Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 35 points in his play-off debut as San Antonio beat Portland on Sunday [Getty Images]
San Antonio Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA's defensive player of the year.
The 7ft 4in France international is the first unanimous winner in the award's 43-year history having secured all 100 of the first-place votes.
At 22, he is the youngest player to win the award and the second to win it within their first three seasons, after Spurs legend David Robinson (1991-92).
Wembanyama was the first overall draft pick in 2023 and has led the league in blocks (3.1 per game) for the third straight season.
The two-time All-Star also averaged career highs in points (25.0) and rebounds (11.5), and claimed a steal per game.
"I'm super, super happy to win this award and actually super proud to be the first ever unanimous [winner]," he told NBC.
Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren finished second with 239 points (76 second-place votes), while Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons was third with 60 points (nine second-place votes).
Wembanyama, who is also a Most Valuable Player contender, helped San Antonio post the second-best record in the regular season (62-20) and their defence was ranked third overall.
German NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki told AFP: "I've never seen anything like it.
"His defence is so good that he changes the game just by being on the court and taking away some of the lay-ups and twos that other teams would usually take."
Wembanyama starred during his play-off debut on Sunday and the first round of the post-season continued on Monday, with the Cleveland Cavaliers taking charge against the Toronto Raptors.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points for Cleveland while James Harden added 28 as the Cavs claimed a 115-105 home win to go 2-0 up in the seven-game series.
"They're one of the greatest (back-courts)," said team-mate Evan Mobley. "It's hard to stop them because of their offensive prowess. They can make any shot."
Toronto's shooting guard RJ Barrett added: "They're a problem and we've got to figure out how to fix that."
Anthony Edwards claimed 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves fought back from 19 points down to win 119-114 at the Denver Nuggets and level their series at 1-1.
The Atlanta Hawks also claimed a comeback win on the road, beating the New York Knicks 107-106 to make it 1-1, with CJ McCollum scoring a game-high 32 points.
If it feels like we've seen this movie before, it's because we kind of have. Two years ago, Minnesota trailed Denver by 20 in Game 7 of their series, only to stage one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history and win to advance.
This time was only 19 points, and it's just Game 2, but you get the idea.
Anthony Edwards scored 30 with 10 rebounds (and two blocks), Julius Randle added 24 points, and the Timberwolves came from behind to win 119-114 to take Game 2 of their first-round series. That series is tied 1-1, headed to Minnesota. Of all the good things for the Timberwolves in this game, the most important was how Edwards looked. In Game 1, he'd appeared slowed and bothered by his ailing knee. Monday night, he was back to his explosive self again and able to get to the rim, scoring six of his 10 buckets inside the restricted area.
"He was awesome. It was unbelievable," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said, via the Associated Press. "Also in that (first) period when we were down, he was great on the bench. Great leadership, positive. He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that."
Denver had their chances, but it's hard to overcome Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic shooting 2-of-12 in the fourth quarter.
Denver's best chance came when it was down just two with 30.6 seconds left in the game. An Edwards traveling turnover gave the Nuggets the ball and a chance. On the ensuing play, Minnesota blew the Murray/Jokic pick-and-roll coverage, and Jokic had the ball in the lane and a wide-open 8-foot floater to tie it, but instead, he tried a difficult pass to Christian Braun under the basket, who fumbled the ball, got up a shot, but was fouled. Braun made one of two free throws, and Denver never got closer (two Randle free throws and a Donte DiVincenzo breakaway dunk sealed the Timberwolves' win).
"I definitely should've took that floater," Jokic said.
"I trust C.B. to make free throws," Denver coach David Adelman said. "It rimmed out. That happens in the NBA. You're going to have moments that you don't want to remember. That's a tough moment for C.B. after playing such a good game."
Murray finished with 30 points, while Jokic had 24 with 15 rebounds and eight assists.
The first half of this game was a tale of two quarters. Denver outscored Minnesota 39-25 in the first quarter with the lead reaching 19 early in the second. Then, behind strong play from Julius Randle on both ends of the court, the Timberwolves stormed back and outscored the Nuggets 39-25 in the second. Minnesota would have gone to the half up three if Jamal Murray had not done this.
JAMAL MURRAY FROM BEYOND HALF COURT TO BEAT THE BUZZER!
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 19: Stephon Castle #5 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against the Portland Trailblazers in the first half of Game One of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center on April 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) | Getty Images
A playoff series can turn at any time. The San Antonio Spurs handled the Portland Trail Blazers at home in Game One on the back of a historic playoff debut from Victor Wembanyama. There were moments, however, where it looked like the Blazers could make it an interesting game, including big runs in the third and fourth quarters, that cut into the Spurs’ lead. Despite the convincing Game One victory, San Antonio has to come out with the same sense of urgency to take care of business on their home floor.
In order to take care of business, they’ll have to find a way to slow down Deni Advija. The Blazers’ star was one of the only Portland players who could get into a real rhythm in Game One, scoring 30 points on 12 of 21 shooting. San Antonio did a solid job defending the rim on Sunday, allowing just 42 points in the paint, but Advija was the one Blazer they couldn’t keep away from the rim. The Spurs will have to make some adjustments to decrease Advija’s impact.
The Spurs will look to leave some first-playoff-game jitters in the rearview, cut down on some turnovers, and make more easy shots in game two. If they can do that while continuing to play good defense, they will likely be heading to Portland with a 2-0 lead.
Trail Blazers Injuries: Damian Lillard – Out (achilles)
What to watch for:
Taking advantage of bigs guarding Castle
Portland used an interesting defensive approach to guarding Wembanyama and Stephon Castle on Sunday. They put Donovan Clingan on Castle, and Toumani Camara on Wemby. It makes sense from the Blazers’ perspective. Camara is their best defender, and teams have found some success using wings to guard Wembanyama. Given Castle’s inconsistent jump shot, they can have the big man guarding him sag way off to provide more interior defense. Unfortunately for the Blazers, that strategy didn’t work on Wembanyama, who had a monster 35-point game. It did, however, throw Castle out of rhythm. Castle had 17 points on 4-13 shooting.
These matchups are crucial in this series. If Castle can make the Blazers pay for not guarding him from outside, the strategy fails for Portland. But if he continues to score easy buckets, it slows down a key cog in the Spurs’ offense. It will be interesting to see how Mitch Johnson and the Spurs staff counter this defense in Game Two.
Three-point variance
The Blazers are not a good three-point shooting team. They’ve shot just 34.3% from deep this season, and hit only 26% of their 38 attempts in Game One. The Spurs seemed fine with players like Clingan, Robert Williams III, and Matisse Thybulle firing up shots from deep. The Blazers’ missing open shots were one of the reasons the Spurs’ defense looked so effective. However, as we saw in the play-in game against the Phoenix Suns, Portland can hit a three-point shooting hot streak. If Portland’s shaky shooters start to hit shots, Game Two could get interesting in a hurry.
Guard play
It didn’t feel like the Blazers sent a lot of double-teams at Wembanyama in Game One. For most of the game, he was able to operate independently in the pick-and-roll, on the block, or behind the three-point line. After his dominant game on Sunday, it’s likely he starts to see multiple defenders when he catches the ball. That means it will be on De’Aaron Fox, Castle, Dylan Harper, and Devin Vassell to take the pressure off. Fox and Vassell were excellent in Game One, coming up with big plays, especially in the second half. San Antonio will need its guards to come up big to maintain homecourt advantage in this series.
DENVER , CO - APRIL 20: Donte DiVincenzo (0) of the Minnesota Timberwolves talks to Rudy Gobert (27) during the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves' 119-114 win over the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday, April 20, 2026. Minnesota tied the best-of-seven series 1-1. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) | Denver Post via Getty Images
Game Story
21-2.
Twenty-One to Two.
That is the run that was set to this entire game. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Timberwolves, it did not come in their favor. While so much can change after the first 12 minutes of game-time, there is no worse way to start a game off.
Worst of all, it came without MVP finalist Nikola Jokić dominating, instead coming largely at the hands of Tim Hardaway. Jokić took only two shots in that quarter, but the Denver Nuggets led it with 14 point advantage.
Tim Hardaway Jr. just had the sequence of the season on defense.
Saves the ball and spills head first into the crowd, then takes a charge on Bones Hyland on a 3-on-1 fast break.
Still, that lead probably understates how truly porous the Wolves’ defense was in that first quarter. 39 points allowed in a quarter left their opposition on track for over 150 points is never a good sign. Worst of all, it looked just as bad.
Most devastating was the foul trouble, especially amongst the guards who should probably be safest from getting involved with the refs, immediately made the rotation weird. Within those first 12 minutes, Donte DiVincenzo had two fouls, Ayo Dosumnu had two of his own, and Bones Hyland led the pack with three, including a momentum defining charge against Hardaway. Denver enjoyed four four-point plays in the first half.
To that end, the Wolves committed 13 fouls within a quarter and a half. You will not win a game with that type of foul trouble.
There is no complaint that is hyperbole here. It was truly that bad. Many will be quick to blame the officials, and I won’t disagree with that. There were far too many light fouls that are atypical from playoff environments, most of which were going against Minnesota.
And yet, by the time Rudy Gobert got his third foul of the second quarter (Yes, it was that bad), the Wolves had pulled themselves back within 10. They had created an 11-0 run of their own, which became a 21-4 run of its own.
21-4.
Twenty-One to Four.
Everyone says that basketball is sport that is always on a pendulum swing, and that playoff basketball takes that concept to an extreme, but that does not put enough extreme to this. Within the first eight minutes, this game felt out of reach, only for a sudden momentum shift to see the Wolves completely take over, to leave us with a competitive battle filled with the rivalry between these two teams.
That’s what April is for.
It’s so weird to watch a team simultaneously find and lose their identity the way this Wolves team does. We saw hints of that in that first half. When Minnesota is attacking the rim, forcing Jokić to come out to the arc and then chase into the restricted area, they were scoring at will and opening up shots from distance off the drive and kick game.
When they were settling for shots, even when they were making them, the lack of rim pressure meant losing the pace game and fouling to catch up. It’s a pretty obvious difference.
That difference became even more obvious when a dominant second quarter ended with yet another run for Denver, capped off by a deep heave from Jamal Murray to tie the game at 64. Murray had 23 in the first half. Hardaway had 14. Edwards had 20 of his on to top the Wolves.
“It’s a game of runs,” said Hardaway, just before running into the locker room.
He was understating just how insane it had been.
If the first half was of opposite extremes, the third quarter was an even affair. The fourth quarter began with only three points separating the two teams. Clearly, this was a duel between Anthony Edwards and Jamal Murray, but in these moments, there is usually an unsuspected hero that rises to the occasion.
For the Nuggets, it seemed that it would be Bruce Brown, who hit two triples to start the fourth quarter. Maybe it was Cam Johnson, with his timely threes or rebounds. For the Wolves, well, that remained to be seen.
Naz Reid looked like the first to vie for that title. He had a few drives that resulted in short finishes or free throws. Instead, he seemed to fade until he was subbed out in favor of the Wolves go-to starting and closing lineup. Like so many iterations of Chris Finch’s Timberwolves era, this team would either win or go down by doing the same thing they had done all year.
Maybe it would be Jaden McDaniels. The crushing defense was complimented with a few dunks, some especially, notably more filled with hate. But, a bad foul call — blamed on marginal contact to the hip, and changed to “foot to knee contact” — left him at five, and that clearly affected the calculus of his play.
The Wolves were 0-8 all-time after going down in a series 0-2. The Nuggets were 8-0 all-time when up 2-0 in a series. This one felt like it would be an early decider of whether Minnesota had any chance in this series, or if they had simply made the playoffs to continue a streak that felt impossible only five years ago.
With just two minutes left, it was 112-111 Minnesota. That became 115-113 with 30.8 seconds left after an Anthony Edwards travel gave the Nuggets back the ball. When Christian Braun missed one of two free throws, it seems like the question was answered.
The Wolves hero tonight, at least for the fourth quarter, was not any of their own players. Instead, it was the mistakes of the Denver players that kept Minnesota ahead in a grimey cage fight of a game. Still, that does not matter much. What does matter is the Wolves have stolen home court advantage from the Nuggets.
minnesota always gives you just enough to keep you from turning the game off and going to sleep but never enough to make you feel like they’re gonna actually win
it’s a wildly frustrating space to occupy as a viewer
The series sits at 1-1 going back to Denver. Who cares how it happened?
Sleep well, Wolves fans. What a fun game it was. What a confusing one as well.
Up Next
This playoff series has officially “begun” as the road team won. Minnesota heads back home and gets 48 hours of rest before playing host to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, April 23rd at 8:30pm CT on Prime Video. Get to Target Center if you can. It’s gonna be rockin’.
Normally, players get up and head home after their postgame interviews, but Hart stared straight ahead with a look of frustration and bewilderment that reflected the magnitude of what just happened on the court.
The No. 3 seeded Knicks -- a team with a mandate to reach the NBA Finals -- coughed up a winnable game at MSG.
Questionable lineups, poor fourth-quarter offense and an inability to stop CJ McCollum left the Knicks searching for answers late Monday night.
They now head to Atlanta with their first-round series tied, 1-1.
The odds tell you they’ll probably make it through this series and advance to play the Celtics in the second round, but by coughing up a double-digit fourth quarter lead on Monday, the Knicks made life much harder than it had to be.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
Mike Brown sat both Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns at the same time for stretches in both halves on Monday. The Knicks were outscored by seven points when Brunson and Towns were off the floor.
As Knicks Film School’s Ben Ritholtz pointed out, the Knicks’ net rating in the regular season when Towns and Brunson were off the floor wasn’t pretty.
Brown didn’t think that the lineups without Brunson and Towns led to the Knicks’ downfall.
“I don’t think so. We’ve played that lineup quite a bit since the end of the season, that lineup’s been pretty good,” Brown said. “We weren’t good tonight and we turned the ball over a few too many times during that period. We had opportunities with our starters where we were up eight to 10 and Atlanta closed it so I wouldn’t just say that specific lineup caused it.”
To Brown’s point, the Knicks led by nine in the fourth quarter when Brunson and Towns returned to the court. There were eight minutes left in regulation. This is a game the Knicks should have won.
WHAT ABOUT THE TIMEOUTS?
Brown called a timeout with 2:43 remaining in the game and Brunson dribbling to the basket. Brunson didn’t have a clean look so you can’t say that Brown’s timeout directly prevented the Knicks from scoring, but it was strange to see Brunson stopped mid-dribble by the timeout.
“We had a couple of possessions weren’t fluid so I wanted to make sure that we had something that we wanted to get to or set something up offensively because we had whiffed on the last couple of possessions,” Brown said. “They just didn’t look right or didn’t feel right.”
At that point, the Knicks led by just one and had been outscored, 10-4, over the past five minutes.
Brown did not have a timeout to use on the Knicks’ final possession, which ended with a Mikal Bridges miss.
WHAT ABOUT BRUNSON?
Brunson finished the game 10-for-26 and went 3-for-8 in the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter.
In that same span, Towns took just two shots.
“The opportunity just didn’t come around to shoot it,” Towns said when asked about the fourth quarter. “But at the end of the day I trust everyone in this locker room to shoot it. The opportunity wasn’t there for me in the fourth. And that’s fine. These guys, they work on their games, I know they can shoot it.”
When Hart was asked about Towns in the fourth quarter, he made it clear that it would be one of several things the Knicks would look at ahead of Game 3.
“We have to make sure he’s more involved, find him on mismatches. Put him in action and make sure we use his skill and his gravity to our advantage,” he said. “That’s something we will look at film and be better with.”
Phoenix Suns (45-37, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Thunder -17.5; over/under is 214.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Thunder lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Thunder won the last matchup 119-84 on Sunday, led by 25 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Devin Booker led the Suns with 23.
The Thunder have gone 41-11 against Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma City ranks fifth in the Western Conference in rebounding with 44.1 rebounds. Chet Holmgren leads the Thunder with 8.9 boards.
The Suns are 29-23 against Western Conference opponents. Phoenix is 7-10 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The 119.0 points per game the Thunder score are 7.9 more points than the Suns give up (111.1). The Suns are shooting 45.5% from the field, 1.8% higher than the 43.7% the Thunder's opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring 31.1 points per game with 4.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists for the Thunder. Holmgren is averaging 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 59.7% over the last 10 games.
Royce O'Neale is shooting 42.0% and averaging 9.8 points for the Suns. Booker is averaging 1.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 8-2, averaging 122.1 points, 46.1 rebounds, 28.3 assists, 10.5 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.3 points per game.
Suns: 5-5, averaging 111.2 points, 44.6 rebounds, 23.2 assists, 7.5 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.5 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
Suns: Mark Williams: day to day (foot), Jordan Goodwin: day to day (calf).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference)
Detroit; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Pistons -9.5; over/under is 218.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Magic lead series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Orlando Magic visit the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Magic won the last matchup 112-101 on Sunday, led by 23 points from Paolo Banchero. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 39.
The Pistons are 39-13 in Eastern Conference games. Detroit leads the Eastern Conference with 57.9 points in the paint led by Jalen Duren averaging 14.6.
The Magic have gone 26-26 against Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando is ninth in the Eastern Conference scoring 115.7 points per game and is shooting 46.4%.
The Pistons average 117.8 points per game, 2.7 more points than the 115.1 the Magic give up. The Magic average 11.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 fewer made shot on average than the 12.7 per game the Pistons give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cunningham is scoring 23.9 points per game with 5.5 rebounds and 9.9 assists for the Pistons. Duren is averaging 14.6 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 72.4% over the past 10 games.
Wendell Carter Jr. is shooting 51.2% and averaging 11.8 points for the Magic. Jalen Suggs is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pistons: 7-3, averaging 117.1 points, 44.2 rebounds, 30.6 assists, 10.2 steals and 7.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.5 points per game.
Magic: 7-3, averaging 115.5 points, 44.4 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.9 points.
INJURIES: Pistons: Jalen Duren: day to day (knee).
Magic: Jonathan Isaac: day to day (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, James Harden added 28 and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 115-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Evan Mobley had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who had at least three players score at least 25 points in a postseason game for the second straight season and fourth time overall.
Cleveland — which never trailed — has won 12 straight playoff games against Toronto, tying the NBA postseason record for consecutive wins against an opponent. The streak began in the 2016 Eastern Conference finals, when the Cavaliers took the final three games. Cleveland swept Toronto in four games in the second round in 2017 and ’18.
The Cavaliers also have 12-game winning streaks against Detroit and Atlanta, while the Los Angeles Lakers had a 12-game run against Seattle from 1980 through ’89.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with a playoff career-high 26 points. RJ Barrett had 22 points and nine rebounds.
The series shifts to Toronto for Game 3 on Thursday night.
HAWKS 107, KNICKS 106
NEW YORK (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Atlanta rallied to stun New York, tying their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.
McCollum led a late surge that was almost for naught when he missed two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining. The Knicks rushed the ball up the court without any timeouts left, but Mikal Bridges missed a jumper as time expired.
The Hawks had trailed the whole second half and were down 12 after three quarters. Atlanta chipped away and a basket by McCollum gave the Hawks a 101-100 lead — their first of the series in the second half — with 2:09 to play. He made another for a three-point lead, and after Jalen Brunson tied it with a 3-pointer, McCollum answered with another jumper to make it 105-103 with 33 seconds to play.
Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points off the bench and Jalen Johnson scored 17, including a basket with 10 seconds left for a four-point lead for the No. 6 seeds, who host Game 3 on Thursday.
Brunson had 29 points for the Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns added 18.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, NUGGETS 114
DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 30 points, Julius Randle added 24 and Minnesota rallied past Denver to tie their Western Conference playoff series at one game apiece.
Denver had won 13 straight since losing on March 18.
Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left and Christian Braun got fouled at the other end, but he missed one of two free throws, leaving Denver trailing 115-114 with 19 seconds remaining.
After a Minnesota timeout, Randle sank two free throws and Donte DiVincenzo added a breakaway dunk to cap the comeback from a 19-point first-quarter deficit.
Jamal Murray scored 30 points and Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. But the Nuggets’ All-Star duo shot a combined 2 for 12 in the fourth quarter, managing a measly four points as the Wolves evened a best-of-seven series that shifts to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Thursday night.
NEW YORK — Downstairs, the call was being made for the first bus to leave Madison Square Garden.
Jonathan Kuminga, fresh off a 19-point outburst off the bench, was seated at his locker, shirtless, eating a plate of chips and guacamole (with one chocolate chip cookie on the side), listening to “If I ruled the World” by Nas, featuring Lauryn Hill.
Veteran guard CJ McCollum, fully living out his villain arc, rested both his feet in an ice bath. Just minutes earlier, he had irritated the crowd here to the point of repeatedly serenading him with a chant whose first word rhymes with truck. As in: “Truck you, CJ.”
And as Atlanta Hawks staffers bundled towels and closed down the locker room, general manager Onsi Saleh was sighing.
“We’ll take it,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “My heart rate needs to recover, but we’ll take it.”
Atlanta erased a 12-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to stun the New York Knicks, 107-106, evening its first-round playoff series at one game apiece.
This was a game New York controlled. In 48 minutes, the Hawks held a lead for just 1:25, a 14-second slice in the second quarter and the rest in the game’s final minutes.
The Hawks, meanwhile, were on top for 39:36 seconds.
This was a game when Atlanta’s two premier players, first-time All-Star Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, were the full focus of the Knicks’ defensive attention, where New York’s primary focus was to frustrate them, to contest every sliver of space they had.
This was a game in which, in the second half, the Hawks shot just 1-of-12 (8.3%) from 3-point range.
Yet, veteran McCollum, who was initially presumed to be an afterthought in the trade that shipped Trae Young to the Wizards, dropped 32 points. None was bigger than the fadeaway jumper along the left baseline with 33.3 seconds left, the eventual game-winner, over one of the best defenders in the world, OG Anunoby.
The Hawks pulled off the stunning upset. But can they actually win this series?
The gut reaction would be to assume that Johnson and Alexander-Walker have to produce more. In the first two games of the series, the Knicks have unleashed Josh Hart (as the primary defender on Johnson) and Mikal Bridges (on Alexander-Walker).
And while neither player has posted the explosive point total, Hawks coach Quin Snyder is fine with that — as long as the pair focuses on making positive plays that are in the best interests of the team, particularly Johnson, who went 0-for-4 in the first half for only 4 points.
“I think it’s him just keeping an even keel,” Snyder told reporters after the game. “As the game progressed, he found more of a rhythm; that’s harder to do than maybe coming out and having everything go your way. His ability to grind through those situations — and when that happens, then the ball goes (elsewhere).
“It’s a big thing for Jalen, to understand how important he is and how much we need his offense, but also to be able to recognize there are certain times in the game where he’s playing more of a secondary role.”
Johnson would finish the game with 17 points on an efficient 6-of-12 night, adding 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
It has been a tougher go for Alexander-Walker, who in two games this series has combined to go 9-of-29 (31%) for 26 points.
“We’re just guys who play selfless basketball,” Johnson said. “So if we don’t have it going, we’re not going to force our way to bad shots. We’re going to stay aggressive and continue to look for and make the right plays. But there are other ways we can impact the game than score.”
Johnson added that the Hawks have a “late-game menu” that they rely on, and that the team seeks to feed the hot hand. In this case, it was McCollum.
But the Knicks are a very good defensive team. And playoff series, by and large, cannot be won simply by role players. It would benefit the Hawks if Snyder and his staff can find ways to scheme up easier offense for Johnson and Alexander-Walker.
But given the general philosophy that the Hawks have embodied, even if they try that, and it’s not there, Atlanta’s players and coaches vow to adapt. The next test comes Thursday, April 23, in Atlanta, where they will be facing a Knicks team that knows it let one slip away.
“This is a game we should’ve won,” Hart told reporters after the game, “and in the playoffs you can’t give away games.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 18: LeBron James #23 sets a screen as Bronny James #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles while Aaron Holiday #0 and Tari Eason #17 of the Houston Rockets defend during the first half of Game One of the First Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 18, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The first round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets continues on Tuesday.
L.A. looks to take further control of the matchup and protect homecourt by going for 2-0.
Just when it looked like the Lakers needed a miracle to win Game 1, there was a sudden plot twist moments before tip-off that Kevin Durant was ruled out as well. The matchup instantly became more favorable for the purple and gold and, boy, did they make the most out of it in the best way possible.
Shoutout to Luke Kennard for having himself a career night, to LeBron James for taking control of the game with his IQ and the rest of the team for doing what they’ve done for the most part of the season: rise to the occasion.
Game 1 didn’t go perfectly for the Lakers by any means, but they played well enough to earn the victory. Now, the next challenge is to win Game 2, which will be even harder. Durant’s health remains the biggest storyline but with or without the all-time great, Los Angeles will have to be ready for Houston’s response.
How will Houston respond?
What was ironic about Game 1 was that even as the Rockets won the rebounding battle (44-35) by a substantial margin, scored more points in transition (11-4) and finished with more possessions through second-chance opportunities, they still lost. A huge reason for this is that no one from their team scored more than 20 points and without KD, they lacked offensive firepower.
Expect that to change in Game 2. The likes of Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith — who shot a combined 11-34 — will definitely want to bounce back. The same goes with Alperen Sengun, who will likely be more aggressive and look for his shots. The Rockets will most likely tighten their defensive coverage on Kennard and will limit James’ playmaking and scoring abilities. This is the perfect opportunity to test how quickly head coach JJ Redick and the Lakers respond to the Rockets’ adjustments.
Can L.A. continue to beat the Rockets on offense?
Going into this series, the Lakers had the offensive advantage and they showed that in Game 1 even without Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Besides Kennard’s spectacular 27-point night, L.A. shot 53.6% from downtown and five players were in double figures.
Talk about contributions across the board.
The purple and gold clearly also played with more effort and focus. They had an answer to every single one of Houston’s runs and found ways to overwhelm them on offense. It’s tough to ask Kennard to score 27 points again, but it’s fair to expect Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and co. to continue playing well. The Lakers’ best shot at beating the Rockets is still through their offense.
There are still so many variables that can impact this series: Luka, Austin and KD’s health, for example. But with all the uncertainty both teams are dealing with, it becomes a series about which team can control what they can and the cards they’re being dealt.
Can the Lakers carry over their success from Game 1? Will the Rockets bounce back? We’ll find out on Tuesday.
Notes and Updates
The Lakers’ injury report remains as it is with Luka Dončić (left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (left oblique muscle strain) out.
As for the Rockets, Steven Adams (left ankle surgery) and Fred VanVleet (ACL surgery) are out while Kevin Durant (right knee contusion) is questionable.
It might be time for Mike Brown to rethink one strategy.
It’s one he has utilized all year, but it’s come to hurt the Knicks in both games of the series.
Brown prefers to sit both Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns for the starts of the second and fourth quarters rather than stagger them and have one on the court. The lineup he uses instead — with Miles McBride, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and Mitchell Robinson on the floor — struggled in the Knicks’ 107-106 Game 2 loss to the Hawks on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
“We’ve played that lineup quite a bit at the end of the season,” Brown said. “That lineup’s been pretty good. We weren’t good tonight and we turned the ball over a few too many times during that period. But we had opportunities where our starters were in, and we were up eight to 10 [points] and Atlanta closed it. So I wouldn’t just say that specific lineup caused it.”
After the Knicks took a nine-point lead into the second quarter, the Hawks opened the second quarter on a 13-3 run — with Brunson and Towns on the bench — to take the lead. The Knicks bench — particularly Shamet — was ineffective. So much so that Brown subbed Jose Alvarado — who seemed to be out of the playoff rotation — into the game for Shamet. Knicks starters reestablished the seven-point lead by halftime.
Mike Brown reacts on the baseline during the fourth quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
In the fourth quarter, it was Alvarado on the floor — instead of Shamet — along with McBride and Clarkson to start the quarter. They began the quarter up 12. By the time Brunson and Towns subbed back in with 7:56 left in the game, they led by nine.
Then, with the starters on the floor, came the collapse.
“We trust any one of our guys in this locker room to be in that game at any time,” Towns said of sitting at the same time as Brunson. “What I do know is the time we were off the court wasn’t when we lost.”
The draft pick is set.
The Knicks will have the No. 24 pick in this year’s draft. Six teams with identical records had their ties broken by random drawing Monday, conducted by the NBA.
The Knicks (53-29) won their tiebreaker over the Lakers.
OG Anunoby finished 10th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Earlier this month, he expressed his belief that he should win the award. But that finish should give him a good shot at making one of the All-Defensive teams, another honor for which he has vouched for himself.
Monday night, the veteran guard heard plenty of them as he shot the Hawks past the Knicks 107-106 at the Garden to even this best-of-seven opening-round series at one game apiece.
“I am no villain. I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife,” he said after pouring in 32 points, including the game-winning jumper with 33 seconds left. “I think it’s admiration. Great, passionate fans in a really hostile environment. It’s fun. It’s basketball. It’s the playoffs.
“If anything, I think it’s a sign of respect.”
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum #3 puts up a shot as New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet #44 jumps to defend during the first quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Knicks have yet to find an answer for the 34-year-old McCollum.
In two games, he has 59 points and is shooting a robust 54.7 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from 3-point range. He had seven of his 32 in the fourth quarter Monday, getting the better of Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
Even before McCollum began torching the Knicks, he drew the ire of the Garden.
He was given a technical for kicking Brunson in the midsection while taking a jump shot (he was also called for a travel on the play). Brunson stayed down in pain for a few moments. Afterward, McCollum suggested Brunson was acting.
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum #3 slam the ball during the second quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The animosity has only grown since.
“I love it. I love it. It’s why we play the game,” McCollum said. “It’s fun being in opposing arenas when the buzzer sounds and it’s quiet and you walk off the court. I think there’s a level of mutual respect. It was a tough game against a good team on their home floor, and they’re supposed to be passionate. I think they did a great job of showing up consistently throughout the year.
“I’ve been to games in the Garden as a fan and watched. I’ve seen playoff games here. It’s a pleasure to be able to play here and it’s a pleasure to be able to walk off the court with a win.”
They weren’t really slowing him down the first three quarters Monday, either.
But in the final stanza, Towns didn’t see the ball much, and the Knicks blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in this best-of-seven opening-round series. Now, the Hawks own home-court advantage after their come-from-behind 107-106 victory at the Garden.
Towns attempted just two shots over the final 12 minutes as the Knicks offense stalled, managing just 15 points on 22.7 percent shooting.
“The opportunity just didn’t come around shooting,” said Towns, who finished with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting and eight rebounds. “But at the end of the day, I trust everybody in this locker room to shoot the ball. The opportunities weren’t available for me in the fourth and it was fine.”
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 drives to the basket during the third quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Atlanta supposedly didn’t have anyone to deal with Towns, although Jonathan Kuminga was up to the job Monday, producing 19 points off the bench and helping to keep the ball out of Towns’ hands in crunch time.
There were plenty of culprits in the final quarter. The Knicks couldn’t slow down CJ McCollum. Mikal Bridges opted for a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer with the Knicks down a point instead of attacking. OG Anunoby missed two clutch free throws.
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 walks off the court at the end of the fourth quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
It didn’t help that Towns was such a nonfactor, especially after he lit up the Hawks for 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists in Game 1 and played so well against them during the regular season.
It became the Jalen Brunson show. He took eight shots and made three of them in that fateful final stanza. The Knicks also did a lot of settling, attempting 11 3-pointers. They hit three of them.
“We could’ve flowed better, for sure. We could’ve done that,” Towns said. “But at the end of the day, I have to watch the tape. When you’re so into the game, it’s hard to give a great assessment about it.”
CJ McCollumheard it from a hostile MSG crowd after kicking Jalen Brunson in the groin on a jump shot during Game 1.
The hometown fans gave him a warm welcome again for introductions ahead of Game 2, and they let him hear it even more after he got face-to-face with Knicks guard Jose Alvarado following an offensive foul call late in the third quarter.
It was McCollum who got the last laugh, though, completely silencing the Garden as he led the Hawks on a ferocious 14-point comeback to stun New York in a Game 2 victory.
The 32-year-old is now on the list of Hawks stars to play villain in the Big Apple, but he isn’t looking at it that way.
“I ain’t no villain, I’m a nice guy with two kids and a wife,” McCollum said.
“That’s why we play the game," he added. "It’s fun being in opposing areas and when the buzzer sounds it’s quiet and you walk off the court, I think there’s a level of mutual respect -- it was a tough game against a good team on their own floor, and they’re supposed to be passionate."
It wasn’t just the fourth that McCollum dominated, as the Knicks simply had no answer for him all night.
After Brunson got the best of him in Game 1, the veteran playmaker was able to outdo him this time around, leading all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field.
"You've got to give CJ credit, he hit some tough shots," Mike Brown said.
"He's a really good offensive player, he's gonna make shots," Brunson added. "Gotta give him a lot of credit, he was in a great rhythm all night. We need to do a better job of being physical, contesting, and rebounding."
A timeout had Knicks fans furious because they believed the team didn’t use one in the closing seconds of the game.
The only problem was that there was never any timeout left for Knicks coach Mike Brown to use, despite the NBC broadcast incorrectly saying they still had one left at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The confusing piece of information changed the way supporters looked at the final play of the game after Josh Hart grabbed the rebound off a missed Hawks free throw and quickly moved the ball up the court to Mikal Bridges, who missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer.
The NBC broadcast team said the Knicks still had one timeout left and the scorebug showed one remaining. The phantom timeout was mistakenly added to the scorebug with 5.6 seconds left after C.J. McCollum’s first missed free throw.
Mike Brown reacts on the baseline during the first quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostNBC scorebug incorrectly shows Knicks have a timeout in the final seconds of their Game 2 loss to the Hawks. X @barstoolsports
What appeared to come into play was the fact that the NBA limits teams to two timeouts with less than three minutes to go.
Brown oddly called one with 2:43 left on the clock with Jalen Brunson already driving into the lane and then used a second one with 10 seconds left in the game.
“A couple of possessions weren’t fluid,” Brown said postgame of the timeout at 2:43. “So I wanted to make sure that we had something we wanted to get to, or to set something up offensively. because we had whiffed on the last couple possessions. It just didn’t look right, it didn’t feel right.”
The whole situation led to people jumping on social media to express their confusion after figuring out that the timeout didn’t actually exist.
“I deleted my tweet about the Knicks not taking a timeout because… evidently they didn’t have one???” Fox Sports’ Nick Wright wrote on X. “The broadcast said they did, and the score bug (after initially saying they didn’t have one) said they did, but it appears that was all incorrect. That makes a lot more sense.”
“I didn’t love not taking the timeout there as the broadcast said they had one, but turns out they didn’t, so makes sense why they didn’t. Holy confusing,” sports talk host Zach Gelb wrote on X.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges #25 takes the final shot of the game and misses under pressure by Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson #1 during the fourth quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Brown told reporters after the game that it would have been a “gut feel” if he would have used a timeout on that final possession, if he had one.
“I thought it was a good shot. I don’t think the shot was under a ton of duress,” he said.
