[Borman] Ayo Dosunmu has been gameday downgraded to questionable with right calf soreness. Certainly not a good sign for the Wolves with Bones Hyland already questionable. Will need to be a huge night for Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert and TJ Shannon to close out the Nuggets.
Minnesota’s injuries are simply them being hit by the curse of winning only 49 games. In the Jokic era, Denver are 10-0 in playoff series against teams with 50 or fewer wins and 0-6 against teams with >50 wins.
Matt Ishbia confirms that the Phoenix Suns will not explore trading Devin Booker: “[He] is going to lead us to a championship here in Phoenix… I’ll ride into a fire with Devin Booker, and I’ll do it proudly.”
[Charania] KD Will Miss Game 6 vs. The Lakers
The 2026 Houston Rockets are the 16th team to force a Game 6 after being down 0-3
I’m I the only one who’s surprised a 3-0 lead has never been blown before?
LeBron says his ankle hasn’t been the same since Solomon Hill rolled into him: “My foot and ankle ain’t been the same since. Ever since that injury, I’ve been fighting uphill to get it back to normal. What could have been. I was playing some of the best basketball in my career up until that point.”
[Post Game Thread] The Houston Rockets (2-3) defeat the Los Angeles Lakers (3-2), 99-93, forcing a game 6 back in Houston.
LeBron James responds to the comments made by Jabari Smith Jr: “I don’t care about shit like that … I’m too old for that shit.”
[Charania] Lakers star Austin Reaves has been cleared to return for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, sources tell ESPN.
Hornets’ Moussa Diabaté named 2025-26 Kia NBA Hustle Award winner
The 2026 NBA Playoffs delivering its highest viewership in 33 YEARS!
Luke Kennard despite the loss in game 5: 31 MIN, 1 PTS, 3 REB, 2 ASTL, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV
[Aubin] Wemby on people calling him “too emotional” and “gay” for crying on the court: I think it’s first and foremost a fear of judgment. Like this feeling that you have to act a certain way, social codes, I guess. Personally, I refuse to carry the burden of having to hide my emotions.”
[Highlight] Austin Reaves hits the logo range 3-pointer for his first points of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
[Post Game Thread] The Detroit Pistons (2-3) force game 6 as they defeat the Orlando Magic (3-2), 116-109. 45-piece from both Cade and Paolo!
There will be SIX Game 6s in the 1st round of the 2026 NBA playoffs, the most since 2014!
Cade Cunningham shines with 45/4/5 on 77% TS in a huge Pistons win to keep their season alive
[Highlights] Reed Sheppard hits the jumper over Deandre Ayton, strips LeBron James and finishes with the fastbreak dunk, putting the Rockets up 7 (with replays)
Paolo Banchero despite the loss: 45/9/7 on 17⁄31 FG
Klay Thompson is enjoying life on the ocean
“God, it feels good to be back.”
[Henderson] League sources including Doris Burke are saying the Portland Trailblazers treatment of Tiago Splitter is “the most vicious and disrespectful thing they’ve encountered in 30+ years” as they’re likely looking for the cheapest coach available
James Harden in this series vs the Raptors is averaging 22/4/6 on 64.5 TS%
[Highlight] LeBron James with his 500th career playoffs steal (most all-time). 2nd is Scottie Pippen with 395
[Fischer] Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, and Mark Williams are all expected to target the Chicago Bulls as a potential suitor in restricted free agency. Chicago is projected to have $65M in cap space.
With the Pistons keeping the series alive, this is the first time in 12 years that a conference has had all four first round series go at least six games.
Michael Wilbon says Jordan attempted to ‘soften’ media criticism of LeBron James
Jeremy Lin: How are the 8th seeded Magic up 3-1 on the 60 win Pistons
Oso Ighodaro on what he learned from playing the Thunder in the first round: “They were calling out every single one of our plays, immediately. I went through their playbook and knew, pretty much, their actions, but the level at which they knew our plays was definitely different.”
Deandre “despite the legacy game” Ayton 18pts 9/14Fg 17 rebounds 2 blocks, 10 offensive rebounds rebounds.
[Fischer] The Atlanta Hawks intend to re-sign CJ McCollum this offseason.
Random fact: dennis schroder has played for half of the teams that made the playoffs this year
[Highlight] LeBron going back and forth with Sengun at the free throw line
[Fischer] The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to want to retain the recently acquired Luke Kennard after his strong first-round series against Houston.
Anthony Davis on joining the Wizards: “When you get into the organization and see how great it is, the owner and DC are amazing. We are a very bad basketball team for sure. On the flip side, I think it’s very tough to go from a bad team to a contender. It takes a couple of years.”
[Highlight] Collin Murray-Boyles with the incredible block on Mobley’s dunk attempt
Ausar Thompson tonight: 6/15/6/5/2 in an outstanding all-around performance as Pistons win Game 5
Jabari Smith Jr. leads Rockets in scoring, drops 22/7/3 and 2 blocks as the Rockets survive another elimination game with KD out
Pelicans’ Jordan wins NBA’s teammate of the year award
LeBron admits that people criticizing his Finals record used to bother him: “I am pissed off that I didn’t have a better winning percentage individually in the Finals, but for people to try to turn it into a negative, it doesn’t bother me like it did when I was younger.”
[Post Game Thread] The Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) defeat the Toronto Raptors (2-3), 125-120 to take a 3-2 series lead.
[Highlight] The Houston Rockets defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 99-93 in Game 5. The Lakers now lead the series 3-2, with Game 6 coming up on Friday.
No team in the last 12 seasons has gone onto to win the championship if the first round series lasted more than five games. The last team to do it were the 2014 Spurs who defeated the Mavs in 7 games.
Kevin Garnett’s Shai impression
My best friend created not a “plain text on a sheet” website for NBA stats, absolutely free for use.
Austin Reaves in his return tonight: 22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 1 BLK, 34 MIN
Anthony Davis on his goals before retiring: “I haven’t got MVP. I haven’t got DPOY. I want the parade for a championship, so I want to be able to do that again… it’s still things I want to try to get. I want to get 20,000 points. I want to play 20 years.”
[Highlights] Ausar Thompson full highlights vs. Orlando Magic last night (116-109 W) - Game 5 - First Round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs:
6 Points on 3⁄5 FG, 0/2 from 3, 15 Rebounds (4 Off. Rebs), 6 Assists (5 TOV), 5 Steals, 2 Blocks, 1 PF, and a +/- of -2 in 36:26 minutes played.