the Wolves could decide that the defensive tradeoff is not worth the potential offensive gain, and they could go big to prioritize defensive boards instead. Minnesota increased their DREB from 66.7% in the regular season (9th percentile) to 79.2% in round 1 against Denver (95th), and they’ll prevent the Spurs from getting easy second-chance points if this continues.
The Wolves could push the pace themselves if defensive rebounding remains a priority. They ranked 6th in transition points per play in the regular season, and both teams were top 10 in preventing opposing transition opportunities too. Fast break points are clearly an emphasis for both teams, and the winner in that category could be determined by the size of Minnesota’s lineups and which side of the rebounding battle they prioritize.
Pace
This one is very simple: both teams are better when they play fast. Minnesota and San Antonio ranked 10th and 12th, respectively, in pace in the regular season, and are now tied for 1st and 3rd in the playoffs. The Wolves were able to take Denver out of rhythm by speeding them up, but doing so against the Spurs would only benefit the black and silver.
For San Antonio, Stephon Castle specifically needs to play with speed and purpose. Portland cut the Spurs’ large lead down to single digits in game five of round 1 because Castle started walking the ball up without getting into any action until the shot clock almost expired. However, San Antonio’s offense is almost impossible to stop when he’s running handoffs and attacking closeouts, which is how the Spurs built their lead.
When Gobert’s been played off the floor in the past, it was always due to issues with his offense, not defense. That problem could rear its ugly head again in this series if his lack of a post game and shooting allows Wemby to camp in the paint, allowing the latter to shut off Minnesota’s drives and rim attempts. Given the ability of the Spurs’ guards to fight through screens and defend, Gobert won’t be able to make as big an impact as a screener either, which could render him close to a zero on offense.
Defensively, Gobert’s matchup with Wemby will be the polar opposite of the one he had against Jokic. Wemby’s lob threat as a roll man and his ability to come off screens will force Gobert to guard in space, which is why I expect him to be assigned to Castle instead. Similar to what Portland did, Gobert can sag off the second-year guard (who quietly hit over 40% from three on five attempts a game against the Blazers) and stay in the paint, while physical forwards like Randle and Reid match up with Wemby instead. The Spurs found counters to this strategy by running hand-offs with Castle (as was shown above), but that might be the lesser of all evils given the offensive versatility that San Antonio has.
Another wrinkle in the Gobert-Wemby matchup is the number of corner threes the Spurs generate. In the regular season, Wemby’s roll gravity helped San Antonio take 13.8% of their shots from the corners when he played, which was one of the highest recorded numbers ever. However, the Wolves are elite at preventing shots from the corners, conceding just 8.6% of such attempts to their opponents, which was one of the five lowest marks league-wide. If Gobert can guard the paint alone, the other Wolves players can focus on playing man defense and prevent open looks instead of worrying about packing the paint to stop lobs to Wemby.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - MARCH 22: CJ Huntley #22 of the Phoenix Suns in action during his NBA debut in the game against the Toronto Raptors at Mortgage Matchup Center on March 22, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to our Phoenix Suns Season in Review series, where we revisit every player who suited up during the 2025–26 campaign through the lens of expectation, reality, and what it ultimately meant.
Player Snapshot
Position: SF/PF
Age: 24
Contract Status: Two-Way, RFA in 2027-28
SunsRank (Preseason): 18
SunsRank (Postseason): 18
*SunsRank is based on Bright Side writers’ ranking.
Season in One Sentence
From undrafted to two-way to waived to two-way, the rookie year for CJ Huntley was full of earning opportunities and the establishment of his personal foundation.
By the Numbers
GP
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
BLK
FG%
3PT%
FT%
OFFRTG
DEFRTG
+/- (TOTAL)
4
10.0
3.0
1.3
0.5
0.0
54.5%
0.0%
0.0%
122.4
104.7
+15
Let’s take a look at his stats with the Valley Suns.
GP
MIN
PPG
RPG
APG
BLK
FG%
3PT%
FT%
OFFRTG
DEFRTG
+/- (TOTAL)
29
27.4
16.0
8.5
1.1
1.2
62.3%
33.8%
69.0%
111.6
118.0
-162
The Expectation
There were not many expectations for CJ Huntley entering the season. When you are the last man on the roster, that is the reality. He signed a two-way contract with the Suns after he went undrafted. Not long into the season, Phoenix waived him to create space for Jamaree Bouyea. Huntley cleared waivers and stayed in the mix. Later in the year, after a few subsequent moves, the Suns brought him back on a two-way deal.
From an expectations standpoint, the goal was simple. Get reps. Learn in the G.
The Reality
The reality with Huntley is that he is a solid foundational piece to have at the back end of a roster. There is room to grow, but the tools are there. He has size, he plays with a motor, and over five years at Appalachian State, he showed steady improvement from three. Around the rim, he has a natural feel for finishing.
The challenge shows up on the defensive end. In his Valley Suns run, there were flashes offensively that stood out. Defensively, there were lapses in positioning, slower reactions, and moments where the read was a beat late. Those are areas that can develop, but at 24, you are also weighing how much growth is still coming.
Could he become a rotation piece? It feels unlikely. As a deep bench option, someone you keep in your system and turn to when needed, he makes sense.
What It Means
Having him under contract on a two-way through next season is a smart move for Phoenix. Is he turning into the next great power forward? Probably not. But what he can provide — size, effort, and the potential to space the floor as a 3-and-D wing — has value. You want those kinds of guys in your organization. Because they may hit, and if they don’t, they are ideal players to sharpen the iron of those around them.
Defining Moment
The best moment of the season for Huntley came with the Valley Suns on the day he signed his two-way contract. He went off that night and gave you a glimpse of what he can be offensively.
Huntley is the kind of player you like having in your system, and based on expectations coming into the season, I land on a B-.
That is what makes these grades interesting. It depends on what you are measuring. If this were based strictly on his impact with the Phoenix Suns, it would be an F. He did not factor in at that level. The B- reflects what he showed in the G League and how that aligned with what I expected. You could even argue for an A. There were no real expectations attached to him. He met the moment that was there.
What we saw in Summer League carried over. He popped. The question was always sustainability, and the G League gave a clearer answer. There is something there. There is also a ceiling. And it feels finite.
HOUSTON, TX – MAY 1: Tari Eason #17 of the Houston Rockets dribbles the ball during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers during Round One Game Six of the...
HOUSTON — Austin Reaves couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it happened.
The Lakers’ Deandre Ayton (5) and his teammates stymied the Rockets with their defensive intensity. NBAE via Getty Images
Nearly midway through the regular season, the Lakers ranked 26th in defensive rating, performing even worse on the less glamorous end of the floor than even their biggest detractors expected entering the season.
Only a few of the worst teams in the NBA (Kings, Pelicans, Wizards and Jazz) ranked worse than them defensively at the time.
The Lakers knew a change was needed, and it came during their 110-93 win over the Raptors on Jan. 18, when they started playing more zone defense than they had up to that point in the season.
“Our voices, we were talking more, we were rotating more — that was like a starter for us to kind of get the feel of what that communication looks like,” Reaves said. “And then we could change defenses, we could throw different schemes.”
Even though the Lakers barely played zone defense against the Rockets, the carryover from what coach JJ Redick and his staff were looking to emphasize was evident.
“When we started first playing zone, it did force everybody to communicate with one another and force guys that other teams probably wouldn’t see as communicators to be able to communicate, which ultimately put them in the right position because now they’re talking,” Marcus Smart said. “Now, they’re keeping their head on a swivel, they’re seeing things. So, I definitely have to agree with [Reaves] on that when we started to play that zone. And obviously we didn’t play that much zone in this series, but it helped us when we did play our man, to understand that everybody out there has to talk, and you don’t want to be the weak link.”
It was a collective defensive effort that got the Lakers their first playoff series victory since 2023, starting with Smart and LeBron James (in Year 23) setting the tone.
“In the NBA, you need to have an openness,” Redick said. “And whether that’s LeBron who’s been an All-Defensive player, arguably should have been Defensive Player of the Year multiple times, Smart’s been Defensive Player of the Year; they just buy into whatever schemes that we come up with. When you get buy-in from those guys, it’s easy to sort of execute because then the accountability piece is there.”
The Rockets’ Tari Eason and his teammates struggled against the Lakers’ defense during the first-round series. NBAE via Getty Images
Deandre Ayton controlled the interior, whether it was strong 1-on-1 defense as the primary matchup against Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun or closing out possessions with defensive rebounds.
Sengun scored 32 points on 15-of-37 shooting (40.5%) when Ayton was the closest defender to him and only drew one shooting foul, according to the league’s matchup data.
The Lakers were a significantly better defensive rebounding team when Ayton was on the floor, even if he wasn’t the one grabbing the board.
He led the Lakers with 7.3 defensive rebounds per game, including 9.3 in the final three games of the series against the Rockets, who were the best offensive rebounding team in the league.
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“You have to have some type of stop sign where enough is enough,” Ayton said. “You have to match their physicality in a way where it’s contagious to your teammates as well. So I just tried to play as I am, the biggest dude on the court, and just go out and get every damn rebound. It got to a point where I didn’t even know I was hitting guys and giving certain blows, just off boxing out and to where you keep hitting them, hitting them, they eventually break.”
But even going all the way back to last offseason when the roster was put together.
The Lakers weren’t expected to be the kind of team that could ride their defense to postseason success.
The series against the Rockets showed the progress they made.
“It means everything,” Smart said. “It shows our resilience, and it shows the belief that we have in the next man up. It shows the belief that the coaching staff has in us to be able to, you know, put us in the right position. It just shows that no matter how depleted we are, we’re always going to go out there and compete and give everything we got and our trust in each other.”
SGP leg #1: Cade Cunningham Over 44.5 points + rebounds + assists
In the playoffs, Cade Cunningham ranks second in points per game, first in field goal attempts, third in free throw attempts, and fourth in minutes.
His 23 field goal attempts are up from 18.6 in the regular season. His free throws have increased from six per game to 10.7, and his minutes have shot up from 33.9 to 40.5.
Cunningham leads all players in postseason usage at 35.3%. The Detroit Pistons go as far as Cade takes them, and the team will need him to stuff the stat sheet in order to complete the series comeback and avoid an upset by the No. 8 seed.
SGP leg #2: Pistons -9
The Orlando Magic have outplayed the Pistons for most of the series, but the psychological aspect of competition comes into play here.
The Magic were up 22 points at halftime in front of the home crowd before suffering a historic meltdown, blowing their chances to complete the upset and advance to the second round.
The Pistons were clearly feeling themselves at the end of Game 6, and they’ve got swagger and momentum to go with home-court advantage. Orlando has got to be reeling, and I’ll bet on Detroit to win this one by double digits.
SGP leg #3: Under 203
Scoring has come at a major premium in this series, and the game total Under has hit in four of six matchups. The game total has gone Under 203.5 in three of six, including two of the last three.
Both teams failed to record 100 points three times in the series, and I’ll take the Under in what should be a gritty, physical dogfight, 2004-style.
Get Zak Hanshew's full breakdown of this game, including his best bet, plus the latest NBA odds, injuries, and betting trends, in his Magic vs Pistons predictions for Game 7.
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TORONTO, CANADA - MAY 01: Jamal Shead #23 of the Toronto Raptors is defended by James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter in Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on May 01, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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 Cole Burston/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Toronto Raptors aren’t supposed to be here.
But they are anyway, and it’s the best-case scenario for a team surviving mostly off their instincts. They’ve learned to live with injuries to key players and miraculously adapted to the harsh environment of playoff basketball.
They have one last mountain to climb in their Game 7 matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that’s mandatory for any team playing with house money.
With a monumental upset now potentially in play, here are six things the Raptors must overcome ahead of the 7:30 p.m. EST tip-off:
History
The Raptors are 3-3 in Game 7:
Lost 88-87 to the Philadelphia 76ers (2001)
Lost 104-103 to the Brooklyn Nets (2014)
Won 89-84 against the Indiana Pacers (2016)
Won 116-89 against the Miami Heat (2016)
Won 92-90 against the Philadelphia 76ers (2019)
Lost 92-87 to the Boston Celtics (2020)
That’s not a bad winning percentage compared to the rest of the league. Legacy organizations like the Boston Celtics (0.729) and Los Angeles Lakers (0.666) rank the best, especially amongst those with the most experience. Modern-day contenders like the Oklahoma City Thunder (8/13) and the New York Knicks (7/16) offer a more realistic spectrum of results.
The real concern lies with the fact that home teams have won 74 per cent of the time throughout the history of the NBA. For all of the discourse surrounding the length of the regular-season, there’s still tremendous value in putting in the work during the marathon of a grind.
Troubles in the fourth
After averaging 35.3 points in the fourth quarter throughout the first four games of the series, the Raptors have mightily struggled in the final frame during the last two contests. Cleveland has figured something out or is playing with more urgency. They’ve limited Toronto to an average of 14.5 points in Games 5 and 6. The Raptors are also a combined -19 during this stretch. A part of their issue can be attributed to the loss of Brandon Ingram.
Assuming Ingram won’t be available despite his status being upgraded to questionable, this won’t cut it in Game 7. Even if the Raptors get off to a great start and figure out how to maintain it, it’ll all come down to whether they can produce in the final 12 minutes.
Can the Canadian do it again?
A part of the problem with the team’s late-game offence stems from RJ Barrett. The Canadian knocked down one of the greatest shots in Raptors history, but the road to that legendary moment was a bumpy one. In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers fully lean into a strategic decision to put length (either Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen) on Barrett to negate his drive. While Barrett found success earlier in the series, credit Mobley and Allen for doing a better job of absorbing contact and making it difficult for any over-the-top finishes.
Even with his wrecking-ball style limited, what’s further complicating things is that Barrett’s outside shooting has abandoned him late in games. The Cavaliers are daring Barrett to beat them from the perimeter late in games. It ultimately worked out in the Raptors’ favour to win Game 6, but will it carry over to Game 7?
Need more from Shead
Another symptom of the Raptors’ offensive struggles traces back to Jamal Shead. The point guard is the most obvious Raptors bulldog. It’s easy to spot the Kyle Lowry mannerism. Unfortunately, like Lowry, Shead has battled with his outside jumper during his young career. While he was never the sub-30 per cent shooter that Lowry was during his first four seasons, Raptors fans understand that anything Shead provides from beyond-the-arc is a breath of fresh air.
The Cavaliers have hedged their bets on the law of averages, often leading to wide-open shots for Shead in the fourth quarter. He frustratingly missed multiple attempts from the corner in Game 5 and went 2-for-7 in Game 6.
Toronto has done a few things to counter this, like putting the ball in Shead’s hands more, which leverages his strengths as a ball-handler and set-up man. But there will be pivotal moments when the ball is in the hands of Barrett or Scottie Barnes, and chances are Shead will be called on to hit a series-clinching type of shot.
Mobley is a problem
After being labelled as the primary reason for Cleveland dropping the first two games in Toronto, Mobley has quieted the doubters. Mobley averaged 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 0-for-7 from deep during Games 3 and 4. Since then, the big man has averaged 24.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. He has also knocked down six of his 10 three-point attempts.
He confidently attacked Collin Murray-Boyles to send the game into overtime on Friday and nearly knocked down the game-winner in overtime.
Mobley is getting strong as the series progresses and another stellar performance could mean trouble for the Raptors.
Pride matters
Mobley’s running-mate in Allen has also answered the call over the last two games. Allen drew criticism for how he handled the Raptors’ decision to guard him with a smaller player. While Toronto survived hiding players like Barrett, Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter on Allen earlier in the series, the Cavaliers centre has done a better job of exploiting the size mismatch.
The Raptors’ most physical bigs (Barnes and Murray-Boyles) also happen to be their two best perimeter defenders. Toronto has understandably declared Donovan Mitchell and James Harden as the more dangerous threat, which means getting creative with Allen and Mobley.
In Game 6, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had no choice but to deploy Jakob Poeltl. The Austrian centre played a series-high 21 minutes. This isn’t necessarily a sustainable option. Extended minutes for Poeltl mean other schematic issues could – and typically do – materialize.
Unfortunately, the Raptors may not have a choice after being out-rebounded 65-48 (19-10 on the offensive boards) in Game 6.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) attempts a layup between Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36) and forward Rui Hachimura during a regular-season game. The Lakers went 0-4 against Oklahoma City this season. (Nate Billings / Associated Press)
The Lakers were supposed to be the easy playoff matchup in the difficult Western Conference. They didn’t get the memo.
The Lakers season took a turn for the worst the last time the Lakers played in Oklahoma City, losing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to regular-season ending injuries. The demoralizing loss sent the Lakers into a three-game tail spin one month before the playoffs.
“I had no doubt in my mind that we could get the group back and build the belief and confidence and be able to execute and give ourselves an opportunity to win a playoff series,” Redick said. “And then go take on the world champions and be competitive in that."
The Thunder have lived up to their championship billing; they were the only team to sweep their first-round playoff series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.8 points on 55.1% shooting and eight assists in the first round against the Phoenix Suns. The Thunder played two games without All-NBA wing Jalen Williams, who injured his left hamstring in Game 2 and was week-to-week with a Grade 1 strain.
Thunder center Chet Holmgren slips past Clippers center Brook Lopez for a dunk. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
How the Lakers fared
Season series: 0-4
Nov. 12, 2025, in Oklahoma City Thunder 121, Lakers 92 Neither team was at full strength with James sidelined because of sciatica and the Thunder without Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City still dominated behind an effortless 30-point, nine-assist night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It was the largest defeat of the season for the Lakers until April.
Feb. 9, in Los Angeles Thunder 119, Lakers 110 Both teams were without their MVP candidates as Gilegous-Alexander sat because of a strained abdominal muscle and Doncic was sidelined by a hamstring injury. The Thunder proved their depth and chemistry by holding off the Lakers in the fourth quarter. This was one of just eight clutch-time losses for the Lakers during the regular season.
April 2, in Oklahoma City Thunder 139, Lakers 96 The nightmare score wasn’t as scary for the Lakers as seeing their two leading scorers injured in the same game. Reaves played through what was later diagnosed as a Grade 2 oblique muscle strain, and Doncic left in the third quarter with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. The game was expected to be a major showdown between MVP candidates and a litmus test for the Lakers, who entered with 13 wins in their previous 14 games.
April 8, in Los Angeles Thunder 123, Lakers 87 The Lakers were without four starters and still reeling from the regular season-ending injuries suffered by Doncic and Reaves the previous week. Matching up with the Thunder again only exacerbated the emotional hangover. Redick tried to inject some energy into the group by benching veterans Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt for small mistakes early, but the coach later admitted the tactic didn’t work.
Early odds
The Thunder opened as 16-point favorites to win Game 1. James has never been a bigger underdog in a playoff game, according to Yahoo Sports.
There are underdogs, and then there are the kind of underdogs that look like they just wandered into the wrong NBA arena.
The Lakers aren’t just staring up at the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, they’re squinting at them through a telescope.
Thankfully for the Lakers, this is not uncharted territory.
The Lakers’ Drew Timme (17) and the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren will face off again beginning Tuesday night. NBAE via Getty Images
Ahead of their first-round playoff series against the much younger, faster and deeper Rockets, the Lakers opened as +475 underdogs. Without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Rockets were sitting comfortably at -650.
The Lakers didn’t just survive that series, they deconstructed it. Over the course of six grueling games, coach JJ Redick and the Lakers stripped away Houston’s superpower on the offensive glass and extra possessions. By Game 6 in Houston, the Lakers dominated those categories and held the Rockets to the lowest scoring total than any team thus far in the postseason.
Yes, Kevin Durant did not play in five of the six games, and his injury shifted the balance, but that doesn’t erase the Lakers’ execution. Especially without their top scorer.
Now comes the Western Conference semifinals. By virtue of their victory over the Rockets in six games, the Lakers now earn the right to get absolutely smashed by the reigning champion Thunder.
The second-round odds look more like a No. 16 vs. No. 1 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Lakers open the series as +945 underdogs. Some books even pushed it to +1000. The Thunder are -1700 favorites. That means you’d have to lay $1,700 on OKC to win the series just to win $100.
The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates are heavily favored against the Lakers. NBAE via Getty Images
Those opening lines are unprecedented for the Lakers’ franchise. According to Sports Odds History, the Lakers have never been this big of an underdog in a conference semifinal in the NBA’s modern era. And maybe not in any era!
For context, the last time LeBron James saw anything close to this kind of disrespect by oddsmakers was Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals, when his Cavaliers opened as +12.5 underdogs against the Warriors. The Cavs nearly won that game in regulation, only to lose by 10 in overtime. Nevertheless, they covered.
But these odds? This is bigger. This is colder.
And if you’re wondering why the odds are so high, look no further than the four-game season series between the teams.
The Thunder swept the Lakers in four noncompetitive matchups this season.
A 29-point beatdown in November. A February loss to a Thunder team missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at Crypto.com Arena. The April 2 loss. A 43-point disaster that saw injuries to Doncic and Reaves swallow the Lakers whole. Then a 36-point loss in a glorified scrimmage a few days later.
Average margin of defeat: 29.3 points.
That is the largest margin of defeat between any teams in a playoff matchup in NBA history.
But honestly, these odds are probably exactly where they should be.
The Thunder are younger, deeper, faster and more cohesive. They don’t just beat you, they break you. Led by SGA, who can beat you from deep, midrange and at the rim, they are one of the NBA’s best defensive teams and are constructed by talented players who all know and embrace their roles. They space the floor, they knock down 3s and they get out in transition. Their pace turns fatigue into a weapon. It overwhelms opponents. A close game can turn into a blowout in the blink of an eye.
The Thunder’s Aaron Wiggins (21) and his teammates swept the regular-season series against the Lakers. NBAE via Getty Images
Which brings us to Doncic. He’s the only chance the Lakers have in this series, and even that is slim. Right now, he’s on the outside looking in. He’s begun shooting and moving on the court, but still hasn’t progressed to 1-on-1 drills. He’s not expected to return for Game 1, but he could return at some point in the series. But by then, the series could already be decided.
Once again, the Lakers are a team looking to survive long enough to buy Doncic more time. A group leaning on the brilliance of the 41-year-old James. They just emptied the tank against the Rockets; now they’re expected to sprint uphill against the reigning champions.
The odds say this series ends quickly. It may even get ugly. But the playoffs don’t run on odds or logic. They run on unpredictability, momentum and chaos.
Nobody predicted Durant’s injury. Nobody predicted the Lakers beating the Rockets at their own game without Doncic. And nobody is predicting the Lakers even have a chance against the Thunder.
Is it likely the Lakers win the series? No.
Is it possible? Well, that’s why they play the games.
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HOUSTON — LeBron James sat by his locker, alternating between being introspective and funny.
He allowed himself to take things in, saying he was “living in the moment a lot more.”
The Lakers’ LeBron James led a depleted team to a 4-2 series victory over the Rockets on Friday in Houston. Getty Images
He joked about his son, Bronny, bearing an uncanny resemblance to NFL player Will Anderson Jr., calling him “my fourth child.”
Nothing stood out about the moment.
Except everything.
What just happened was monumental.
The 41-year-old James had just led a depleted Lakers team without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves (for all but two games) past the Rockets in their first-round playoff series, winning Game 6 in Houston on Friday, 98-78.
This was no ordinary first-round win for James, who has carried 10 NBA teams to the Finals, winning four championships.
This was one of the most stunning accomplishments of his career.
This was one of the most stunning accomplishments of his career. Getty Images
It’s time to stop questioning whether James is the greatest player of all time.
Six games before the regular season ended, Doncic suffered a hamstring strain and Reaves sustained an oblique strain in the same game April 2, deflating the Lakers like a nail in a tire.
He’s the first NBA player to play in his 23rd season. He was too old to put a bunch of role players on his back and pull off a miracle. Even in his prime, that would’ve been a huge ask.
The thing is, James is used to being told what he can’t do.
He thrives off proving people wrong. That’s his drug, his fix.
He has been under the brightest of spotlights since he was in middle school. When he entered the NBA as an 18-year-old, he had the highest expectation of any prospect ever. Everyone was waiting for him to fail.
James sprinted past the pressure, shattering every ceiling. He’s the league’s all-time leading scorer, he has the most All-Star selections (22) and has played the most minutes.
The thing is, James is used to being told what he can’t do. Getty Images
But still, no one believed James could do this.
Lead a Lakers team without its top-two scorers, who left behind a 60-point hole? At his age? No chance. No way.
When are we going to stop doubting him?
James responded by averaging 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists over 38.5 minutes per game. Those are stunning numbers for anyone but unheard-of numbers for a 41-year-old playing against guys who are nearly half his age.
He carried the team to a 3-0 series lead.
James averaged more than 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists over close to 39 minutes per game in the series. Getty Images
Then after the Rockets won two straight games, stealing the series momentum, James catapulted the Lakers to a second-round date with the reigning champion Thunder.
Said Austin Reaves: “I just went over to him and was like, ‘You’re insane.’ The stuff that you’re doing is not normal.”
Added Lakers coach JJ Redick: “To me, he’s had the greatest career of any NBA player.”
The oldest NBA player in the league was the best player in the series.
In Game 1, he unraveled the Rockets with his passing, finishing with 19 points and 13 assists. In Game 2, he led all scorers with 28 points. In Game 3, he made a game-tying 3-pointer that forced overtime, and he went on to play 45 minutes. In Game 5, he orchestrated an 11-1 fourth-quarter run, cutting the Lakers’ 13-point deficit to three points and giving them a chance to win.
In Game 6, he was everywhere, doing everything, finishing with game highs in points (28) and assists (eight), as well as grabbing seven rebounds. He had the highest plus-minus (+26) of anyone on the court.
James didn’t just perform. He shined. He stunned.
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He made a dejected-and-hapless group of role players believe in themselves. He brought out the best in them. He led them out of the abyss.
He reinvigorated their careers.
Marcus Smart was falling out of the league. Deandre Ayton was considered immature and unreliable. Luke Kennard was pigeonholed. Each of them looked like stars at times this series.
It was because of James.
If James was pouring every ounce of himself onto the court, how could they not? If someone who understood winning on such a deep level believed in his teammates, how could they not believe in themselves?
What James did was extraordinary.
As the Lakers huddled after Game 6, a loud chant broke out.
“Literally every single guy was going, ‘Baahhhh, baahhhhh,'” Redick said.
The team was making goat sounds to honor the greatest player of all time, a convenient acronym that could be celebrated with a bleat.
It’s time to stop playing devil’s advocate. To stop the debate. To stop questioning him.
James is the best ever.
What we just witnessed was nothing short of breathtaking.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 02: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics looks on from the bench during the first half of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers 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
In Saturday’s Brotherhood Playoff Action, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-100. Tatum was listed as questionable earlier, but was ruled out due to stiffness in his left knee.
Philadelphia will go on to play the New York Knicks. You’ll recall that Tatum suffered his Achilles injury in last year’s playoffs against the Knicks, so he’ll miss the chance to close that circle.
On Sunday, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter will lead the Orlando Magic into Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons. In the second game, RJ Barrett and the Toronto Raptors will take on Tyrese Proctor and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of that series. Brandon Ingram is listed as questionable with heel inflammation.
The Sixers of the Joel Embiid era know that playoff basketball can be harsh, even heartbreaking.
All-world performances, bad bounces and the concept of potential are all irrelevant. You’re either the first team to win four games in a series or you’re not.
To Embiid, this year’s Sixers team doesn’t feel like all the others.
“This is different,” Embiid said a few minutes into Sunday morning after the Sixers cemented a seven-game comeback series win over the Celtics. “The fight, it’s just there. … We’ve had good teams, but this feels pretty different. I think as long as we stay healthy and whatever game plan we have in the next series, we execute it, then we have a pretty good chance.”
Embiid had dominant stretches Saturday in a 34-point, 12-rebound, six-assist night, but Game 7 wasn’t remotely easy for the Sixers.
The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum (left knee stiffness) and head coach Joe Mazzulla’s choice to throw three new players into his starting lineup backfired. Boston still had multiple open shots in the fourth quarter to fully erase an 18-point deficit.
The Sixers needed more than a special Embiid outing to beat Boston in the playoffs for the first time since 1982 and advance to a second-round series vs. the Knicks. Tyrese Maxey capped a superstar’s series by posting 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The NBA’s leader in minutes per game during the regular season, Maxey logged 45 in Game 7.
“I just think his confidence level has gone up a huge (amount),” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said of Maxey. “For him to come down and say, ‘The game’s on the line and I’m going to put it away,’ I think that’s a big leap for him.”
Maxey scooted to the hoop for two crucial layups in the final minutes. He’s proven he can be great well past the point where an average player’s exhaustion would start to show.
“I work extremely hard in the summer, man. … I’ve worked extremely hard on my body,” Maxey said. “Shoutout to (performance coach) Al Reeser. He’s been on me since my rookie year. … The weight room is probably the biggest thing. I lift after pretty much every game, four to five times a week during the summer. I think that’s really helped me for moments like this.
“I don’t really feel tired right now, honestly. I don’t know how many minutes straight I played, but it happens. I’m just willing to do whatever it takes for us to win. I’m a competitor and I’m going to compete at the highest level on any given night.”
Maxey’s youthful backcourt mate is of the same mind.
VJ Edgecombe, at 20 years old, scored 23 points in Game 7 and shot 5 for 11 from three-point range.
The rookie was also determined to prevent Derrick White from anything like his 19-point first half in the second. White only scored seven points after halftime.
With Edgecombe defending him in the series, White shot 3 for 18, per NBA.com. Payton Pritchard went 4 for 17. Those numbers don’t tell a complete defensive story, but they support the impression that Edgecombe’s effort, athleticism and intelligence all translated well to his first playoff series.
“He obviously was great,” Nurse said. “They did a lot of helping off him, so he was going to get some opportunities (to shoot) … Most importantly, he came out of halftime saying, ‘I’ve got White and I’m going to do better on him,’ because White was cooking. … Those are the things that make a huge difference in games like this.”
For good reason, Paul George had his least productive game of a very strong two-way series. He chipped in 13 points and three rebounds with an illness that stopped him from sleeping the night prior.
“We knew what we were up against,” George said of the Sixers’ comeback. “We just had to come out and do our part. We believe in the talent in this room. We believe in our abilities.”
On Tuesday night at TD Garden, the Sixers trailed by 13 points in the third quarter of Game 5.
“It’s hard to get drilled a couple of times and bounce back,” Nurse said. “But we go through some tough games during the year and we seem to bounce back almost every time. We get blown (out) by 40 at home, and then we go on the road and win four out of five or something. We seem to kind of have that in us. But (the playoffs) is different than that, so that’s a lesson we can learn.
“And I do think that in these games and these series, you’re going to have really high highs and really low lows, man. … It’s just the way it is and you’ve got to be able to handle both of them. When you get a great win, who cares? The next game is going to be totally different. And when you get a bad loss, whether it’s by one or by 30, the score is what the score is in the series and you’ve just got to get ready to play the next one.”
The Sixers did so with confidence that could’ve been called irrational.
“We’ve had this weird swag about us all year, this confidence and just the fact that we know who we can be and who we are,” Maxey said. “I said at media day that this team was going to fight every single night and we’ve done that. We’ve gotten beat a couple of times pretty bad. That just happens in this league, but we never wavered.
“We always believed in each other. … This group really likes each other and really wants to see each other succeed.”
The Sixers of the Joel Embiid era know that playoff basketball can be harsh, even heartbreaking.
All-world performances, bad bounces and the concept of potential are all irrelevant. You’re either the first team to win four games in a series or you’re not.
To Embiid, this year’s Sixers team doesn’t feel like all the others.
“This is different,” Embiid said a few minutes into Sunday morning after the Sixers cemented a seven-game comeback series win over the Celtics. “The fight, it’s just there. … We’ve had good teams, but this feels pretty different. I think as long as we stay healthy and whatever game plan we have in the next series, we execute it, then we have a pretty good chance.”
Embiid had dominant stretches Saturday in a 34-point, 12-rebound, six-assist night, but Game 7 wasn’t remotely easy for the Sixers.
The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum (left knee stiffness) and head coach Joe Mazzulla’s choice to throw three new players into his starting lineup backfired. Boston still had multiple open shots in the fourth quarter to fully erase an 18-point deficit.
The Sixers needed more than a special Embiid outing to beat Boston in the playoffs for the first time since 1982 and advance to a second-round series vs. the Knicks. Tyrese Maxey capped a superstar’s series by posting 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The NBA’s leader in minutes per game during the regular season, Maxey logged 45 in Game 7.
“I just think his confidence level has gone up a huge (amount),” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said of Maxey. “For him to come down and say, ‘The game’s on the line and I’m going to put it away,’ I think that’s a big leap for him.”
Maxey scooted to the hoop for two crucial layups in the final minutes. He’s proven he can be great well past the point where an average player’s exhaustion would start to show.
“I work extremely hard in the summer, man. … I’ve worked extremely hard on my body,” Maxey said. “Shoutout to (performance coach) Al Reeser. He’s been on me since my rookie year. … The weight room is probably the biggest thing. I lift after pretty much every game, four to five times a week during the summer. I think that’s really helped me for moments like this.
“I don’t really feel tired right now, honestly. I don’t know how many minutes straight I played, but it happens. I’m just willing to do whatever it takes for us to win. I’m a competitor and I’m going to compete at the highest level on any given night.”
Maxey’s youthful backcourt mate is of the same mind.
VJ Edgecombe, at 20 years old, scored 23 points in Game 7 and shot 5 for 11 from three-point range.
The rookie was also determined to prevent Derrick White from anything like his 19-point first half in the second. White only scored seven points after halftime.
With Edgecombe defending him in the series, White shot 3 for 18, per NBA.com. Payton Pritchard went 4 for 17. Those numbers don’t tell a complete defensive story, but they support the impression that Edgecombe’s effort, athleticism and intelligence all translated well to his first playoff series.
“He obviously was great,” Nurse said. “They did a lot of helping off him, so he was going to get some opportunities (to shoot) … Most importantly, he came out of halftime saying, ‘I’ve got White and I’m going to do better on him,’ because White was cooking. … Those are the things that make a huge difference in games like this.”
For good reason, Paul George had his least productive game of a very strong two-way series. He chipped in 13 points and three rebounds with an illness that stopped him from sleeping the night prior.
“We knew what we were up against,” George said of the Sixers’ comeback. “We just had to come out and do our part. We believe in the talent in this room. We believe in our abilities.”
On Tuesday night at TD Garden, the Sixers trailed by 13 points in the third quarter of Game 5.
“It’s hard to get drilled a couple of times and bounce back,” Nurse said. “But we go through some tough games during the year and we seem to bounce back almost every time. We get blown (out) by 40 at home, and then we go on the road and win four out of five or something. We seem to kind of have that in us. But (the playoffs) is different than that, so that’s a lesson we can learn.
“And I do think that in these games and these series, you’re going to have really high highs and really low lows, man. … It’s just the way it is and you’ve got to be able to handle both of them. When you get a great win, who cares? The next game is going to be totally different. And when you get a bad loss, whether it’s by one or by 30, the score is what the score is in the series and you’ve just got to get ready to play the next one.”
The Sixers did so with confidence that could’ve been called irrational.
“We’ve had this weird swag about us all year, this confidence and just the fact that we know who we can be and who we are,” Maxey said. “I said at media day that this team was going to fight every single night and we’ve done that. We’ve gotten beat a couple of times pretty bad. That just happens in this league, but we never wavered.
“We always believed in each other. … This group really likes each other and really wants to see each other succeed.”
May 2, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) talks with Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) following game seven of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
BOSTON — Minutes after Jayson Tatum was ruled out of Game 7, Joe Mazzulla walked into the media room wearing a black “Celtics Mindset” hoodie. He didn’t raise his voice or change his tone. “This season was about creating different identities,” he said. “We’ve done this before.”
It landed the way most of his comments do. Calm. Controlled. Almost separate from the moment.
Out on the floor, it didn’t feel that way.
By the time warmups started, there was a tension in the building that didn’t need volume to be obvious. You could see it in how people stood. Conversations shorter than usual. A few deep exhales mixed into the usual pregame buzz. When I was interviewing fans before Game 5, there were plenty of smiles and laughs. Not so much tonight. A Game 7 without one of your best players will do that to a fanbase.
Still, the players didn’t show it. Derrick White jogged out early, smiling, acknowledging the crowd. Payton Pritchard followed, more locked in than jovial, but that’s just PP. Sam Hauser stood along the sideline talking quietly with his family before heading back to the locker room, his dad giving him a firm pat on the back before saying goodbye.
For the Celtics, this was either going to be one more night of many more to come or the last one for a while.
I got to my press seat a few minutes before tip, right around the time the starting lineup was announced.
Ron Harper Jr. Luka Garza. Baylor Scheierman. Derrick White. Jaylen Brown.
Joe heard the calls for adjustments and went full Michael Keaton. “You wanna get nuts? Fine. Let’s get nuts.”
Sitting next to me was a reporter from Istanbul, there for Adem Bona, who moved to Turkey at age 13 to play professionally with Istanbul Basket. His name? Bozkurt. His third language? English. But I’d soon learn that he knew enough English, and enough about basketball, to spend the next two and a half hours becoming my temporary Game 7 nemesis.
We shook hands. The game started. I had no idea the stranger sitting next to me was going to help me cope with the end of the Celtics’ season.
The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first quarter
The first few possessions didn’t do anything to settle the nerves.
Three early shots, all from deep, all missed. No paint touches or pressure on the defense. By the 9:36 mark, Boston still hadn’t scored, and Philadelphia looked right at home despite playing on the road.
As he had the past few games, Joel Embiid set the tone right away. When Boston stayed home, he stepped into midrange jumpers. When help came, he moved the ball cleanly. There was no rush to anything he was doing. By the end of the quarter, he had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and it never felt like he had to force it.
Philadelphia shot 65 percent in the first quarter. They led 32-19, while Boston looked like a team still trying to figure out what the game was going to ask of them.
There was movement offensively, which was encouraging, but not a whole lot of purpose. Possessions drifted late into the clock. Too much dribbling without forcing a decision. On the other end, it was worse. Backdoor cuts. Easy entries. Not nearly enough resistance.
Bozkurt didn’t need to say much early. He didn’t have to. Every Embiid jumper seemed to make his case for him. Every clean Sixers cut, every easy action, every possession where Philadelphia looked like the team with the clearer plan. He’d react with a small nod or a sound that somehow carried the same meaning as a 500-word column.
“Besides Shaq, Embiid has to be most dominant center ever, yes?” Bozkurt asked, or really, stated.
I was still at the point where I felt the need to be professional and courteous. The best I could muster was, “He’s pretty good!”
In any case, the Celtics looked uncomfortable from the jump, and the Sixers looked right at home in TD Garden.
Mazzulla started looking elsewhere for answers early. Pritchard checked in before the eight-minute mark. Queta followed. Walsh soon after. By the end of the quarter, Boston had already gone deep into its bench.
It didn’t fix the first quarter. But it sure did change the second.
The stretch that pulled everyone back in
The second quarter didn’t open clean either, but it felt different almost right away.
Hugo González, who had seen a total of six minutes of action in this series coming into Game 7, checked in and gave Boston something it had been desperately searching for: resistance. He picked up Maxey, fought through screens, and stayed attached far better than most Celtics players had fared through the series. It wasn’t perfect, but it made Philadelphia work a little more to get into what it wanted.
At the other end, Derrick White started to steady things.
A floater. A pull-up. Then a three that brought it back within two. On the next possession, he drew an offensive foul, and the building woke up with it.
Pritchard followed with a three, and suddenly Boston had its first lead of the night.
I couldn’t help it. I fist-pumped. Take that, Bozkurt.
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you I handled the whole night with the professional detachment expected from someone sitting in a media section. I did not. Not really. The first time I covered a game with credentials, which was Tatum’s return game and Cooper Flagg’s first one in Boston, I kept it together. Game 5 cracked me a little. Game 7 fully found the Celtics fan in me and dragged him out by the collar.
Part of that was the game. Part of that was the Garden. And part of it was Bozkurt.
He had come to cover Bona, but with Bona on the bench, he became an Embiid backer by necessity. Or maybe by choice. I’m still not sure. At one point in the second quarter, he leaned over, put two hands on my shoulders, and unprompted, said, “Two players with best whistle in league. SGA. Tatum.”
That’s what I was dealing with.
The Celtics, meanwhile, were finally giving me something to work with.
The ball was moving like it was early on in the season. Players cut with purpose instead of watching and waiting for their turn to go 1-on-1. Defensively, there were hands in passing lanes, bodies meeting drives earlier, and far more urgency across the floor. It wasn’t perfect, but it was connected and it was effort.
White carried the scoring, pouring in 19 by halftime. Jaylen Brown started to find his rhythm later in the quarter, while Queta was finally able to give them useful minutes without getting into foul trouble. Hugo was the biggest spark of the first half.
It felt like a montage of the regular season. One guy after another stepping forward as if to say, “Hey, remember me? Remember what I brought to this season?”
After Game 6, Brown had talked about playing faster, freer, with more trust in the group. For a stretch in the second quarter, that version showed up.
Still, the game never fully flipped. Embiid came back in and slowed everything down again. A rebound here. A trip to the line there. The lead stretched back out just enough to keep Boston chasing.
At halftime, it was 55-50. Given where it started, you had to take it.
Bozkurt looked up at the scoreboard, then over at me.
“Careful,” he said.
He was right. Annoyingly, painfully right.
The fight was real. So was the hole.
The third quarter was always going to say a lot about how the Celtics felt about this game. Boston had survived the first half. Now was the time to turn survival into control.
Queta opened with a smooth move over Embiid. A few possessions later, Maxey hit a three, then an effortless midrange jumper. The lead was back to double digits before fans had even settled back in their seats.
Keep it close became the quiet mantra for myself. Maybe not even quiet. I’m pretty sure I wrote it in my notes three or four times because I was trying to convince myself as much as anyone.
Brown gave them a moment out of a timeout, an and-one midrange that cut it back to eight. Then, Pritchard hit a three to make it a one-possession game. Jaylen took on the Embiid assignment and clapped in his face, prompting Embiid to talk that talk after making a shot. For a minute, it felt like something personal was brewing between the two of them.
The less fun part was that Philadelphia kept answering.
Embiid dragged the game back to his pace. Maxey found enough cracks. Paul George, who seemed to locate the Indiana version of himself for this series, hit a big three whenever Boston needed him not to.
At one point, the lead hit 15. Then 18.
Bozkurt put his arm around me again and said, “Sorry, brother.”
I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. What a ridiculous place to be. Sitting at the top of TD Garden, in a Game 7, next to a man from Istanbul who had become my emotional support rival. He was half consoling me, half enjoying the fact that Embiid was dismantling everything I held near and dear to my heart.
The Garden was still trying, despite Bozkurt’s Philadelphia’s best efforts. “Let’s Go Celtics” chants broke out during a timeout, but it didn’t sound like the usual Garden roar. Stunned is how I would describe it. Down 18 at home in Game 7 after leading the series 3-1, it felt appropriate.
After three quarters, it was 88-75.
Boston was shooting under 40 percent. Philadelphia was over 50. The Celtics needed a miracle.
For much of the fourth quarter, they made everyone believe in one.
The last time we got to believe
The fourth quarter started with Hauser hitting a three to cut it to ten. Derrick White followed with a steal and a layup to make it eight. The building responded immediately, like it had been waiting for permission to get to that yet-unreached decibel level.
By then, Bozkurt was on his feet too.
I looked over at him and nodded. No words needed.
Not done yet.
When Jaylen scored off a great pass from White to cut it to six, the Garden felt alive in a way that made the previous three quarters feel like they belonged to a different night. Nervous murmurs became excited murmurs. Everyone was standing. Bill Chisholm was on his feet courtside. Spider Kid was on the jumbotron. Save us, Spider Kid.
Queta finished through contact and turned to the crowd, yelling, and it was one of those moments where the game and the fandom stopped feeling like separate things.
Neemias Queta scores the And-1 off a pass by Derrick White to cut the 76ers lead to just 4 (with replays).
Reggie Miller is convinced there should have been an offensive foul call on White prior to the And-1. pic.twitter.com/z8ilcdXgD5
Queta felt the energy immediately and leaned into it, chest out, screaming back at 19,156 people who were already halfway out of their seats.
We saw a version of that in Game 5 with Walsh, a small play that turned into something bigger because of how quickly the crowd grabbed onto it. This felt the same, just louder, heavier, more desperate.
In that stretch, everything was feeding everything else. The defense, the effort, the noise. In TD Garden, it doesn’t take much for that loop to close. And once it does, it’s hard to tell who’s pushing who.
Jaylen followed with an and-one. One-point game.
At that point, the idea of acting like a neutral observer felt deeply stupid. Bozkurt was standing. Hell, everyone was standing. The Garden was so loud that even if I cheered, no one would hear me anyway. I’m all the way up here, I told myself. I write for CelticsBlog. Who am I pretending for?
For a stretch, the Celtics looked like the team Brown later wished they had trusted more.
“I wish we trusted that style more,” Brown said after the game. “You saw tonight how everybody came out and played their tail off.”
He was right. During that run, all five guys on the floor mattered. The ball was zipping. The defense was hounding. Queta crashed. White pushed. Pritchard spaced. Hauser hit. Jaylen guarded Embiid and had some seriously loud blocks in the fourth like he was trying to drag the whole season back by himself.
It got down to one again and again.
But they never broke through.
Brown had a three go in and out. Pritchard missed a wide-open three after a ridiculous Jaylen block. Then Brown missed a clean midrange look, followed by a Hauser miss from deep. Five straight empty trips at the worst possible time.
After the game, Mazzulla said they had “two or three great looks to take the lead.”
They sure did. They just didn’t go in. As one fan told me before Game 5, it feels like a make-or-miss league these days.
Maxey answered. Then again. The lead stretched. The air came out in pieces. The game didn’t end all at once. But eventually, it faded into oblivion.
109-100.
What you can say right away, and what you can’t
The first thing that hits you in a Game 7 loss isn’t analysis.
It’s that it’s over.
I get that no one wants a positive spin right now. No one should. The Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history. They lost three straight, two of them at home. And they lost to the Sixers. That all matters, and it will matter for a long time.
There will be hours and days to unpack all of it. The lineup choices. The reliance on three-point shooting. The offensive lulls. The defensive possessions where Embiid looked far too comfortable. The missed chances in Games 5 and 6. The way a season that once felt like a bonus, then an opportunity, somehow ended as a gut punch.
But in the immediate aftermath, sitting there while the Garden emptied out, I kept coming back to the same thing.
I loved watching this team.
That doesn’t make the loss sting any less, and it doesn’t make the collapse easier to swallow. Nor does it mean anyone has to skip the anger stage and move straight to gratitude because that would be obnoxious, and also impossible.
But this team gave us more than most people expected back in October. More than any team without Jayson Tatum for most of the year had any business giving. More than a gap year was supposed to contain.
Jaylen said as much after the game.
“This is probably one of my most fun years playing basketball,” he said. “I’m so grateful to be with this group.”
That matched what I felt watching them, even in a loss that will sit with Celtics fans for a long while. They were imperfect. Weird. Fun. Stubborn. Occasionally maddening. Sometimes hard to explain. They won a lot of basketball games and made a lot of people care more than they expected to. That can make the downfall hurt even more.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 02: Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics looks on during the fourth quarter of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers 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
Mazzulla talked about the other side of chasing something bigger.
“When you go after something bigger than yourself,” he said, “you have to accept the other side of that.”
That is a very Joe way to put it. Maybe a little too philosophical when the wound is still so raw. But there’s truth in it, even if nobody wants to hear it yet.
Bozkurt stayed for a minute after the final buzzer. Not long. Just enough to take one more look around before leaving. Then he turned to me, pulled me in for a quick hug, and said, “Always next year.”
It wasn’t gloating. It wasn’t even really about the result. It felt like acknowledgment, like he understood what that game had just taken out of the people in that building.
I told him good luck, and I meant it. No edge left, no need for one. Somewhere along the way, the whole back-and-forth stopped feeling like a battle and started feeling more like a friendship.
I don’t think Bozkurt knew every Celtics rotation or the full weight of what it meant for this franchise to blow a 3-1 lead. And I certainly didn’t know much about Istanbul or what this Sixers team meant to him.
But basketball has its own language. You can feel when a game is slipping, just like you can feel when a crowd still believes. You can also feel when something is over before the clock says it is.
Those parts translated just fine. And for the record, if we ever revisit the “Embiid vs. every center ever” conversation, I’ll be sending him a playlist. Kareem. Hakeem. Russell. Wilt. We’ll take it from there.
Eventually, the Garden made everyone leave. Bozkurt. Me. All of us.
I wasn’t ready. Being around this team up close a few times this season only made it harder to let go of it. The way they played, the way the building responded to them, the way nights like this could swing from hopeless to electric in a matter of minutes.
The season ended earlier than it should have, and that part won’t sit right for a while.
But it was a ride I never will, and never would want to, forget.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 02: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics looks on during the second quarter of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers 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
BOSTON – On Sunday night, the Celtics were on top of the world, holding a 3-1 series lead over their rival Philadelphia 76ers, equipped with a fully healthy roster and on the heels of a spectacular 56-win regular season.
Fresh off a 32-point offensive masterpiece, Payton Pritchard sat at the podium and reflected on the biggest game of his playoff career.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had just finished their 119th playoff game as teammates.
Jordan Walsh was emerging as one of the best defensive stoppers of the playoffs.
In the locker room after the game, Brown randomly dubbed Baylor Scheierman “Big Shot Bob” with a smile.
The vibes, as the kids say, were high. And, the Celtics seemed to be at the beginning of what felt like an inevitably long playoff journey.
Instead, they never won another game. Six days later, the season is over.
At the Celtics locker room at TD Garden, Brown stares straight ahead. The players are silent. Tatum is in street clothes. Derrick White is fighting tears.
How did it all go to flames in the blink of an eye?
The big-picture, non-technical answer is: that’s just sports. The unpredictability of basketball is what makes it great. It’s what keeps us watching. It’s also what makes the heartbreak so sudden, so painful.
The same Orlando Magic team that lost to the Celtics’ bench unit came out and assumed a 3-1 series lead over the Detroit Pistons a few weeks later.
And, just a few days after that, that same Magic team scored a stunning 19 points in the entire second half of their Game 6. How can one make sense of that?
The Celtics were, and are, aware of the ridiculous unpredictability of this sport.
After they took a 1-0 lead in the Philly series, Joe Mazzulla’s media availability was filled with questions about how great a job he’d done this season, about his incoming Coach of the Year award.
He, as he’s done all year, deflected the praise.
“This could all change 24 hours from now, to where we’re having different conversations,” Mazzulla said. “So it’s part of just the perspective of being rooted in something, regardless of the environment around you on a 24-hour cycle.”
Unfortunately for him, those words aged well: the Celtics’ season, a season that was as special as it was unexpected, is over.
The bleeding began last Tuesday night, when the Celtics got crushed in the second half of Game 5, and missed 14 straight field goals to lose the game. A 13-point third-quarter lead turned into a blowout loss.
In Game 6, they were outworked in front of a raucous 76ers crowd that brought back the “We Got Boston” chants.
And in Game 7, all the mileage had begun to catch up to Tatum. After missing the last 15 minutes of Game 6, he was a late add to the injury report on Saturday, with left knee tightness.
Two hours before tip-off, he was ruled out.
“He came in today with knee discomfort,” Mazzulla said. “We made the decision for him.”
That meant the Celtics had to come into Saturday’s game with a completely different look.
Making sense of Game 7
Mazzulla made the decision to bench two starters — Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser – in favor of Ron Harper Jr. and Luka Garza. Neither guy ended up playing significant minutes — Harper Jr. played 4 minutes, and Garza played 9 — but that stunning decision set the tone for what ultimately ended up being a wild Game 7.
Pritchard said he wasn’t surprised by that new-look starting five. The Celtics, after all,
The Celtics trailed by as many as 15 in the first quarter and by as many as 18 in the fourth, but each time, they clawed their way back into the game, ultimately cutting the deficit to 1 with two minutes to spare.
But, just like they did in Game 5, they went cold. In the final 5 minutes of the game, they missed 10 straight field goals, including a wide-open Pritchard three, and multiple Jaylen Brown middies.
Game 7, however, was in many ways different from that Game 5 collapse. The Celtics went 10 guys deep, relying on 13 first-half Hugo Gonzalez minutes. For the first time since Game 1, they recorded fewer turnovers than their opponents. They were undoubtedly the harder-playing team. Neemias Queta, who struggled through the series’ first six games, put together a masterful performance, tallying 17 points on 7-8 shooting.
Perhaps in turn, the TD Garden crowd was the loudest it’s been all year.
Brown wished that the Celtics had played that frenetic pace all series, before Game 7.
“Tonight, I wish we played that style and trusted that style more even throughout the playoffs,” he said. “Even through wins and through losses. Obviously, it’s not always the easiest decision, but I wish that style for our team was how we empowered the rest of our group, and you saw tonight how everybody came out, and they played their tail off. I wish we trusted that more.”
Hindsight is 20-20, but dozens of fans at TD Garden echoed that sentiment.
“I’m just happy to be watching this team,” one fan told me at halftime, emphasizing how much he appreciated the fact that the Stay Ready players were getting a shot.
“I’m so grateful to be with this group,” Brown said. “This group is awesome. I had a fun year. This is probably one of my most fun years playing basketball. It wasn’t always perfect. It wasn’t always analytically or aesthetically pleasing. But we won a lot of basketball games, and people could see the grit and the fight that we played with every single night. Tonight was an example of that. We left it all out there, we played a rookie, we played whatever, and we scrapped all the way to the end. Just came up a couple plays short.”
Payton Pritchard’s perspective was all about the big picture, about how the 2025-2026 season could be used as a building block for the future, just as the pre-2024 seasons culminated in a championship.
“Just because you don’t win a championship one year, doesn’t mean it didn’t build for the next championship,” Pritchard said. “So, when we won Banner 18, four years before that, we lost four straight — lost to Miami, lost in the finals. So those might have been disappointing years, but maybe those led to the championship. So, that’s how I look at it.”
It’s a beautiful mindset. Still, it’s difficult to immediately make sense of the fact that a season that had so many beautiful highs ended with sudden devastation.
As White exited the TD Garden parquet with a towel over his head, it was hard to believe that less than a week ago, the Celtics were returning to Boston with a 3-1 lead, seemingly on top of the world, with a whole playoff run ahead of them, a healthy Jayson Tatum, and title aspirations.
Joel Embiid's return for the Philadelphia 76ers in their series against the Boston Celtics proved crucial [Getty Images]
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey inspired the Philadelphia 76ers to victory in their series decider against the Boston Celtics as they knocked their rivals out of the NBA play-offs and set up an Eastern Conference semi-final against the New York Knicks.
The 76ers, who came back from 3-1 down in the best-of seven series to force a deciding match, won 109-100 on the road to eliminate the 2023-24 NBA champions.
Embiid contributed 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while team-mate Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points and registered 11 rebounds and seven assists as Philadelphia became only the 14th team to win a series after going 3-1 down, achieving the feat for the first time in their history.
The 76ers also beat the Celtics in the play-offs for the first time since 1982, having lost their last six series to Boston.
"We had a talk after game five and just said, 'Hey, man, we can't let the same stuff happen over and over and over again," Maxey told NBC. "At some point we've got to put a stop to it.
"And we did."
Boston were 99-98 behind following two Neemias Queta free throws before Maxey scored eight unanswered points to give his side a 107-98 lead with 15 seconds left.
"We started off well and then in the second quarter we kind of relaxed a little," said Embiid. "Same thing with the start of the fourth.
"But we stuck together, closed it out."
He added: "It means a lot. You can't win alone, you need a team to be able win and everybody doing their job."
Embiid had returned for the last four games of the series after an emergency appendectomy had ruled him out since 6 April.
"What changed in the series is Joel Embiid came back, and they're a completely different team," said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
Boston star Jayson Tatum missed the decider because of a left knee issue, with Jaylen Brown top scoring for them with 33 points.
"Loved the looks that we got, loved the process that we had, but hate the result," said Mazzulla.
Philadelphia 76ers (45-37, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -7.5; over/under is 211.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Knicks host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers to begin the Eastern Conference second round. New York and Philadelphia tied the regular season series 2-2. The Knicks won the last regular season meeting 138-89 on Thursday, Feb. 12 led by 26 points from Jose Alvarado, while Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points for the 76ers.
The Knicks are 35-17 against conference opponents. New York is eighth in the Eastern Conference with 27.4 assists per game led by Jalen Brunson averaging 6.8.
The 76ers are 9-7 against Atlantic Division teams. Philadelphia is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 16.9 fast break points per game led by VJ Edgecombe averaging 8.0.
The Knicks' 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season are just 0.8 more made shots on average than the 13.4 per game the 76ers allow. The 76ers score 5.8 more points per game (115.9) than the Knicks allow their opponents to score (110.1).
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting 50.1% and averaging 20.1 points for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 24.2 points over the last 10 games.
Maxey is averaging 28.3 points, 6.6 assists and 1.9 steals for the 76ers. Paul George is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 7-3, averaging 113.5 points, 42.8 rebounds, 25.2 assists, 9.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.8 points per game.
76ers: 6-4, averaging 105.9 points, 43.8 rebounds, 21.8 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.9 points.
INJURIES: Knicks: None listed.
76ers: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
