Category: NBA

HOUSTON — The most telling moment of Friday’s Game 3 between the Lakers and Rockets didn’t come in overtime. It came before the ball even went up. 

The Toyota Center in downtown Houston sat half-full at tipoff, a quiet indictment of a Rockets team already down 0-2 in the series and playing without superstar Kevin Durant. 

The Rockets arena is EMPTY pic.twitter.com/zoDZuJ427K

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) April 25, 2026

Lakers players wondered out loud in the visiting locker room how the arena could be so empty for a playoff game. Maybe some fans chose to watch baseball down the street, where the Yankees were in town. Others simply chose not to believe in their team. 

But by the end of the night, belief wasn’t the problem. Loyalty was. 

Because what unfolded inside that building wasn’t just a shocking Lakers win in overtime, 112-108, to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. It was a full-scale takeover of an opposing arena.

Purple and gold colors bled through the lower bowl from the opening quarter. LeBron James and Luka Doncic jerseys were scattered like confetti across the crowd. And when Bronny James finished off the first father-to-son alley-oop in NBA playoff history, even the Rockets fans stood and cheered. That’s how undeniable greatness works. 

“You could definitely hear all the Lakers fans in here tonight,” Lakers center Jaxson Hayes said afterward. “You could see all the purple and gold jerseys … they drowned out the Houston fans.”

It only got louder.

Hayes detonated a one-handed lob from Luke Kennard. The crowd erupted — not for the home team but for the show. By the fourth quarter, the lines had blurred. By the final minute, they were gone.

Jaxson Hayes catches the Kennard lob and finishes with FEROCITY pic.twitter.com/gxUsf3CliF

— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) April 25, 2026

Up six with 25 seconds left, Houston had the ball and control of the outcome. Hold the ball and the game would take care of itself. Instead, the Rockets threw an ill-advised pass that turned into three free throws from Marcus Smart. Panic. And then the defining sequence of the game: LeBron stalking rookie Reed Sheppard in the backcourt. He knocked the ball loose, eventually reclaimed possession, and buried the game-tying 3 that sucked the oxygen out of Rockets fans and sent Lakers fans into a frenzy. 

LEBRON JAMES TIES THE GAME AT 101

13.1 SECONDS TO GO ON PRIME. pic.twitter.com/V5LqcXlt7I

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

In that moment, the Rockets didn’t just lose the game. They lost the room. 

By the time overtime came, the outcome felt inevitable. The Lakers closed out Game 3 with authority, but the damage had already been done. Houston’s crowd had flipped and they all stood in awe of the 41-year-old James, still bending the game to his will in his 23rd season. 

The Lakers didn’t just steal a game on the road. It was a full-on heist.

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HOUSTON — Through the first three games of the NBA playoff series between the Rockets and the Lakers, someone new in purple and gold has had to walk into the fire of the postseason and refuse to blink. 

Without their top scorers in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, the Lakers have needed a secondary scoring option behind LeBron James. 

In Game 1, that was journeyman Luke Kennard, who scored 27 points and was 5-for-5 from 3. In Game 2, Marcus Smart accepted that role and stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points. 

On Friday night in Houston, that someone was Rui Hachimura. 

He didn’t just score 22 points, drain four 3-pointers and play 44 minutes, although that workload tells you everything you need to know about how much Lakers coach JJ Redick trusts him. With the Lakers in hostile territory in Houston, they knew they needed a fast start to silence the crowd. 

Hachimura imposed himself early, torching the Rockets for 16 points in the first quarter on 6-for-6 shooting, the best scoring quarter of his career. 

This Lakers sequence…

Jaxson Hayes hustle.
Luke Kennard assist.
Rui Hachimura triple.

Hachimura: 14 PTS, 3-3 3PM, 5-5 FGM pic.twitter.com/E0DYgAcdRG

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

“It was the matchup. Reed Sheppard was guarding me,” Hachimura said. “It was exactly what we worked on and practiced.”

Hachimura’s preparation coincided with the opportunity perfectly. 

Houston adjusted, as it had to. The easy looks disappeared, and James (29 points) once again shouldered the scoring load for the Lakers. 

But Hachimura didn’t disappear. He waited. 

In overtime, he delivered the sequence that helped define the night and seal the victory.

With the Lakers clinging to a 105-103 lead, James shot and missed a step-back 3 from the left wing. Hachimura caught the rebound in midair along the baseline, and as he fell out of bounds, he flung the ball back into play like a man refusing to let the possession die. Kennard came down with it, and moments later, the ball found its way back to Hachimura — who pump-faked a 3 and then drove and attacked the basket for a layup. The Lakers went up by four and never looked back. 

SHARING IS CARING.

HACHIMURA PUTS LA AHEAD BY 4.

GET TO PRIME FOR OT ACTION. pic.twitter.com/hdr4HAIiMr

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

Hachimura’s performance was the kind that forces a front office to revisit every assumption it made last summer. 

The 6-foot-8 forward from Japan is playing on an expiring three-year, $51 million deal that was supposed to be movable. Hachimura was expected to be replaced at the February trade deadline, like the Lakers did with Gabe Vincent. 

Instead, they kept him. 

And now? That decision is aging like something far more expensive than $17 million a year.

Because Hachimura and the rest of the Lakers’ role players aren’t playing like role players. 

Rui Hachimura on the Lakers victory in Game 3, his hot start offensively, and the Lakers playing like the more desperate team pic.twitter.com/FH3aMG7pKO

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) April 25, 2026

In Game 3, Smart became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to finish with 21 points, 10 assists, five steals and two blocks in a postseason game. Talk about elite company.

Now the Lakers have a suffocating 3-0 lead and are one win from slamming the door. 

Across from them is a Rockets team unraveling in real time. The heavy favorites to win the series now look like a team searching for answers that are never coming. For evidence, look no further than the mistakes they made with a six-point lead, the ball in their hands and 25 seconds left in the game. 

“Horrendous mistakes,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “I don’t know if you want to say it’s youth or scared of the moment.”

The only question left now is which Lakers role player will step up in Game 4 on Sunday?

Maybe it’s Deandre Ayton or Jaxson Hayes. Or maybe Reaves returns to fill the void.

The Lakers have many options when they look to close the series and continue to prove that this team doesn’t need injured stars to save the season. 

They create new ones every game.

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Tyrese Maxey has been living quite comfortably in this series.

Not in the sense that every shot is falling or every possession ends in points, but in the way that’s slightly concerning with every passing game. Through three games, he’s largely been getting to his spots and dictating pace. When the Sixers need something to settle a possession or tilt momentum, the ball finds him and the floor opens up just enough for something good to happen.

Boston hasn’t fully solved him yet. You can’t expect to with a guy like him. Game 3 didn’t change that, but it did show how thin the margin is.

The Celtics won, 108–100, and now hold a 2–1 series lead. They closed it with experience, shot-making, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown doing what they’ve done for years now. But before that closing stretch, the game looked like it was tilting in a scary direction.

Maxey hit back-to-back threes midway through the fourth. Xfinity Mobile Arena was popping (even though the name “Xfinity Mobile Arena” feels utterly popless). For a moment, it felt like Game 2 all over again.

But after those two threes, Maxey didn’t score again.

That’s the balance Boston is trying to find. Obviously, you’re not going to prevent Maxey from doing his thing. He’s simply too good to completely neutralize. But hitting him with at least a somewhat potent tranquilizer that wobbles him long enough to win the stretches that matter? The Celtics can do that.

Which is why the Jordan Walsh minutes in Game 2 still linger in my mind.

Maxey is still dictating the terms of this series

Maxey hasn’t really run into a matchup that changes how he plays yet. The tracking data makes that pretty clear.

Derrick White has taken most of the assignment, close to 12 minutes and over 50 possessions. That’s Boston’s best option on paper, and White has been solid. But Maxey is still getting into his spots. Three-for-seven shooting doesn’t scream dominance, but it also doesn’t force him out of anything. The offense is still very much flowing through him without much resistance.

Hauser’s minutes tell a slightly different story. The second-most common player to draw the Maxey assignment, he’s spent about eight minutes and 40 possessions guarding Maxey. And give him some credit: Maxey is just one-for-four when guarded by Hauser. That lines up with what we’ve seen from Hauser over the last couple years. He’s not someone you can just pick on and expect easy offense, even if teams keep trying.

After that, it’s been more of a mix. Brown has had stretches where he holds up and others where Maxey gets downhill. Tatum and Pritchard haven’t been on him enough to really matter.

So you’re looking at a bunch of capable defenders, and none of them have really shifted the feel of the matchup. Maxey is still playing on his terms.

That’s what makes the Walsh minutes worth paying attention to.

The Wolf of Walsh Street

That’s where Walsh comes in, because his minutes didn’t feel like the others.

The sample is small. We’re talking under two minutes matched up with Maxey and only a handful of possessions. That’s not enough to declare anything, but within that stretch, Maxey didn’t score and only got one real shot attempt off. For a player who’s been able to get into his offense pretty much whenever he wants, that stands out, even if it’s brief.

It didn’t look like a fluke either.

Mazzulla pointed to it after the game. “He was good. We all have a role to play,” he said when asked about the job Walsh did on Maxey, before narrowing in on the specifics. “I thought he was big in our pick-and-roll defense as well, and did a great job making it difficult for him.”

Walsh isn’t navigating screens the way White does. There are still possessions where he gets clipped and ends up trailing the play. Against most guards, that’s the possession. Maxey especially lives off that first step once he gets a shoulder advantage.

But Walsh didn’t get clipped in the same way. More often than not, he was still around, contesting, reaching into the play even after he was technically beaten. It lined up with how he’s talked about defense this season, not trying to erase a player, just pushing him away from what he wants to do and making him find something else.

There’s a clip floating around where Maxey comes off a high screen and has the exact pocket he’s been using all series. Normally that turns into a drive or a pull-up. Walsh stays attached just long enough that it never really opens. Maxey hesitates, pulls it back out, and the possession resets.

It felt different than anything else we had thrown at Maxey up until that point. And I liked it. I liked it a lot.

For your consideration

If Game 3 showed anything, it’s that Maxey is going to have his moments no matter what.

He’s too comfortable getting to his spots for that to disappear. The goal isn’t to take that away completely. You just need to keep it from stacking.

In my opinion, Walsh fits into that more than anything else Boston has tried so far.

Part of that is just how he approaches it. Before the series, he talked about trying to “take away tendencies” and push guys into something they don’t want to do, even if it means living with the result at the end of the possession.

There’s also a level of intent to it that the team has noticed. Payton Pritchard said earlier this season that Walsh “brings an energy, guarding the best [offensive player] every night,” and that it’s what’s going to keep him on the floor. That’s basically the job here. Just stay in the fight long enough to make things uncomfortable.

It helps that he’s not going into this blind either. He mentioned leaning on Jaylen Brown for things “beyond the scouting report,” the small stuff that can get under a player’s skin or throw off their rhythm. You could see hints of that in those possessions.

If this series keeps playing out the way it has, Boston is going to need more of those possessions where things don’t quite click for Maxey. Fewer of those clean, one-motion attacks where everything lines up could make all the difference in what’s proving to be a closer series than most people expected.

I’m not saying Walsh needs to be out there for 30 minutes a game going forward. But it’s something you can go to.

And right now, even a couple possessions where he hesitates instead of just playing sounds better than the alternative.

Losing home-court advantage before hitting the road against the Philadelphia 76ers prompted a sense of urgency for the Boston Celtics. To them, Game 3 might as well have been a win-or-go-home contest.

There were no thoughts of returning to Boston with another split. No feeling of settling. The locker room had made up its mind well before the Celtics took the floor at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

“This was like a Game 7 for us,” Jaylen Brown told reporters after Boston’s 108-100 Game 3 win on Friday night, per CLNS Media. “Even though it’s a long series, we wanted to come back and respond after dropping one in our home floor. We can’t lose two games in a row in the playoffs. That’s tough. So this was a big win for us.”

Boston faced a far-too-familiar postseason scenario — this time against a Joel Embiid-less Sixers team, with the seven-time All-Star recovering from emergency appendectomy surgery. During their championship run in 2024, the Celtics dropped Game 2 in both the first and second rounds against the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, forcing mid-series responses.

Going from sarcastic “We want Boston” chants echoing across TD Garden in Game 1 to early exits and silence in Game 2, the Celtics found themselves in a spot they had seen before. So before heading out to face Philadelphia’s notoriously hostile environment, the team had a conversation.

Understanding that not everyone on the roster had lived through a Game 3 road test of this magnitude, Brown felt it was important to communicate with everyone.

“It’s something you definitely talk about, but something you gotta experience for sure,” Brown said. “And I think our team is still a young team, so this experience was great. It’s great to get these experiences and win. But when you get hit, you just gotta respond.”

Brown added: “Most importantly, just stay together through the adversity. But when you get hit, you gotta hit back.”

In the third quarter, with less than six minutes, Tyrese Maxey buried a step-back 3-pointer over the reach of Jayson Tatum to give Philadelphia a 67-64 lead. Less than two minutes later, Brown backed down Justin Edwards to sink an 11-foot fadeaway jumper and give Boston back its lead at 69-67.

It was all about staying the course.

Yet, to Brown’s point, even though several members of the roster — like Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh — were part of the 2024 run, it’s a different challenge when you’re playing meaningful minutes. Watching from the bench offers valuable experience, but nothing compares to being thrust into the moment and truly learning what it takes to secure a 2-1 series lead.

The last time the Celtics were in that position, Queta and Walsh were spectating. Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet were ahead of Queta on the depth chart at center, and Walsh was a 19-year-old rookie with just nine NBA games to his name. Now, Queta is Boston’s starting center, while Walsh — though not in the lineup — has been leaned on throughout the season to take on challenging defensive assignments against some of the league’s elite offensive stars.

There’s a clear discrepancy between what it takes for the 2025-26 Celtics to win and what it took for the 2023-24 Celtics to win, and the locker room has embraced that reality.

Brown and Tatum, both scoring 25 points apiece, combined for 50 in Game 3. But it took more than Boston’s dynamic duo to outlast the Sixers. Derrick White added three blocks, Payton Pritchard scored 15 off the bench, and Baylor Scheierman chipped in with two momentum-swinging steals that helped shift control back toward the Celtics.

The in-sync engagement from Boston’s bench said it all.

When Tatum pulled up and hit a clutch 3-pointer over Adem Bona to push Boston’s lead to 106-100 with 25.3 seconds left in regulation, the entire Celtics bench matched his energy. Everyone rose to their feet — fired up, re-energized, and looking as if they were ready to play Game 4 on the spot.

“This is what you sign up for,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media. “They’re all pushing us. We have to push them. Usually, competition brings out the best of people, and you’re also in two great environments. TD Garden’s a great environment, here is a great environment, and you’re just throwing haymakers at each other. I think you relish that in the moment.”

Figuring out the puzzle of winning is nothing new to a Mazzulla-led group, especially this season.

“It’s what we’ve done, it’s what we do when we’re at our best,” Mazzulla said. “So the goal is to just try to be at our best as much as we can. So we do that in training camp, preseason, regular season, playoffs, we do it. It’s just the trust that we’ll — more times than not — try to be the best version of ourselves. So like I said, there were big-time plays tonight by multiple people in both halves, and we just have to be able to do that.”

More impressive than the win itself were the paths the Celtics took to get there. Maxey and Paul George combined for 49 points, and while the Sixers didn’t replicate their 3-point explosion in Game 2, their intensity never dipped. Philadelphia pushed Boston to the wire on Friday night, forcing the Celtics to earn every basket and every stop before crossing the finish line.

That included Brown’s off-balance, one-legged floater with 6:10 remaining, Pritchard’s buzzer-beating step-back three with 1:17 left, and White’s two offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter — the second of which led to Tatum’s dagger.

For the Celtics — and especially Tatum — it was the same old challenge, just on a different night.

“As you probably could imagine, we’ve been in this scenario time and time again,” Tatum told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Times we’ve fallen short, and times we’ve succeeded. It’s all about learning from past experiences. Whether it’s the first play of the game or crunch time, it’s about making the right read and making the right play.”

Treating Game 3 like Game 7 wasn’t just the right call; it was the perfect reprogramming of the team’s mindset in what many view as a low-pressure contest. The stakes obviously aren’t perceived as drastic, considering a 2-1 lead means the job is only halfway done, but that’s a simplistic approach. Mazzulla’s locker room isn’t built like that. So, with Embiid progressing and inching closer to a return, the Celtics needed to put Tuesday night’s Game 2 defeat way back in the rearview mirror.

That was priority number one for everyone in a Celtics uniform.

“It’s just about responding,” Tatum said. “Responding from Game 2 and how we played in that one, and wanted to play better. We still had 17 turnovers and a lot of ugly possessions. Obviously, there were some possessions where we figured it out and made plays to win the game. But just on both sides of the ball, there’s a lot of things that we can learn from.”

It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough. And in the playoffs, that’s all that matters.

We have a rock fight on our hands. The Detroit Pistons take their rugged, unhinged defense on the road to Orlando. They can take a 2-1 series lead if they swarm the Magic and get more from Jalen Duren.

Detroit and Orlando have both shown that this will be a cracked-knuckles, first-to-100-wins type series. That fits Detroit as long as they keep playing their brand of basketball. Third-quarter runs like Game 2 embody who Detroit is at its best. They get busy through their tenacious defense, not by outscoring you with snipers and spacers. Play to your strengths.

Game vitals 

Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida

When: 1:00 PM

Watch: Peacock

Odds: Pistons (-2.5)

Analysis

Being tied 1-1 with one of your All-Stars not super involved can be encouraging. While Duren’s production is being affected by the bodies he is drawing, Cade continues to show its levels to this basketball stuff.

Orlando has not “let” Cade do anything. Their entire game plan revolves around taking Cade’s dance partner out of the equation and getting under Cade with stout defenders like Jalen Suggs and Jamal Cain.

It has not worked. Duren has struggled being tagged and grabbed on every roll, but Cade has thrived in this phone booth coverage — middies, off the bounce attacks, off-hand slams in transitions. Cade is simply getting whatever he wants because he is that guy. 33 PPG is superstar stuff, and Cade can do even more if he makes his FTs (whole team has to tighten up there).

In Duren’s case, trying to score over three camped-out defenders is not good process. Somebody is open there, so make the right read. But Duren has to take advantage of the limited one-on-one opportunities he has.

There is no way Wendell Carter Jr. should be bodying and clamping him up. Duren has to go into Carter’s chest instead of fading away from the rim when the opportunity is there.

That left-handed whack-a-mole slam in the third quarter over Jalen Suggs did not count, but that is the type of physicality Duren has to bring in this dog-fight matchup. Duren did tighten up some of his defensive mistakes. His rotations were more crisp than in Game 1. 

Detroits defensive approach as a team was night and day. Their explosive 3rd quarter was not just a “bad” offensive quarter from Orlando. Detroit holding teams to under 20 points in a quarter is always on the table when their defensive playmakers are flying up and down the court.

Game 2 showed why you should always die on the Ausar Thompson hill. Even if you think he ruins the spacing because he cannot shoot from range, he is always bound to make defense-to-offense plays that supercharge (or mutes) an entire arena. 

Plus, Orlando hasn’t covered the better shooters with more urgency either. Orlando is leaving everybody to sell out on Duren and Cade. You might as well play to your defensive strengths at that point. 

The DPOY finalist has Desmond Bane looking over his shoulders. Bane has not found his rhythm as Ausar shadows him like peak Darrelle Revis. In theory, Bane should shoot better at home as he was a 40 percent deep ball shooter in the regular season, but defense travels. Bane will continue to think, “I gotta get this up quick before he gets back here,” if Ausar is following him. 

Rim protection travels. It made zero difference to Isaiah Stewart that Paolo Banchero caught him at the rim late in the game. Stew told Banchero he was going to contest shots at the rim “every time.”

“I’m willing to lay my body on the line to make those plays,” said Stewart. “For the energy to shift, to give us something my teammates and coaches can feed on.”

Stew had two energy infusing blocks on Suggs and Banchero. The energy shifts when Stew is knocking down 3s, too. That was a dagger to the chest for Orlando. 

Franz Wagner was blanketed by Detroit’s stellar D after carrying down the stretch to open the series. He missed a few bunnies (3/7 on floaters) and bricked some jumpers that could go his way at home but Detroit was much more disciplined collapsing on Wagner drives. It’s a good strategy to collapse on Wagner and force an energy specialist like Cain to make a play. 

Cain is an energy bunny who guards Cade with effort and want to. He will bring it for a home playoff game, but Anthony Black is one of the role players Detroit needs to keep in check offensively. 

Black has been locked up so far (6 PPG, 38 TS%), but he has the game to have a random big day. Keep tabs on him and Suggs who is only shooting 30 percent from 3. 

That clutch shot in Game 1 makes it seem like Suggs is shooting better than he is. Don’t let him break out and continue to bite down on Banchero.

Banchero is driving more than settling and got Detroit in foul trouble in the first half of Game 2. That could always happen in this matchup. Tobias Harris was better staying in front of Banchero and executing peel switches with more success when he was beaten. 

Harris was better overall in Game 2. The efficiency won’t show it, but the fact that he’s an offensive threat is major for these Pistons. Detroit has struggled to score. It’s a combination of their personnel plus Orlando’s defense peaking at the right time.

Duncan Robinson is doing his job as a shot maker and ball mover. You would like to see Detroit get more creative with its off-ball movement, but Robinson does his part there, too. 

Daniss Jenkins feels like he is rushing things. It’s clear he was told he needs to be a spark, and he is trying to make something shake. He’ll have a moment here, but he needs to take what the defense gives him and hit shots from the charity stripe.

Javonte Green makes moments happen. Playing him is playing to your strengths. Detroit has to muddy these games and turn teams over. You do that by playing your play destroyers. Detroit forced more turnovers with Woo on the floor in the regular season (+4.4).

Ausar, Woo, and some Ron Holland. These are the guys who make that third-quarter explosion a regular occurrence. Defense to offense is how this team has thrived all season. 

Is Orlando feeling confident after taking home court advantage, or did Detroit smack them with reality after a dominant Game 2? 

Detroit has been consistent, while Orlando has been consistently inconsistent all season. This will be another physical contest as Detroit aims to show why you don’t want to get into that kind of game with them.

Lineups

Detroit Pistons (1-1): Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Orlando Magic (1-1): Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.

Question of the day

You’re JB Bickerstaff. What adjustment do you make to get JD going? 

Game 1 had been a Boston blowout. Game 2 had featured a barrage by the Sixers’ bumptious backcourt. But Friday’s Game 3? That looked and felt like playoff games often tend to look and feel, especially those between ancient rivals like Boston and Philadelphia.

It was a night that saw Sixers forward Paul George take a single shot in the first quarter, then take a different sort of shot to his, uh, lower abdomen while defending Jaylen Brown in the second. It was a night that saw Boston center Neemias Queta, who’s from Portugal (via Utah State), frequently grapple with his Sixers counterpart, Adem Bona, who’s from Nigeria (via UCLA). Bona fouled out in a little over 22 minutes, while Queta fouled four times in not quite 13.

It was also a night that saw Queta — would he be a Portuguese Man o’ War? — bear hug the Sixers’ other center, Andre Drummond, as they battled for position in the third quarter. That compelled Drummond to elbow him in the chin and the officials to scurry to the replay monitor, intent on determining whether the veteran was guilty of a “hostile act.”  Drummond was assessed a technical foul.

There was plenty of jostling on the scoreboard, too. The Celtics led by 10 a couple times, and were still ahead by five after three quarters. Then Tyrese Maxey started cooking, and suddenly the home team was up by a point with 8:42 left in the game. Boston responded with an 8-0 flurry to make it 92-85, but there was still half a quarter to play, still plenty of time for the combatants to exchange more body blows.

Six times in the last 4:15, the Sixers made it a one-possession game, but every time Boston had an answer. That the C’s ultimately emerged with a 108-100 victory and a 2-1 series lead is a tribute to their championship pedigree. They won a title two years ago, and stand a decent chance of at least getting to the Finals this season as well.

That’s because they have two cornerstones in Brown and Jayson Tatum, a capable supporting cast and an understanding of what it takes to win this time of year — of just how slight the difference is between victory and defeat.

Down the stretch Friday, veteran guard Derrick White twice claimed offensive rebounds, the first resulting in Brown’s jumper with 3:49 to play, the second leading to Tatum’s clinching three-pointer with 25.6 seconds left.

“The second chances that they got, they capitalized,” George said. “That was the game.”

Backup guard Payton Pritchard also nailed a right-wing three with the shot clock melting away and 1:17 remaining on the game clock, making it 103-98. Forty seconds earlier, Tatum had connected from the arc to extend a one-point lead to four. His final shot, after White did the dirty work, gave Boston a 106-100 cushion.

Tatum notched 11 points in the fourth, Brown eight. Each finished with 25 in all.

But a bounce of the ball here or there, and things might have turned out differently. That’s how slight the margin of error was — and, really, how it usually is in the playoffs.

“A hundred percent,” Maxey said. “A turnover leads to a basket, an offensive rebound leads to a three. It’s like every time, every single time, you know what I mean? We’re doing a hell of a job defensively, guarding them — a hell of a job in the halfcourt, everybody fighting and doing a really good job. But it’s like offensive rebound, three ball, turnover, three ball or layup. Missed boxout, layup.

“But when you play good teams, that’s what it is. That’s what it is. You’ve got to be sharp, extremely sharp in the playoffs. Man, you’re seeing it.”

Maxey finished with 31 points, but needed 31 shots to do so. George had 18 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. 17, but VJ Edgecombe shot 5-for-17 from the floor and missed all seven of his three-point attempts while scoring 10 (albeit while claiming 10 rebounds and handing out five assists).

And overall there was a regression to the mean by the Sixers’ shooters. After going 4-for-23 from the arc in the first game, they went 19-for-39 in the Game 2 victory, a glittering 48.7 percent. On Friday they were 12-for-35 (34.3 percent), which is more in line with their season norm.

Boston, which is forever firing, was 20-for-47 (42.6 percent) from deep, considerably better than its regular-season accuracy (36.7). That means the Celtics owned a 24-point advantage on three-point shooting on the night. Their reserves also outscored the Sixers’ subs, 35-14.

So those were the big reasons for the Boston victory. There were a ton of small ones, too.

In the postseason, Maxey said, “The attention to detail is really, really, really, really, really small.  I kind of learned early on in my playoff career that the playoffs are broken down into single-possession games. Every single possession matters. And you don’t want (a) possession to come back to bite you.”

White, normally a dangerous shooter, is clunking along at 35.3 percent from the floor and just 20 percent from the arc while averaging a mere 9.7 points a game in the series.

“Obviously it’s frustrating, but I’m out there,” he said. “I’ve got to do everything I can to help us win games. … And if it’s not shooting, it’s got to be everything else.”

On at least two occasions he swatted Maxey’s layup attempts from behind, after it appeared the Sixers guard had a clear path to the rim in a halfcourt situation. Maxey adjusted in the second half, going more to his midrange game, and promised to incorporate more floaters going forward, too.

Another small detail, then. Same for the splint Maxey has been wearing on his injured right pinky, which appears to be affecting his three-point shooting, and which he said he will have to wear the rest of the way.

“I think this is a really close 2-1 series,” he said.

George does not disagree, saying the Celtics so far have done “what they had to do.”

“But,” he added, “this was a very winnable game for us, so there’s no additional pressure (in Sunday’s Game Four). … We’ve got a chance to even it up Sunday and that’s the only thing that matters. It’s on us. We still feel we’re in the driver’s seat, so just do what we’ve got to do Sunday, and everything else will take care of itself.”

Driver’s seat? That seems like a stretch. But the point is, neither team can afford to get too comfortable. The difference between them is not as great as their respective seedings might have you believe. It’s a matter of doing the little things, making the most of the opportunities that are available.

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The New York Knicks find themselves in a must-win situation when they visit State Farm Arena and the upstart Atlanta Hawks.

Our NBA player prop projections are offering several data-backed NBA prop bets for tonight's game, and we found six NBA player props with strong edges and solid value as we dive more into our Knicks vs. Hawks predictions.

Read on for our NBA picks for Saturday, April 25.

Knicks vs Hawks computer picks for Game 4

Knicks	Hawks
Bridges o10.5 points  -120	Kuminga o13.5 points +100
Robinson o4.5 points -105	Daniels o9.5 points -130
Towns 11.5 rebounds -125	Okongwu o12.5 points -112

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Knicks Game 4 computer picks

Mikal Bridges Over 10.5 Points (-120)

Projection: 12.09 points

Mikal Bridges was held scoreless in Game 3, his third straight subpar outing in a series where he's totaled just 21 points. But he averaged 14.4 points per game this season and has cleared 10.5 in five of his previous nine.

The New York Knicks need him to get buckets, and the model says tonight is the night he wakes up.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Bridges Now at bet365!/span

Mitchell Robinson Over 4.5 Points (-105)

Projection: 5.2 points

Mitchell Robinson had just 2 points in Game 3, but cleared this number in four of his previous six. He averaged 5.2 points per game on the road this season, and at -105, this is one of the better prices on the board for what the model projects.

He's cleared his points prop in four of his previous six games and is a good bet to score at least five points tonight. 

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Robinson Now at bet365!/span

Karl-Anthony Towns Over 11.5 Rebounds (-125)

Projection: 13.3 rebounds

Karl-Anthony Towns pulled down 17 rebounds in Game 3 alone. He's hit 12 or more in half of his last six games, logs around 34 minutes per game in this series, and the model has him at 13.33 tonight.

The Atlanta Hawks simply don't have an answer for him on the glass, and that lack of an answer will carry over tonight. 

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Towns Now at bet365!/span

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Hawks Game 4 computer picks

Jonathan Kuminga Over 13.5 Points (+100)

Projection: 14.9 points

Jonathan Kuminga exploded for 21 in Game 3 and has cleared this number in four of his last five. He runs the floor as well as anyone in this series, and the Knicks haven't found an answer for him. 

At plus money, this is the best value play on the card for a player who's scored at least 14 points in four of his previous five contests. 

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Kuminga Now at bet365!/span

Dyson Daniels Over 9.5 Points (-130) 

Projection: 10.8 points

Dyson Daniels had 8 points in Game 3 and has struggled a bit in this series overall, but he's logging 33-plus minutes and averaged 11.9 points per game during the regular season.

The model sees 10.81 tonight, and the playing time alone gives him every opportunity to get there.

span style="font-size: 14px;"🔥/span spanBet Daniels Now at bet365!/span

Onyeka Okongwu Over 12.5 Points (-112) 

Projection: 14.83 points

Onyeka Okongwu is averaging 14.3 points per game in this series and 15.2 during the regular season. He had just 9 in Game 3 after going 1-for-4 from distance, a shot profile that won't repeat itself.

Expect him to attack the paint tonight and get back to where the model has him.

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How to watch Knicks vs Hawks Game 4

Location	State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Date	Saturday, April 25, 2026
Tip-off	6:00 p.m. ET
TV	NBC, Peacock

Not intended for use in MA.
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The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic meet in Game 3 of their first-round NBA playoff series. The Pistons evened the series in Game 2. Games 3 and 4 will be played in Orlando. The Detroit Pistons are favored with a -145 moneyline compared to the Orlando Magic's +118. The over/under for the matchup is set at 214.5.

How to watch Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic

• Date: Saturday, April 25

• Time: 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT

• Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida

• TV Channels: Peacock, NBC

• Live Stream:NBA League Pass | Follow on Yahoo Sports

Odds

• Spread: Orlando Magic +2.5

• Moneyline: Orlando Magic +118 (43.7%) / Detroit Pistons -145 (56.3%)

• Over/Under: 214.5

Series schedule

Game 1:Magic 112, Pistons 101
Game 2:Pistons 98, Magic 83
Game 3: Sat., April 25, at Orlando (1 p.m., Peacock)
Game 4: Mon. April 27, at Orlando (time and network TBD)
*Game 5: Wed., April 29, at Detroit (time and network TBD)
*Game 6: Fri., May 1, at Orlando (time and network TBD)
*Game 7: Sun., May 3, at Detroit (time and network TBD)

*if necessary

The Knicks head back to State Farm Arena for Game Four against the Hawks, down 2-1 in their first-round playoff series. New York must find a way to stop the bleeding after dropping two straight one-point losses, including Thursday’s 109-108 bummer in Game Three. The Knicks can still win the series, but you’re forgiven for any loss of confidence as they continue to let go of the rope and then hang themselves with it.

In Game Three, the Hawks edged out the Knicks 109-108 on a late fadeaway jumper from CJ McCollum with 12.5 seconds left. McCollum finished with 23 points, while Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double. For the Knicks, OG Anunoby poured in 29 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had a 21-17 double-double, but Jalen Brunson can’t find his cape in the series, and Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges combined for two points on 1-of-11 shooting in Game Three. Josh can be forgiven due to the rebounding and various intangibles he delivers, but Bridges looked every bit of his -26 plus-minus, committing four turnovers and taking three shots before getting benched during the second half.

Usually the team that owns the glass with a +14 rebounding edge in the series and leads for a majority of game time would be in the driver’s seat. Yet defensive lapses, curious late-game execution, and missed opportunities at the free-throw line have been self-inflicted gashes. Poor preparation and execution? Sounds like a coaching failure. Mike Brown’s rotations and timeout management have indeed drawn criticism, particularly his failure to keep All-Star players on the floor consistently in crunch time. Integrating Towns more effectively early and attacking Atlanta’s frontcourt weaknesses remains an obvious adjustment, and with more gravity drawn to Towns, Brunson might find a little more spacing in which to conjure his dark arts.

Greater contribution from their bench would be nice, too. Jordan Clarkson has been adequate in his limited role, but Landry Shamet has recorded three points in the series. So much for a flamethrower off the bench. Mitchell Robinson should be the X-Factor against these smaller Birds, but he has played only 44 minutes and grabbed 15 rebounds. Dude should be playing 25-30 minutes and averaging double-digit boards per game. And how about letting Mohamed Diawara play a possession or two, when a tad extra height would give New York an edge around the paint? A smart coach should be able to find 3 minutes for the long rookie in a playoff game, even if just to protect Towns from foul trouble at the end of the third quarter or something.

The keys to victory for New York are unchanged: control the tempo, crash the boards, limit turnovers, and stay locked in on Atlanta’s perimeter threats (McCollum, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker). The Knicks must also clean up their late-game decision-making and free-throw shooting. Getting Towns involved early and keeping him or Brunson (or both) on the floor at all times in the fourth quarter is essential. The postseason is no time for grab-bag experimentation—unless that means starting Miles McBride over Bridges. That’s a change that much of the fanbase would support at this juncture.

On the injury front, the Knicks are reportedly healthy. OG Anunoby is playing through a minor ankle issue. The Hawks remain without Jock Landale; Onyeka Okongwu is managing knee inflammation but has been available.

ESPN gives the Knicks roughly a 54% win probability on the road. Good deal. This series can still belong to New York if they tighten up the small details and stop letting Atlanta off the hook late. Expect another tight, grind-it-out battle in Atlanta. When the Knicks play their best basketball–disciplined, physical, and relentless on the glass–they’ve shown they’re the better team. Prediction: Knicks by four.

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks (1-2) at Atlanta Hawks (2-1)
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Place: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
TV: Peacock / NBC
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

The Houston Rockets fell into a practically insurmountable hole against the Los Angeles Lakers, falling 112-108 in overtime to a team still missing two of its three best players. The Rockets were also without Kevin Durant, but they had a chance to win the game, but fell apart down the stretch and into overtime, with the Lakers walking away with the 112-108 victory.

Head coach Ime Udoka called out his team after the loss, saying “Horrendous mistakes. “I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment, or whatever the case.” Just once I’d like to see Ime call out his own horrendous mistakes — and there have been many in the series — but just another moment in a long string of Udoka assigning blame but failing to take any for himself.

Although it certainly wasn’t Ime who turned the ball over to LeBron James in closing moments, leading to a three — that was Reed Sheppard. And it wasn’t Ime who missed a shot down the stretch — that was Alperen Sengun. Jabari Smith Jr. also had an ugly turnover down the stretch. But the Rockets have struggled closing out games even with Kevin Durant this season — and that’s ultimately a failure of coaching as well that a long-standing issue has not been addressed.

In addition, Udoka’s season-long issues with rotation have been well-discussed around here and have reared their ugly head once again in this series, partcularly in Game 2.

Udoka also told his team following this loss to, “Grow up. You’re not that young anymore.” But if it were up to me, the Rockets would be doing some serious introspection following this likely series loss, and moving on from Udoka should be one of the top considerations. This season has been as much about a referendum on Udoka’s coaching inadequacies as much it’s been a referendum on Houston’s mismatched roster.

But in this one, the Rockets were led by Sengun, with 33 points, 16 boards and 6 assists. He was 15-for-27 from the field. Amen Thompson had 26 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals on 8-for-14 shooting, and Jabari Smith had 24 points and 6 boards on 8-for-16 shooting.

Reed Sheppard also pitched in 17 points, but he shot just 6-for-21 from the floor and and had 5 turnovers in 45 minutes played, including a big one down the stretch. Coach, maybe if you didn’t pull Reed all year when he made a mistake, it might have made him more confident in these types of moments — some coaching 101 stuff. Reed did add 7 assists but was also cooked on D.

The Lakers were led by LeBron James with 29, Rui Hachimura with 22 and Marcus Smart with 21, but this game — and series — is less about the Lakers and more about Houstons failures. The Rockets did battle back from an early 15-point deficit in the first half, but couldn’t keep it together to close things out.

Once Houston loses this series, I believe all options should be on the table — including firing Udoka, or trading Kevin Durant or even Alperen Sengun. I don’t know that the Rockets feel the same way, and in fact, I fear that they don’t. This teams needs changes, that’s for sure.

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Even with Anthony Edwards not at full strength, the Minnesota Timberwolves are starting to look like a team hitting its playoff groove and they’ve got Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on their heels heading into Game 4.

Sure, the defense grabbed the headlines after holding Denver to just 34% shooting on Friday, but quietly, Minnesota’s offense is beginning to find its rhythm too.

We'll dish on which playmakers are standing out in our same game parlay NBA picks and Nuggets vs. Timberwolves predictions for Saturday, April 25.

Our best Nuggets vs Timberwolves SGP for Game 4

It speaks volumes about the Minnesota Timberwolves' growth that an injury to Anthony Edwards hasn’t derailed their momentum in this first-round series.

Rather than folding, Minnesota’s supporting cast has stepped up in a big way. Donte DiVincenzo, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosunmu combined for 60 points in Game 3, showcasing the depth and resilience of this roster.

That same formula will be critical as the Timberwolves look to seize a 3-1 series lead, and it puts a bright spotlight on DiVincenzo. The sharpshooting guard has cleared this scoring line in all three games of the series, riding a red-hot stretch that includes hitting 11 of his 22 attempts from beyond the arc.

The Denver Nuggets have struggled to deal with his quick trigger and off-ball movement, particularly in actions like dribble handoffs and screens. His ability to create space and fire in rhythm has made him a constant threat, especially in transition, where Minnesota dominated with a 21-7 edge in fast-break points last game.

While this total sits close to DiVincenzo’s regular-season average of 12.2 points per game, the Timberwolves will need even more offensive punch from him with Edwards not at full strength. His scoring has become a key component of their attack.

Minnesota has looked like the more physical and assertive team through three games, and DiVincenzo’s perimeter shooting continues to stretch Denver’s defense thin.

Still, don’t expect Nikola Jokic to stay quiet for long. The three-time MVP has built his playoff reputation on consistency, averaging 27.4 points and 12.4 rebounds per game, and is primed for a bounce-back showing in Game 4.

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We’ll soon learn if telling your team to “grow up” proves to be a genius motivational tactic.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka viciously ripped his team after one of the most shocking collapses in recent memory in their 112-108 home overtime loss to the Lakers in Game 3 on Friday to fall in a 3-0 series hole.

Houston somehow lost despite having the ball while leading by six points with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Rockets collapse part 1 (start at :25 second mark)

Up 6 WITH THE BALL with 30 seconds left pic.twitter.com/MQ0jUY30Yc

— Sharp Santa (@sharp_odds21) April 25, 2026

“Grow up, and you’re not that young anymore,” Udoka said of his postgame message to the team. “You’ve been to the playoffs once, and we watched every situation just now.”

You can likely begin prepping the “Gone Fishing” segments for the Rockets’ season after Friday’s choke job, one that certainly raises questions about this group of players and Udoka’s future with the team.

Udoka has come under fire for his team not performing as expected this year, and going out this meekly — albeit without Kevin Durant — is a bad look for the 48-year-old leader.

That he would be so blunt and openly critical of his players is an interesting wrinkle since some coaches would take the blame to avoid making it seem as if they put their talent under the bus.

But Udoka didn’t hold back.

“Horrendous mistakes,” Udoka said to describe the loss. “I don’t know if you want to say youth or scared of the moment or whatever the case. You have a six-point lead with 30 seconds to go…”

Friday’s game unraveled when Jabari Smith Jr. made one of the most mind-boggling turnovers you’ll see with the Rockets ahead, 101-95, and the Lakers not even pressing.

Instead of holding the ball, he attempted to pass in the direction of the one Laker even remotely playing defense in Marcus Smart.

Smart intercepted the ball and Jae’Sean committed what Udoka called a “terrible” foul to bump him while he shot a 3-pointer, resulting in three foul shots that Smart made to slice the deficit to 101-98.

The Rockets still had control of the game, but Reed Sheppard got pick-pocketed on the next possession, resulting in a LeBron James game-tying 3-pointer with 13.6 seconds remaining.

Udoka said the Rockets then botched their final offensive play.

“We don’t run what was drawn up,” Udoka said.

The Lakers scored first in overtime and never trailed the rest of the way to put the Rockets on the brink of elimination.

A season that began with championship aspirations could instead end in one of the most underwhelming showings in team history and perhaps lead to Udoka being fired.

“It’s obviously a weakness of ours to close out and finish,” Udoka said. “The amount of mistakes or the type of mistakes are egregious, and you can’t have those.

“I talk about age all the time, but I’m not talking about 23, 22, whatever it is. I’m looking at five years, four years, three years in the league and drawing from there and learning from previous experiences.”