Takeaways: Wolves tie series with Game 4 win

May 11, 2026 No Comments

2026 NBA playoffs: Conference semifinals takeawaysNBA InsidersMultiple AuthorsMay 10, 2026, 10:27 PM ET

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. The No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons have a 2-1 series lead after losing a wild Game 3 on Saturday to the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

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 the series. The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round, picked up where they left off with wins over the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

As teams chase the Larry O’Brien Trophy, here’s what matters most in both conferences and what to watch for in all four series.

Jump to a series:
76ers-Knicks | Cavaliers-Pistons
Timberwolves-Spurs | Lakers-Thunder

More coverage:
Schedules and results | Offseason guides

Western Conference

(2) San Antonio Spurs tied with (6) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-2

Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102
Game 2: Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95
Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108
Game 4: Timberwolves 114, Spurs 109

Biggest takeaway from Game 4: Naz Reid was the recipient of a painful but ultimately rewarding Victor Wembanyama second-quarter elbow to the chin. It landed so harshly that Wembanyama was ejected, swinging the door to the series wide open just as the Spurs were trying to shut it. San Antonio’s wave of young athletes kept it tight to the end, but ultimately, Wembanyama’s absence opened up the paint in crunch time for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in 40 minutes, driving to the rim with power. Rudy Gobert had a pair of big and-1s. Naz Reid had a putback. It was the loosest stretch of offensive basketball the Timberwolves have had in this series, not needing to worry about the always looming Wembanyama. Because of it, the series shifts back to San Antonio 2-2, and the Timberwolves guaranteed themselves a Game 6 at home on Friday night. — Anthony Slater

Game 5: Timberwolves at Spurs (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, NBA/Peacock)

What to watch in Game 5: Wembanyama essentially gifted Game 4 to Minnesota to tie the series by getting ejected after an errant right elbow to the jaw and neck area of Reid. It’s unlikely the league will suspend Wembanyama for Game 5, so expect the Frenchman to come out inspired to dominate in Game 5 in front of the home crowd. San Antonio will likely ramp up its efforts to slow down Edwards, who lit up the Spurs for a game-high 36 points in Game 4. San Antonio had been successful sending double-teams Edwards’ way earlier in the series, but the more the Timberwolves guard sees extra attention, the better he’s finding ways to navigate it. It also appears that Edwards is improving physically. He’s performed progressively better in each game this series, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see San Antonio add some wrinkles to throw off Edwards. Minnesota, meanwhile, will ramp up the physicality on Wembanyama even more to see if he’ll lose his composure again. — Michael C. Wright

Wembanyama ejected from Game 4 for elbowing Reid
Spurs bounce back, beat Timberwolves by 38
Finch: Wolves ‘got punked’ in blowout loss

(1) Oklahoma City Thunder lead (4) Los Angeles Lakers 3-0

Game 1: Thunder 108, Lakers 90
Game 2: Thunder 125, Lakers 107
Game 3: Thunder 131, Lakers 108

Biggest takeaway from Game 3: The Lakers have kept reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in check for the first three games of the series and have nothing to show for it.

Los Angeles’ strategy of having Marcus Smart hug Gilgeous-Alexander all over the floor when he didn’t have the ball and frequently doubling him when he did succeeded in slowing the superstar, who finished with his series-high 23 points on 7-of-20 shooting, didn’t work. Ajay Mitchell, who is filling in as a starter with Jalen Williams (hamstring) injured, continued his stellar series. Mitchell had game highs of 24 points and 10 assists, scoring nine points and dishing out four dimes as the Thunder put the game out of reach while Gilgeous-Alexander rested during the first half of the fourth quarter. Chet Holmgren, who has arguably been Oklahoma City’s best player in the series, also had another outstanding outing with 18 points and nine rebounds. —Tim MacMahon

Game 4: Thunder at Lakers (Monday, 10:30 p.m., Prime)

What to watch in Game 4: All three games have followed a similar script. The Lakers’ defense does its job containing Gilgeous-Alexander and their offense does enough to hang around for a half … and then the wheels fall off when L.A.’s turnovers fuel Thunder runs.

The Lakers committed 17 turnovers leading to 30 points for Oklahoma City on Saturday (OKC had just 10, which L.A. scored 11 points off of). That disparity, combined with OKC’s work on the offensive glass, gave the Thunder 13 more shots than L.A. had in Game 3. Will the Lakers be able to string together a full four quarters Monday to avoid the consequence of their season coming to an end if they don’t? — Dave McMenamin

Thunder ride Ajay Mitchell’s star turn to 3-0 lead over Lakers

Eastern Conference

(3) New York Knicks beat (7) Philadelphia 76ers 4-0

Game 1: Knicks 137, 76ers 98
Game 2: Knicks 108, 76ers 102
Game 3: Knicks 108, 76ers 94
Game 4: Knicks 144, 76ers 114

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.

Perhaps it was an omen. — Vincent Goodwill

Jalen Brunson shuts door on 76ers as Knicks go up 3-0

(1) Detroit Pistons lead (4) Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1

Game 1: Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101
Game 2: Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97
Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109

Biggest takeaway from Game 3: James Harden finally delivered the clutch performance the Cavs needed.

The Pistons had been the better team in the clutch through the first two games, executing in late games like a veteran team, while outplaying the Cavs, who have a bevy of playoff experience. But with the score tied 104-104 with under three minutes remaining Saturday, the Cavs made the plays to win the game down the stretch, including seven points in the final 1:30 from Harden.

Cleveland responded in a must-win Game 3 to keep its hopes alive of winning this series. Donovan Mitchell scored more than 30 points for the second straight game, and Harden bounced back from a miserable Game 2.

Harden and Mitchell combined to outscore the Pistons 10-5 over the final 1:29 of the game. Harden went 3-for-3 in that sequence.

Jarrett Allen scored 18 points, and Evan Mobley added 13 points in the win.

Despite falling behind 2-0 in the series, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson mentioned he came into Saturday’s game encouraged that they had chances to win both games, despite not playing well in either game in Detroit. And for the first time in the series, the Cavs got off to a good start in the first half. They shot 72.2% in the first quarter and outscored Detroit 32-18 in the second.

And although the Pistons closed the gap with a 33-19 third-quarter surge and took the lead in the fourth, powered by Cade Cunningham’s triple-double — 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds — the Cavs responded with a strong fourth quarter, led by Harden, to win in the clutch for the first time in this series. — Jamal Collier

Game 4: Pistons at Cavaliers (Monday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock)

What to watch in Game 4: The Cavs are still undefeated at home in the postseason, and they will need another all-around performance to even this series. Harden and Mitchell were excellent in Game 3, especially in the fourth quarter, and the Cavs will need a repeat performance if they want to hold off a hungry Pistons team.

Detroit has touted the lessons learned from its first-round seven-game battle with the Orlando Magic. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff mentioned before the game it was “the best thing to ever happen to them” because it taught this young squad the urgency it takes to compete in the playoffs.

And the Pistons almost completed an epic comeback Saturday, despite trailing by 16 at the half, showing they will not go out quietly, no matter where the game is played. — Collier