The 2026 Houston Rockets are the 16th team to force a Game 6 after being down 0-3
[Charania] Lakers star Austin Reaves has been cleared to return for Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, sources tell ESPN.
[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.”
[Post Game Thread] The Houston Rockets (2-3) defeat the Los Angeles Lakers (3-2), 99-93, forcing a game 6 back in Houston.
[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!
[Highlight] Austin Reaves hits the logo range 3-pointer for his first points of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Cade Cunningham shines with 45/4/5 on 77% TS in a huge Pistons win to keep their season alive
[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
Klay Thompson is enjoying life on the ocean
“God, it feels good to be back.”
Paolo Banchero despite the loss: 45/9/7 on 17⁄31 FG
Luke Kennard despite the loss in game 5: 31 MIN, 1 PTS, 3 REB, 2 ASTL, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV
[Highlight] LeBron James with his 500th career playoffs steal (most all-time). 2nd is Scottie Pippen with 395
Jeremy Lin: How are the 8th seeded Magic up 3-1 on the 60 win Pistons
Michael Wilbon says Jordan attempted to ‘soften’ media criticism of LeBron James
[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)
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.
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.”
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
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.”
Ausar Thompson tonight: 6/15/6/5/2 in an outstanding all-around performance as Pistons win Game 5
Pelicans’ Jordan wins NBA’s teammate of the year award
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.”
James Harden in this series vs the Raptors is averaging 22/4/6 on 64.5 TS%
Deandre “despite the legacy game” Ayton 18pts 9/14Fg 17 rebounds 2 blocks, 10 offensive rebounds rebounds.
[Post Game Thread] The Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) defeat the Toronto Raptors (2-3), 125-120 to take a 3-2 series lead.
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
Random fact: dennis schroder has played for half of the teams that made the playoffs this year
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.”
Jabari Smith Jr. leads Rockets in scoring, drops 22/7/3 and 2 blocks as the Rockets survive another elimination game with KD out
Rudy Gobert on Jaden McDaniels as a trash talker: “Jaden is a quiet shit talker, it took me a couple years to realize it. He will score a basket and you can’t read his lips but he’ll say ‘Bitch!’, and I’m like who said that? Jaden will almost whisper”
[Highlight] Scottie Barnes blocks Harden’s 3pt attempt from behind
How is ESPN’s picture quality noticeably worse than every other platform?
[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.
[Highlight] LeBron going back and forth with Sengun at the free throw line
Cade Cunningham in Detroit this series: 37.0 PPG, 5.0 REB, 6.7 AST, 5.3 TOV, 66.5% TS, +18; In Orlando: 26.0 PPG, 7.0 REB, 7.5 AST, 8.5 TOV, 47.8% TS, -5
[Highlight] Paolo Banchero hits his 6th triple of the night to give him 45 points, cutting the Pistons lead to 3 with a minute to go
Dennis “The Menace” Schröder in game 5: 19 pts(11 from the 4th)
Austin Reaves in his return tonight: 22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 1 BLK, 34 MIN
[Highlight] Avdija drives to the basket, and Wemby spikes it out of the building
[Highlight] Cade Cunningham loses Suggs and gets the clutch bucket
[Highlight] LeBron James misses the 3-pointer to cut the Rockets lead to 1, and Jabari Smith Jr. converts both clutch free throws to put the Rockets up 6, with 11.9 seconds remaining in regulation
Scottie Barnes despite the loss & leg injury in Game 5: 19/8/11 | 1 steal | 3 blocks
Every Remaining Team in the West Besides the Spurs have Major Injuries
Jakobe Walter at the half in Game 5 vs the Cavaliers: 17 PTS/ 2 REB on 6-9 FGs and 5-8 from 3 in just 15 minutes and a box+/- of +11
THE PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM 2026 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION
Deandre Ayton in the loss: 18⁄17 with 2 blocks on 9⁄14 FG
Shaq “Wemby is the first perfect big man that’s ever created”