2026 nba playoffs Starting Saturday, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game March to the final.
denver nuggets And minnesota timberwolves Saturday kicked things off for the Western Conference. jamal mareThe first-time All-Star this season led all players with 30 points and helped the Nuggets take a 1-0 lead. Nikola Jokic Added 25 points despite a slow pace in the first half. Anthony Edwards Kept the Wolves in the game with 22 points, but it wasn’t enough.
Los Angeles Lakers Defeated the Houston Rockets 107–98 in the final game of the day. The Lakers have had to turn Lebron James At the end of the regular season after losing luka doncic And austin reeves Indefinitely due to injuries, but the Rockets were also without a star. Kevin Durant Missed Game 1 due to a knee injury, and his availability for Game 2 is uncertain
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Game 1: Lakers 107, Rockets 98
Biggest takeaways from Game 1: When the Lakers were treated very badly luka doncic And austin reeves Suffered injuries a few weeks before the start of the playoffs. Los Angeles breaks down as Rockets star on Saturday Kevin Durant Was a late scratch due to a right knee injury. And the Lakers took advantage of the opportunity.
Apart from the last four minutes of the second quarter, when the Lakers struggled and turned the ball over five times, cutting Houston’s lead from eight to two points, LA played great offensively. Lebron James (19 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds) ignited the action with eight assists in the first quarter – the most assists in any quarter of his playoff career, according to ESPN Research – and the ball flowed the rest of the night, with all five starters scoring in double figures.
Luke KennardJames, who scored a career-high 27 points in the playoffs on 9-of-13 shooting, was James’ favorite target, but deandre ayton (18 points on 8-of-10 shooting) and Rui Hachimura (14 points on 6-of-10 shooting) also made the most of his touch. The Lakers said all week that they have rediscovered their confidence in the backcourt after the loss. This confidence will increase going into Game 2.– dave mcmenamin
Game 2: Rockets at Lakers (Tuesday, 10:30 PM ET, NBC/Peacock)
What to watch for in Game 2: The obvious question for Houston is whether Durant will be available. Without the fifth-leading scorer in league history, the Rockets’ offense was rudderless. Houston shot only 37.6% alperen sengun Missed 13 of his 19 shots. reed shepard 14 out of his 20 missing, Amen Thompson 11 of his 18 are missing and Jabari Smith Jr.. Nine of his 14 are missing.
The Lakers had the final five games of the regular season and all week during the play-in tournament to adapt their game plan to survive without Doncic and Reeves, but the Rockets had to quickly adjust to Durant’s injury. How Durant recovers over the next 48 hours, or how the Rockets plan for Tuesday if he’s not available, could decide the series. — mcmenamin
Game 1: Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105
What we learned from Game 1: play off jamal mare Launched earlier this year. In years past, when the Nuggets were in a hole or needed some heroics, Murray came up with big games or big shots. This year, Murray came out of the gate in peak form, leading Denver with 30 points, seven assists and five rebounds on a remarkable 16 of 16 from the free throw line. Denver needed every one of these points Aaron Gordon soon got into foul trouble and Nikola Jokic Started slow with only six points in the first half. Jokic got on track in the second half, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his 22nd postseason triple-double, the third-most in NBA history behind Magic Johnson (30) and Lebron James (28).
Denver opened the game with a 14–0 run in the third quarter, during which Minnesota missed nine consecutive field goal attempts. Anthony Edwards He was on the bench at the end of that run as Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch tried to give him some rest before the fourth quarter. Edwards is still dealing with pain in his right knee and will remain so as the season continues. He finished with 22 points in 37 minutes. — Ramona Shelburne
Game 2: Timberwolves at Nuggets (Monday, 10:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
What to watch for Game 2: These two teams have played more times than any other two teams in the league over the last three seasons. With the win in Game 1, the Nuggets now have a 15-14 advantage. That past is a prologue to everything that happens in this series, and it’s a fascinating chess match to watch.
Minnesota needs to use his length and athleticism to do a better job of stopping Murray on the perimeter – without fouling. His 16 free throws are a Denver postseason record (the entire Minnesota team shot 19 free throws), which is a reflection of his aggressiveness and the way he runs the game. This dynamic has been a major point of contention throughout this rivalry, and it clearly impacts the outcome of each game. It will be interesting to see if that changes in Game 2, as the Timberwolves performed well in almost all other aspects of the game in which they usually succeed – with 54 points in the paint. — Shelburne
