2026 NBA playoffs: Conference semifinals takeawaysNBA InsidersMultiple AuthorsMay 11, 2026, 01:28 AM ET
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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.
Jump to a series:
76ers-Knicks | Cavaliers-Pistons
Timberwolves-Spurs | Lakers-Thunder
More coverage:
Schedules and results | Offseason guides
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder eliminate (4) Los Angeles Lakers 4-0
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Game 1: Thunder 108, Lakers 90
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Game 2: Thunder 125, Lakers 107
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Game 3: Thunder 131, Lakers 108
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Game 4: Thunder 115, Lakers 110
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
(2) San Antonio Spurs tied with (6) Minnesota Timberwolves 2-2
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Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102
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Game 2: Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95
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Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108
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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. 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 becoming at finding ways to navigate it. It also appears that Edwards is improving physically. He has 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
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Wembanyama ejected from Game 4 for elbowing Reid
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Spurs bounce back, beat Timberwolves by 38
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Finch: Wolves ‘got punked’ in blowout loss
Eastern Conference
(1) Detroit Pistons tied with (4) Cleveland Cavaliers 2-2
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Game 1: Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101
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Game 2: Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97
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Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109
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Game 4: Cavaliers 112, Detroit 103
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.
The stars showed up for the Cavaliers. In their best holistic performance as a backcourt duo this postseason, Mitchell and James Harden combined for 67 points as Cleveland evened up the series at home, and Evan Mobley contributed five blocks, three steals and a plus-30 plus/minus. — Zach Kram
Game 5: Cavaliers at Pistons (Wednesday, TBD, ESPN)
What to watch in Game 5: Detroit’s role players largely performed well in Game 4, highlighted by Caris LeVert’s team-high 24 points off the bench. But the Pistons’ starters didn’t uphold their end of the bargain: Cade Cunningham had nearly as many turnovers (five) as assists (six), Jalen Duren continued his lackluster postseason with just eight points and two rebounds, and Ausar Thompson had a ghastly minus-27 plus-minus in 19 minutes. They’ll attempt to rebound at home in Game 5 — and do a better job matching their Cavaliers counterparts, now that Detroit’s 2-0 series lead has slid to a 2-2 tie. — Kram
(3) New York Knicks beat (7) Philadelphia 76ers 4-0
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Game 1: Knicks 137, 76ers 98
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Game 2: Knicks 108, 76ers 102
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Game 3: Knicks 108, 76ers 94
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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
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Jalen Brunson shuts door on 76ers as Knicks go up 3-0
