The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is here, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game of the Eastern and Western conference semifinals.
The No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers kicked off the East semis Sunday night by taking home-court advantage away from the No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers with a 121-112 victory. The Cavs fell to the Pacers again on Tuesday, this time 120-119, after Tyrese Haliburton drilled a 3-pointer with one second remaining.
Also on Tuesday, No. 7 seed Golden State defeated the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves 99-88 despite an injury to Warriors star Stephen Curry.
On Monday, the East’s third-seeded New York Knicks beat the 2-seed Boston Celtics in an overtime thriller in Game 1 behind Jalen Brunson’s 29 points. In Monday’s other Game 1, the 4-seed Denver Nuggets toppled the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the West after a fourth-quarter surge.
As teams continue to 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:
Cavaliers-Pacers | Knicks-Celtics
Thunder-Nuggets | Warriors-Timberwolves
More coverage:
Schedules and results | Offseason guides
Western Conference
Game 1: Warriors 99, Timberwolves 88
What we learned: It’s hard to think of this as anything other than a major missed opportunity for the Timberwolves. With Curry exiting with a left hamstring injury after 13 points in 13 minutes, the Wolves had a chance to take charge. Instead, the Warriors proved they can win without their superstar. Give credit to Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler for brilliant floor games (combining for 38 points, 19 rebounds, 14 assists, 4 steals), but Minnesota shot itself out of it. As anomalous as the Wolves’ 3-point shooting seemed in their closeout win over the Los Angeles Lakers when they went 7-for-47 from deep and advanced past the first round, the troubling trend continued in their second-round opener Tuesday.
Minnesota started Game 1 by going 0-for-15 from 3 in the first half — tying their own record for the most missed 3s without a make in a playoff half in the last 25 seasons, according to ESPN Research. It was the first time the Wolves didn’t make a 3 in a half in a playoff game since 2004 and the first time they didn’t hit one in a half in any game since 2018. It was an inexplicable cold spell, considering the Wolves ranked No. 4 in 3-point percentage and No. 5 in total 3s made in the regular season. Anthony Edwards finished with 23 points, but only after starting 0-for-10. Julius Randle, after being lights out against the Lakers, was an underwhelming 4-for-11, too. A team has no business thinking about winning an NBA game in 2025 while only scoring 88 points. — Dave McMenamin
Game 2: Warriors at Timberwolves (Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
What to watch: All eyes will be on Curry’s left hamstring strain, which could change the complexion of this series. Curry suffered the injury after a driving floater early in the second quarter. Depending on the severity of the hamstring injury, the likelihood is that Curry is looking at missing time — the question is how much. There is just one day off in between games from Games 1 through 5. But after that, there is an unusual three-day break between Games 5 and 6. Curry has missed 12 playoff games in his career, but he hasn’t missed any since Game 1 of the 2018 Western Conference semifinals when a knee injury sidelined him against the Pelicans. The Warriors have gone 9-3 without him in the playoffs, but they had Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in all 12 of those games, and Kevin Durant played in six of those.
Green continued his stellar play from Game 7 by setting a tone on defense and hitting four 3-pointers. The offense will be centered around Jimmy Butler’s playmaking and Golden State will need Butler to do what he does best: carry the offense without Curry. Perhaps Jonathan Kuminga, who was pressed into action after Curry’s injury, returns to the picture again and sees a bigger role since the Warriors will need all the scoring they can get. Golden State’s defense was outstanding, but it can’t bank on Anthony Edwards missing his first 10 shots from the field again. — Ohm Youngmisuk
Game 1: Nuggets 121, Thunder 119
What we learned: The Nuggets have no fear whatsoever of the West’s top seed. Denver stormed back from a 14-point deficit in the second half to steal Game 1 on the road despite a six-day rest disadvantage. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic was a dominant force, recording 42 points, 22 rebounds and 6 assists to give the Nuggets hope. Oklahoma City’s offense dried up down the stretch, and a pair of missed free throws from Chet Holmgren left the door cracked open. Aaron Gordon delivered another game winner for a Denver squad trying to win its second NBA title in three years. — Tim MacMahon
Game 2: Nuggets at Thunder (Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
What to watch: Denver did not shoot the ball well or take care of it, as you’d expect from a tired team that just wrapped up a grueling seven-game series against the LA Clippers. The Nuggets shot just 29% from behind the 3-point arc (9-for-31) on Monday and turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 23 OKC points. And they still won! Nikola Jokic was brilliant with 42 points and 22 rebounds, and Aaron Gordon has a knack for drilling game winners during these playoffs. If Denver can clean things up and shoot closer to its usual 37.6% from 3, Game 2 could look very different. Of course, OKC will make adjustments too. Don’t expect Alex Caruso to be the Thunder’s second-leading scorer very often or Jalen Williams (16 points) and Chet Holmgren (12 points) to be as quiet offensively as they were in Game 1. — Ramona Shelburne
Eastern Conference
Game 2: Pacers 120, Cavaliers 119
What we learned: Tyrese Haliburton did it again. The Pacers had been behind all game long before a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, when Indiana outscored Cleveland 36-21, punctuated by a step-back game-winning 3-pointer from Haliburton to stun the home crowd and give Indiana a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. The Pacers were down by as many as 20 points thanks to a superstar performance from Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 48 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds, joining LeBron James as the only Cavs players with 45 points and 5 assists in a playoff game. But it wasn’t enough to rally a top-seeded Cavs team missing three key rotation players; after dropping two home games to open the series, they head to Indianapolis needing a fast response.
Game 3: Cleveland at Pacers (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
What to watch: The short-handed Cavs travel to Indy down 0-2, and their injury concerns will be a question mark for the rest of the series. None of the three Cavs on the injury report for Game 2 — Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter — took the floor for a workout on Tuesday, and there is concern about their status going forward. Garland hasn’t played since April 23, and Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson expressed concern over putting him on the court at less than 100 percent with the fast-paced nature of this series. Mobley has been walking with a noticeable limp since Sunday’s game, and Hunter dislocated the thumb on his shooting hand in Game 1. — Jamal Collier
Game 1: Knicks 108, Celtics 105 (OT)
What we learned: The Knicks, down 20 in the third quarter and with the tide of momentum seemingly going completely against them, were very much still alive. That’s because they showed incredible grit — and also because the Celtics toyed with the lead far too much in the second half. The defending champs took 20 shots in the third, with a whopping 19 coming from beyond the 3-point arc; the Celtics finished with an NBA-playoff-record 60 3-point attempts.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown & Co. playing solely from the arc hindered the Celtics, who had no way of getting easy points from the foul line. It also benefited the Knicks, who’d had a trio of starters — Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart — in foul trouble. The game went to overtime, but by then the momentum had shifted enough to give the Knicks a shot that they likely never should have had based on how much Boston was leading by in the third.
Game 2: Knicks at Celtics (Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, TNT)
What to watch: What does the shot diet look like for Tatum and Brown, who relied far too heavily on the 3 on Monday night, when they hit just 5 of 25 treys combined. Will Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis be back for Game 2? He played just 13 minutes in Game 1 and didn’t see any action in the second half due to illness. This come-from-behind win for New York should give the Knicks confidence, as they now know they can definitively beat the Celtics after having gone winless against Boston during the regular season. — Chris Herring
Source link
