Cavs catch fire with a playoff franchise-record 24-0 run vs. Pistons (1:41)Cavs catch fire with a playoff franchise-record 24-0 run vs. Pistons (1:41)
NBA InsidersMultiple AuthorsMay 11, 2026, 01:28 AM ET
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder eliminate (4) Los Angeles Lakers 4-0
(2) San Antonio Spurs tied with (6) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-2
(1) Detroit Pistons tied with (4) Cleveland Cavaliers 2-2
(3) New York Knicks beat (7) Philadelphia 76ers 4-0
The second round of the 2026 NBA playoffs is here, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game of the Eastern and Western conference semifinals.
The No. 2-seeded New York Knicks swept the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the East. The fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers evened their series with the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons at two games piece ahead of Wednesday’s crucial Game 5.
In the West, the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stole a win over the 2-seed San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama on Sunday to even their series at 2-2. The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round, picked up where they left off with with another sweep over the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Lakers.
As the chase for the Larry O’Brien Trophy heats up, here’s what matters most in both conferences and what to watch for in all four series.
Biggest takeaway from Game 4: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander checked back into the game with 8:37 remaining in the fourth quarter, more than a couple of minutes earlier than his regular rotation. The goal was to get the MVP some extra rest by closing out the Lakers on Monday night. Mission accomplished, as the Thunder became the first defending champions since LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 to sweep the first two series of the playoffs.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine of his series-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to help send the Lakers into a summer of uncertainty. Austin Reaves, who enters free agency, had 27 points, six rebounds and six assists but missed a potential tying 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining. If this was LeBron James’ last game in a Lakers uniform — or even the NBA — he went down swinging with 24 points and 12 rebounds. — Tim MacMahon
Biggest takeaway from Game 4: Through two quarters on Monday, Donovan Mitchell had just four points, marking his lowest-scoring first half in any playoff game while with Cleveland. But he exploded for 21 points in the third — as many as the entire Pistons team tallied in the quarter — with many of those buckets coming as part of a 22-0 start to the second half for Cleveland.
Biggest takeaway from Game 4: The Knicks are playing a cohesive brand of basketball, one they perhaps had been building up to all season long.
But even the most orange-and-blue-eyed optimist couldn’t have foreseen this: the capitalizing on mistakes, the torrid 3-point shooting, bordering on a record pace. The Knicks’ 25 3-pointers in their 30-point Game 4 victory tied for the most in NBA playoff history.
Now, their 0-3 record in Detroit this season doesn’t seem to matter, and nor does their 2-1 mark against Cleveland. Detroit beat them up, heavily motivated from last season’s first-round series, but are the Knicks a much tougher bunch this time around? The Cavs had the Knicks on the ropes on Christmas Day before New York put on a fourth-quarter run that seemed like the past seven playoff games.
Cavs catch fire with a playoff franchise-record 24-0 run vs. Pistons (1:41)Cavs catch fire with a playoff franchise-record 24-0 run vs. Pistons (1:41)
Jump to a series: 76ers-Knicks | Cavaliers-Pistons Timberwolves-Spurs | Lakers-Thunder
More coverage: Schedules and results | Offseason guides
Game 5: Timberwolves at Spurs (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, NBA/Peacock)
Game 5: Cavaliers at Pistons (Wednesday, TBD, ESPN)
Cavs catch fire with a playoff franchise-record 24-0 run vs. Pistons (1:41)
Jalen Brunson shuts door on 76ers as Knicks go up 3-0