Category: NBA

Joel Embiid made his return to the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday, April 26, after recovering from appendix surgery that kept him out of the first three games of the NBA playoffs and the Sixers' lone game in the play-in tournament.

Embiid started for the 76ers in Game 4 vs. the Boston Celtics and played 34 minutes. He led Philadelphia in scoring and rebounds, shots takend and shots made while posting a double-double. But Boston absolutely dominated the contest, notching a 128-96 victory. The Celtics got a huge game from reserve Payton Pritchard, who scored a game-high 32 points and made 6-of-12 3-pointers.

Embiid was initially ruled out indefinitely due to appendicitis, leaving a postseason appearance in doubt. The 7-time All-Star and the 2023 NBA MVP had not been on the court since the 76ers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs on April 6 during the regular season.

He scored his first points Sunday less than four minutes into the game with a monster dunk off an assist from forward Kelly Oubre Jr. on a fast break.

Joel Embiid SLAMS one home for his first FG in his return to action!

📺 NBC and Peacock pic.twitter.com/p3STOmB5tl

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) April 26, 2026

The 76ers trail the Celtics 3-1 in the Eastern Conference first-round series. The Celtics have been responsible for eliminating the 76ers three times since 2018.

Philadelphia has not made it past the second round since 2001. Embiid and the 76ers are looking to advance past the first round for the first time since 2023, Embiid's MVP season.

Joel Embiid stats

(Stats after tw o quarters of play)

• Minutes: 34
• Points: 26
• Rebounds: 10
• Assists: 6
• FG: 9-for-21
• 3FG: 1-for-6
• FT: 7-for-9
• Blocks: 1
• Turnovers: 3

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joel Embiid 76ers stats vs Celtics in Game 4 after appendix surgery

The Cleveland Cavaliers looked ugly once again as the Toronto Raptors tied their series 2-2.

Let’s go over today’s losers.

LOSER – The Core Four

Yep, all of ‘em.

Winning in the playoffs can often come down to having the best player on the floor. In the case of the Cavs, they have an argument for four of the five best players in the series. Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen should all be capable of dominating a game against the Raptors.

So, when none of them show up to play, that’s a concern. There’s really no excuse for some of the poor performances we saw in both Games 3 and 4.

Harden and Mitchell were totally disrupted by Toronto’s defense. The backcourt combined for 11 turnovers in Game 4 as their team scored just 89 points. The decision-making was highly questionable, and they didn’t make up for any of it with their defense.

Mitchell was especially bad. He didn’t have any positive impact on either game played in Toronto. He’s been far too content watching the ball. And when he does fight to get open, he’s settling for jumpers more often than not. There needs to be a greater focus on applying rim pressure. Right now, that extra effort just isn’t there.

The bigs are, of course, impacted negatively by the backcourt’s playmaking. It’s harder to get Allen and Mobley rolling offensively when… well, you aren’t getting them the ball.

That said, the bigs didn’t do enough to assert themselves or create advantages through their screening. A more dominant presence on defense could have swung things. Mobley can not get by with scoring only 8 points in a pivotal playoff game. Not when the backcourt is being hounded as heavily as they are. There has to be a release valve, and Mobley is supposed to be the guy.

Allen wasn’t much better. Though I think he deserves credit for grabbing 15 rebounds and anchoring Cleveland’s defense. He was largely responsible for all of their best contests at the rim. That’s his job, obviously, but it’s worth noting that he did it.

Offense was the issue. Allen was unable to punish Toronto for going small. Whether it’s failing to get a deep seal in the post, rolling hard to the rim, or crashing the offensive glass for a putback opportunity. As is the theme, the Cavs needed more from their best players.

To call a spade a spade, this series will end with four straight losses if the core four continues to play the way they just did. It’s time to meet the moment, or be defined by another early playoff exit.

April 26, 2026

Location: Toyota Center – Houston, Texas

TV:NBC/Peacock

Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español)

Online: Prime Video

Time: 8:30 PM CST

Probable Starting Lineups

Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun

Lakers: Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Jake Laravia, Lebron James, Deandre Ayton

Austin Reaves is a game time decision for the Lakers, with his oblique injury. Kevin Durant is out. Will he be, no doubt coincidentally, be receiving treatment for his ankle during the game, at 830PM CST? We will find out.

With just two days between games, the NBA has promptly sorted through discipline stemming from the Denver Nuggets-Minnesota Timberwolvesaltercation, with no players drawing suspensions.

The NBA announced Sunday, April 26 that Nuggets All-Star center and Most Valuable Player finalist Nikola Jokić has been fined $50,000, and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle has been fined $35,000, following a review of the incident.

NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations James Jones oversaw the league investigation and levied the fines.

Jokić’s fine was for initiating the altercation and shoving Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, and Randle’s is for escalating the event by “forcefully inserting himself into the scrum” and shoving Nuggets guard Bruce Brown.

The NBA conducts its investigations by reviewing footage from inside the arena and speaking to parties involved.

Although the NBA has rules for players drawing automatic suspensions for leaving the bench area during altercations, the league weighs the role those individuals play in any fight. That allowed players like Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, who clearly left the bench area despite not being checked into the game, to avoid a suspension.

The fight started with just 1.3 seconds left in Game 4, an eventual 112-96 Timberwolves victory Saturday, April 25, when the outcome was already decided. But the Timberwolves, looking to burn the clock, tossed the ball up to forward Jaden McDaniels. Rather than dribble it out for the end of the game, McDaniels put up an uncontested layup to push Minnesota’s lead to 16 points.

Jokić took exception to the layup and rushed over from half court to confront McDaniels, eventually getting in McDaniels’ face and shoving him.

McDaniels grabbed Jokić by the jersey as the two got tangled up, leading to teammates and assistants getting in between the pair to break it up. The incident took place right in front of the Timberwolves’ bench.

NUGGETS VS. WOLVES FIGHT

OH MY GOODNESS. 🍿🍿🍿 pic.twitter.com/YSFx0kXq5X

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 26, 2026

Eventually, both players were separated, and both Jokić and Randle were ejected.

“Because he scored when everybody stopped playing,” Jokić said after the game when asked what upset him. “Come on, guys, you saw it, what happened.”

The Nuggets fell to a 3-1 series deficit with Saturday’s loss, though the victory didn’t come without some significant cost for the Timberwolves. Minnesota lost starting guard Donte DiVincenzo to a torn right Achilles tendon, and All-Star guard Anthony Edwards reportedly suffered a bone bruise and hyperextended knee that will sideline him for multiple weeks.

The altercation, though, somewhat marred what was a physical, hard-fought game, one in which backup Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu dropped a career-high 43 points.

“Obviously, I didn’t like what McDaniels did,” Nuggets coach David Adelman told reporters after the game. “The game was over. The game was conceded both ways. In 2026 that stuff just doesn’t happen anymore. That stuff happened in the ‘80s, where teams would continue to score. But that’s who he is. And so if that’s what they want to do, that’s what they want to do. It has nothing to do with the win or the loss.”

Game 5 is scheduled for Monday, April 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikola Jokic, Julius Randle disciplined after NBA playoff game fracas

NEW YORK (AP) — Denver's Nikola Jokic was fined $50,000 and Minnesota's Julius Randle was fined $35,000 for their roles in an altercation near the end of Game 4 of the teams' playoff series, the NBA announced Sunday.

Both will be eligible to play when the series resumes Monday with Game 5 in Denver.

The incident was evidently sparked when Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels took an uncontested layup with 2.1 seconds left and the Timberwolves already leading by 14 — a play the Nuggets took exception to, given how the game had been decided.

Jokic, the NBA said, “initiated the incident by confronting and shoving” McDaniels in reaction to that play. Randle, the league said, “escalated the incident by forcefully inserting himself into the scrum and shoving Nuggets guard-forward Bruce Brown.”

Jokic and Randle were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.

“He scored when we’d stopped playing,” Jokic said. “You guys saw what happened.”

The teams are meeting in the postseason for the third time in the last four years. Minnesota leads the series 3-1, but will be without guard Donte DiVincenzo for the rest of the season because of a torn Achilles and will be without fellow guard Anthony Edwards indefinitely because of a knee injury. DiVincenzo and Edwards both got hurt on Saturday.

___

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

The Spurs had a rollercoaster of a Game 4 in Victor Wembanyama’s return to action. San Antonio was dreadful, especially on offense, in the first half and trailed by a wide margin heading into the break before making a roaring comeback in the second half, outscoring the Trail Blazers 73 to 35 to get the 114-93 win. Now, they’ll return home up 3-1 in the series and with a chance to close it out on Tuesday.

The start of the matinee game was predictably sloppy, with both teams struggling with turnovers and the Spurs showing some poor shot selection and questionable transition defense. As the minutes passed, things stabilized, and the two squads tried to play their games. San Antonio locked down on defense with a dominant Wembanyama deterring and altering shots near the rim and the perimeter defenders being active and energetic. The Silver and Black took a small lead that would, unfortunately, disappear when the bench checked in, as they struggled massively on offense. As they tend to do, after a drought, the Blazers went on a run to regain the lead, and the poor shot selection from earlier returned when the starters did for the visitors, allowing the hosts to stay ahead by two after the opening 12 minutes.

It was a low-scoring first quarter, and unfortunately for the Spurs, their offense would only get worse in the second. Mitch Johnson tried some strange lineups in hopes of getting a spark, but nothing worked. The Blazers’ defense was suffocating in the halfcourt, with Jrue Holiday doing a great job of containing Wembanyama on the perimeter and San Antonio showing the lack of variety and imagination in its attack that hurt them occasionally in the regular season. The bench got outscored 23-5 in the first half, showing that the entire team was struggling and there would be no unexpected hero to save it. They were helped by a Spurs defense that wasn’t sharp and by some outrageous shotmaking from unlikely sources, but the Blazers should be commended for running every chance they got and moving the ball until it found the open man. At the break, they led by 17, and they deserved that buffer.

As dominant as Portland was in the first half, they tend to be inconsistent, so it didn’t feel like the game was out of reach. The Spurs just needed to remember their identity, get some stops, and hit some threes, and the hope was that they could eventually chip away at the deficit, taking advantage of their often erratic opponent. There was room for optimism, but not even the most bullish fan could have predicted how quickly San Antonio would get on track and catch up on the scoreboard. The defense, which was lackadaisical earlier, became a blur of movement, with everyone in the perimeter showing energy and aggression. Stephon Castle was everywhere on both ends, playing through foul trouble, and Victor Wembanyama sealed off the paint. Even the second unit found some scoring. Everything went well for the Silver and Black and poorly for the Blazers, who only scored 16 points in the frame.

The score was tied heading into the final period, and the concern was that the Spurs might have spent all their energy climbing their way out of a hole. The opposite seemed to happen. If anything, the Silver and Black looked energized after the fantastic third quarter and only got more dominant in the fourth. Castle was finding Wembanyama for easy buckets inside, and when the young guard had to take a break, De’Aaron Fox took over the game. It didn’t hurt that the Blazers went through one of their turnover-filled droughts, but San Antonio’s defense was partly responsible for their poor play on that end. A close win felt possible even at the worst points, but it would have been hard to predict the Spurs running away with it, dropping 40 in the fourth, one shy of the amount of points they had in the entire first half. It was a terrific comeback that showcased how high San Antonio’s ceiling really is.

Game notes

• Wembanyama finished with an insane stat line in his return. He looked like himself on defense throughout and came alive on offense when he got to play off the ball more as a finisher instead of trying to create against smaller defenders with a lower center of gravity. Fantastic return for Wemby.
• Dylan Harper, the hero of Game 3, didn’t have it going on Sunday, but the two other guards did. Stephon Castle was limited by foul trouble but still managed to get 16 points and eight assists in 27 minutes while playing elite defense for stretches. De’Aaron Fox, seeing that the team needed him to look for his shot more aggressively, dropped 28 points in 17 shots and played almost 40 minutes, taking over when needed.
• It wasn’t just Harper who struggled off the bench. Luke Kornet and Carter Bryant, who were hugely important in Game 3, were not effective on Sunday. Harrison Barnes did well, but in a small role. And Keldon Johnson once again scored in single digits. The second unit wasn’t a major factor in the win.
• One possible reason for the struggles of some role players, apart from facing a deep opponent, might be due to experimentation by Mitch Johnson. Some of it has been forced by Wembanyama’s absence, but Mitch tried some strange lineups in the first half that simply didn’t work. He stuck with a more traditional rotation in the second half, and everyone seemed to feel more comfortable.
• After the Scoot Henderson and Dylan Harper verbal battle in Game 3, things got chippy between Stephon Castle and Deni Avdija. Castle put the ball in Avdija’s chest after scoring on him, the Blazers’ forward shoved him, Castle shoved him back, and then the two exchanged some heated words after being separated. The officials went with double technicals, and things didn’t escalate, but it’s clear that familiarity is breeding contempt between the two teams.

Play of the game

Luke Kornet, channeling his inner Wemby with the dunk of the inbounds pass.

LUUUUKE OMG 😱

📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/AitibJqyXy

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 26, 2026

Next game: vs. Trail Blazers on Tuesday

The Spurs can end the series with a home win. Tip-off time is 8:30 CT.

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid will make his series debut in Game 4 against the 76ers, after previously being listed as doubtful. Embiid missed the first three games of the series as he continues to recover from an emergency appendectomy surgery on April 9th.

Embiid was upgraded to questionable and went through his full warm-up. Philadelphia made him available about 30 minutes before tip-off.

Embiid will take some of the minutes away from Adem Bona, who has been starting this series, and Andre Drummond, who has been playing the majority of backup big minutes.

Joel Embiid will make his debut in Game 4

Embiid averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game this season, while shooting 48.9% from the field and and 33.3% from three.

Nick Nurse said pregame he did not know whether Embiid would be on a minutes restriction if he did become available.

Pregame, Joe Mazzulla declined to get into how different the Celtics’ game plan would be if Embiid did play, but Neemias Queta did say on Saturday that Philadelphia would get a boost if the big man made his return.

“One of the best players the last couple of years, so it can only be better than them when he’s out there helping,” said Neemias Queta. “I’m not really worried about that yet, nothing confirmed about it yet. But until then, we’re worried about what’s confirmed. But he’s a hell of a player, and he can make them a lot better. We’ll embrace the challenge if he comes.”

The San Antonio Spurs found themselves down by over 15 points for the second consecutive game. Much like they did in Game Three, the Spurs exploded in the second half, outscoring the Trail Blazers 73-35 after halftime to win Game Four 114-93. It was the largest playoff win by a team trailing by 15+ at halftime.

San Antonio was propelled by its All-Stars, De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama. Fox led all scorers with 28 points on an efficient 11-17 shooting from the field, while adding in 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. Wembanyama was a major difference maker on the defensive end, keeping Portland from getting good looks in the paint. In his first game back after clearing concussion protocol, Wembanyama had 27 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, and 7 blocks.

Portland made things tough in the first half, especially in the second quarter, when they shot 58% to build a 19-point lead. Deni Advija led the Trail Blazers with 26 points on 8-14 shooting.

The Spurs have taken a 3-1 lead in the series. They’ll head back to San Antonio for Game Five on Tuesday, where they will look to advance to the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Observations

• Mitch Johnson should get a lot of credit for the Spurs’ turnaround. He used familiar lineups and strategies in the second half to pull ahead. He encouraged the team to pick up the pace offensively, which led to easy baskets while the Blazers struggled to get back. He relied on his guards and veteran experience to bring the team back. Harrison Barnes played more, Carter Bryant sat, and used Luke Kornet only in brief stints to give Wembanyama a short break.
• Stephon Castle picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. Johnson trusted him to play in foul trouble, and the gamble worked out. Castle was everywhere in the third quarter and made a big impact in his second-half minutes. He didn’t collect his 5th and final foul until the fourth quarter. Castle had 16 points and 8 assists in the win.
• Wembanyama’s defense was huge in the second half. San Antonio outscored Portland 52-38 on Sunday. When they couldn’t get clean looks inside, they were forced to shoot contested threes. The Trail Blazers shot 10-31 (32%) from three.
• The Spurs won the turnover battle, 18-13. They scored 29 points off turnovers, while Portland scored 18.
• The Blazers battle back at the end of the fourth quarter, cutting a 20-point lead down to 12 points late. That run was ignited by some disruptive play by former Spur Sidy Cissoko.
• The game was effectively over when Castle got a technical foul for putting the ball in Avdija’s chest after an and-1 layup. Those two have been physically competing all series long. That felt like a boiling-over point from Castle. It was probably an immature moment from the second-year man, but hey, those are the emotions of playoff basketball.
• Scoot Henderson went scoreless on 0-7 shooting in his 27 minutes. Henderson has been a major difference maker in the first three games, but had a tough one on Sunday.
• There were Go Spurs Go chants echoing in the Moda Center in the final minutes of the game.

A handful of demoralizing stats off the 76ers' second 32-point loss in 8 days originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s bad enough losing one playoff game in a series by 32 or more points. The 76ers on Sunday night lost for the second time in eight days by 32 or more points. 

Until this week, the 76ers had lost only six playoff games in franchise history by 32 points. Now they’ve done it twice in the same series.

Yikes.

Let’s take a look at a handful of utterly demoralizing stats off the 76ers’ 128-96 loss to the Celtics in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First-Round series, which the Celtics now lead three games to one. And thanks to the Stathead database for helping provide some of this insanity. 

ONE OF THEIR WORST PLAYOFF LOSSES EVER: The 32-point loss is the Sixers’ 7th-largest ever in a playoff game, the 2nd-largest ever at home and their most lopsided home loss in 56 years. The only worse home loss in 76ers postseason history was a 156-120 loss to the Bucks in Game 3 of their 1970 Eastern Division Semifinal series at the Spectrum. It’s also their second 32-point loss in the series after losing Game 1 123-91. The 76ers are the seventh team in NBA history to lose two games in the same postseason series by 32 or more points.

TOUGH NIGHTS FOR V.J. AND KELLY: After shooting 0-for-7 from 3 in Game 3, V.J. Edgecombe shot 0-for-4 in Game 4. He’s only the second 76er to take 11 or more 3’s in a two-game span in the postseason and miss them all. In 2001, Allen Iverson shot 0-for-8 vs. the Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals series at the First Union Center and four nights later he was 0-for-5 in Game 4. (He didn’t play in Game 3). Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre shot 0-for-6 the 3rd-most misses ever by a Sixer without a basket in a playoff game. Robert Covington had an 0-for-8 against the Celtics in 2018 and Georges Niang was 0-for-7 at Miami in 2022.

OUT OF IT EARLY: After trailing the Celtics by 15 after the first quarter in Game 1, the 76ers trailed by 16 Sunday night after one quarter. Not only is this the first playoff series in 76ers history in which they’ve trailed more than once by 15 or more points after the first quarter it’s the first time it’s happened twice in the same postseason. In fact, before Game 1 the 76ers had only trailed by 15 after the first quarter six times in 488 all-time playoff games. They’ve now done it twice in four games. Similarly, the 76ers trailed by 18 at halftime Sunday night after trailing by 18 in Game 1. Those are tied for the 9th-largest halftime deficits in 76ers postseason history. And this is the first series in franchise history in which they’ve trailed twice by 18 or more points. The 18-point halftime deficit is 3rd-largest at home in the postseason behind a 36-point deficit vs. the Bucks in that Game 3 of their 1970 Eastern Division Semifinal series at the Spectrum and a 20-point deficit in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal vs. the Hawks at Wells Fargo in 2021. 

HOW DO YOU SCORE 38 POINT IN A HALF? The 76ers’ 38 points in the first half were their fewest in a postseason first half in 14 years, since they trailed the Celtics 41-33 at halftime of an 85-75 loss in Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden. The last five times they’ve scored fewer than 40 points in a postseason first half have all been vs. the Celtics.

MOST 3’S EVER VS. 76ERS: The Celtics made 24 3-pointers, the most ever against the Sixers in a postseason game. The previous high was 20 three times, including by the Celtics in Game 2. The 76ers have allowed 20 or more 3-pointers three times in a home game, including twice in the last three days. The Hawks had 20 in Philly in 2021. The 24 3’s are tied for 3rd-most in NBA history. The Cavs made 25 vs. the Hawks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series in 2016 and the Bucks made 25 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference First-Round game in 2023. The Celtics shot 45 percent from 3, highest in NBA history by a team attempting at least 50 3’s. The previous high was the Rockets’ 44 percent on 22-for-50 in a win over the Spurs in Game 1 of their 2017 Western Conference Semifinal Round series.

HE DIDN’T EVEN START: Payton Pritchard’s 32 points tied the most ever scored in a playoff game against the 76ers by a player who came off the bench. In 1981, in Game 1 of the Bucks-76ers Eastern Conference Semifinal game, Junior Bridgeman scored 32 off the bench.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid in starting lineup for 76ers in Game 4 against the Celtics less than 3 weeks after appendectomy.

The Los Angeles Lakers will try to sweep the Houston Rockets in their first-round playoff series. The Lakers will advance to the second round with one more victory. Kevin Durant will be sidelined in Game 4 for the Rockets — the third game he has missed in the series.

How to watch Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets

• Date: Sunday, April 26

• Time: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT

• Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

• TV Channels: NBC, Peacock

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

Odds

• Spread: Houston Rockets +4.5

• Moneyline: Houston Rockets -185 (61.9%) / Los Angeles Lakers +150 (38.1%)

• Over/Under: 207.5

Series schedule

Game 1:Lakers 107, Rockets 98
Game 2:Lakers 101, Rockets 94
Game 3:Lakers 112, Rockets 108 (OT)
Game 4: Sun., April 26 at Houston (9:30 p.m., NBC)
Game 5: Wed., April 29 at Los Angeles (TBD)
Game 6: Fri., May 1 at Houston (TBD)
*Game 7: Sun., May 3 at Los Angeles (TBD)

*if necessary

The Cleveland Cavaliers gagged away a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Their offense let them down as they dropped Game 4 to the Toronto Raptors93-89.

The stats in the table below are taken from Cleaning the Glass. As a note, the percentiles are in comparison to other playoff games, which influences the sample size.

	Offensive Rating	Effective Field Goal Percentage	Offensive Turnover Percentage	Offensive Rebounding Percentage	Free Throw Rate
Cavs	91.8 offensive rating, 3rd percentile	42.5%, 4th percentile	18.6%, 16th percentile	30.5%, 59th percentile	17.2, 33rd percentile
Raptors	95.9, 5th percentile	34%, 0th percentile	12.4%, 70th percentile	40%, 92nd percentile	27.8, 82nd percentile

Now, let’s dive into the numbers.

• The Raptors had the lowest field-goal percentage (32%) from a postseason game winner since 1970, credit to Justin Russo. Toronto went just 31-97 from the field.
• If you go before the three-point era, this was the fourth-lowest field-goal percentage from a team that won a playoff game, credit to Justin Thomas.
• Jakob Poeltl is the only Raptor who had more makes than misses, going 4-7 from the field.
• Toronto went just 4-30 from three (13.3%). Unsustainably hot outside shooting carried the Raptors to the Game 3 victory. Their regression to the mean was harsh as they couldn’t buy a basket from deep.
• The Raptors had 10 more shot attempts than the Cavs. This is due to Cleveland losing the turnover and offensive rebounding battle. In a game where neither team could establish an offensive rhythm, the one that had more chances wound up the winner.
• Toronto had 21 offensive rebounds, grabbing 40% of their misses (92nd percentile). This led to the Raptors outscoring Cleveland 19-7 on second-chance points.
• Cleveland turned it over 18 times compared to Toronto’s 12. The Raptors won the points-off-turnovers battle 17-7.
• The Cavs shot an abysmal 15-23 from the line (65.2%). On a day they couldn’t generate any offense, they also couldn’t convert the freebies that they got. Jarrett Allen struggled most, going 1-4.
• James Harden turned it over seven times. This was the second time in as many games he’s had more turnovers than field goals (six).
• Donovan Mitchell scored 20 or fewer points for the second game in a row. He finished with 20 points on 6-24 shooting (25%). In the regular season, the Cavs were 7-11 when he played and scored 21 or fewer points and 25-9 when he scored 30 or more. In the playoffs, the Cavs won both games he’s scored at least 30 and have lost both games he’s registered fewer than 21.
• Mitchell went 0-4 in shots at the rim and 2-10 in shots in the paint overall.
• Only 28% of the Cavs’ shots came at the rim (33rd percentile). Getting to the basket is still the most efficient way to score. The Raptors have kept Cleveland from getting there. The Cavs went just 13-22 (59%) on shots in the restricted area.
• Cleveland registered just an 80 half-court offensive rating (9th percentile). The Cavs were outstanding in the half-court since the Harden trade in the regular season. That didn’t carry over to Game 4 as they couldn’t generate any consistent offense with their stagnant sets.
• The Cavs were outscored 17-11 in the final five minutes. The Cavs went just 2-10 from the field with a turnover in that span. Sam Merrill accounted for both field goals.
• Collin Murray-Boyles outscored Cleveland’s front-court 15 to 11, credit to NBACentral. The Cavs are paying $66.3 million for their starting front-court duo. Murray-Boyles is making 10% of that.
• Allen, with five points, failed to register double-digit points for the seventh time in 22 playoff games with the Cavs. Allen’s aggression and activity have consistently fallen off in the postseason. He came into this game averaging 12.8 points per playoff game with the Cavs after averaging 14.8 across six regular seasons with the team.
• Evan Mobley, with eight points, failed to register double-digit scoring in a playoff game for the fifth time in his career.
• The Cavs won the 28 minutes Dean Wade was on the court by 11 and lost the 20 he sat by 16. Wade wasn’t great offensively in this game, but he was still a net positive because of his defense on Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram. The fact that the Cavs have struggled in the minutes without him isn’t surprising because they have no one capable of guarding Toronto’s wings. The lack of playable wings continues to hurt the Cavs in the playoffs.
• The Cavs’ bench outscored the Raptors’ 32-19. Cleveland’s role players weren’t necessarily great, but they weren’t the reason the Cavs lost this one. The blame falls on the stars. Merrill (14 points), Jaylon Tyson (nine points), and Dennis Schroder (eight points) provided some scoring for that group.
• The Cavs are now 3-10 on the road in the playoffs in the Mitchell era. Two of those wins came against the Miami Heat in the first round last season. They’re now 1-10 on the road against playoff teams that finished the regular season over .500.

TORONTO (AP) — Scottie Barnes hit the go-ahead free throws in the final minute and scored 23 points, Brandon Ingram also added 23 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 on Sunday, tying the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

The best-of-seven series shifts to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday.

RJ Barrett scored 18 points and Collin Murray-Boyles had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who won despite shooting 4 for 30 from 3-point range.

Barnes added nine rebounds and six assists.

Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 20 in the fourth quarter and James Harden added 19, but the Cavaliers couldn’t overcome an 18-turnover performance.

Mitchell missed two shots in the final 25 seconds, including a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. He finished 6 for 24 overall and made 4 of 12 shots from long range.

Sam Merrill scored 14 points and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were outscored 10-2 in the final 1:54 of the fourth.

With NBA commissioner Adam Silver in attendance, both teams struggled from 3-point range. Cleveland finished 10 for 40 from distance, including 5 of 10 in the fourth.

SPURS 114, TRAIL BLAZERS 03

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 27 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks in his return from a concussion, and San Antonio took a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against Portland Trail with a victory.

De’Aaron Fox added 28 points for the Spurs, who will return home to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

The Spurs announced about an hour before the game that Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 Defensive Player of the Year, would play after clearing the league’s concussion protocol.

The Spurs trailed the Blazers by 17 points at the half, but the game was knotted at 74 going into the fourth quarter. Fox and Keldon Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointer to put the Spurs up 90-77 with 7:14 left.

Johnson’s dunk with 4:31 left made it 101-81 for San Antonio and all but sealed the win.

Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 26 points. There was tense moment with 2:13 left when Avdija and Stephon Castle exchanged shoves. They were given offsetting technical fouls.