The 2026 NBA playoffs began Saturday, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors kicked things off, and Donovan Mitchell & Co. cruised to a 13-point win at home. Mitchell led all players with 32 points, and James Harden made his Cleveland playoff debut with 22. Max Strus, who missed the first 67 games of the season with a left foot injury and did not debut until March 15, erupted for 24 points off the bench in the victory.
The Knicks followed up by beating the Hawks 113-102, as New York held Atlanta to just 45 first-half points. Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 28 points in the win, while teammate Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 25 points.
The Game 1s continued Sunday, with the Celtics' dominating the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91 as Boston's Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 51 points on 20-for-38 shooting. The Orlando Magic took Game 1 over the Detroit Pistons 112-101 in what was the biggest surprise of the slate of first games.
As the Eastern Conference playoffs continue, here's what matters most and what to watch.
Biggest takeaway from Game 1: Orlando's big win over the Charlotte Hornets in the play-in on Friday provided the Magic with the blueprint for an upset in this first round. Against Charlotte, the Magic played suffocating defense with brute physicality on both ends while being connected on the court with constant communication. They packed that with them to Detroit, racing out of Sunday's tip on an 18-5 run. Jalen Suggs set the tone early, flying everywhere, going after every loose ball and sprinting down long passes for deflections.
The East's top seed settled down, but Orlando's message for Game 1 had been delivered. The Magic might have underachieved in the regular season while enduring injuries and inconsistency, but they showed no matter how they got here, they're not afraid of the conference's top team. Paolo Banchero was efficient, he didn't settle for a ton of outside shots and he mostly made the right decisions on when to score and when to pass.
The Magic also played hungrier -- and it showed on defense, where they took the paint away from everyone but Cade Cunningham, who put up 39 points for the Pistons. The Magic had an answer every time Detroit and Cunningham tried to make a run to get back in it; Franz Wagner (19 points) was a problem for the Pistons in the fourth, taking advantage of any mismatch in size in the paint. -- Ohm Youngmisuk
What to watch in Game 2: Detroit entered Game 1 trying to shake off the effects of a week off, while Orlando had competed in two play-in games during the week. While there is a two-day break before Game 2, the Pistons should be settled in now. Detroit has to be the aggressor in Game 2 and not let Orlando deliver the first punch.
The Magic were more physical and stifling inside on defense as they flipped the script on Detroit on Sunday. Detroit's defense has to make things way more difficult for Banchero, who had 17 of his 23 points in the first half.
Detroit must find a way to get Cunningham more offensive help. The Pistons also have to figure out how to get All-Star big man Jalen Duren more involved. Duren was incredibly quiet with eight points and seven rebounds in Game 1. The loss doesn't fall on Cunningham, but he and the Pistons have to get into Orlando more on defense and return to the intimidating team that earned them the top seed in the East. -- Youngmisuk
Biggest takeaway from Game 1: It was always going to be difficult for Philadelphia in this series -- especially with Joel Embiid unavailable, potentially for the entire series, after his emergency appendectomy a week and a half ago. But there was a clear formula for the 76ers to at least be competitive in the series: hit 3s and have Tyrese Maxey be the best player on the court. Neither one came close to happening Sunday.
Philadelphia went just 2-for-16 from 3 in the first half and finished 4-for-23 from beyond the arc. Maxey registered 21 points and eight assists but was badly outplayed by both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The Celtics controlled almost every area of the game -- seemingly with ease. The 32-point victory is their largest in a playoff opener in franchise history. But all that did was emphasize the gap between these two teams as presently constituted -- and how fine the margins are if Philadelphia wants to make this a competitive series. -- Tim Bontemps
What to watch in Game 2: Over the past few years, the Celtics have had a tendency to lull themselves into a false sense of security. Just last season, for example, the first two games of the conference semifinals against New York saw them blow back-to-back 20-point leads at TD Garden en route to losing a series Boston entered as massive favorites to win.
So no one, by any means, should assume the Celtics are going to cruise to the East semifinals. That said, this is an opportunity for Boston to show that its attitude is different this year.
The Celtics of past years often went into series with overwhelming talent advantages that gave them massive margins of error. And while Boston has a clear edge there in this series, especially with Embiid out, this group has a different makeup to it and has a chance to show it's got a different mentality to it, as well.
Will the Celtics win wire to wire and lead by as much as 35 in Game 2? Probably not. But another dominant victory in Game 2 would put Boston in a command position in the series, and the Celtics would be wise to not let that opportunity slip away. -- Bontemps
Biggest takeaway from Game 1: The Atlanta Hawks came into the playoffs as one of the NBA's hottest teams, specifically on offense. After their personnel changes took hold following the All-Star break, the Hawks' offense averaged nearly 123 points with the league's fifth-best efficiency, and they went 20-6 in that stretch.
In Game 1 of their series, they ran into a wall called the New York Knicks. Not only did New York hold Atlanta to just 102 points, but the Knicks also broke open a close game in the second half, forcing the Hawks to resort to fouling Knicks backup center Mitchell Robinson in an attempt to slow the momentum.
It made up for Jalen Brunson cooling off in the second half -- he finished 9-for-22 with 28 points. OG Anunoby and Josh Hart were interchangeable and integral in the series opener, limiting the looks by Nickeil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum. The score made the game look more competitive than it was, and the Knicks showed why their A-game ranks among the best in the NBA. They took an 18-point lead with 3:14 left before the Hawks cut into the deficit late.
New York holding Atlanta to 47 points in the second half registers as the recipe for success in this series. -- Vincent Goodwill
What to watch in Game 2: It was hard to tell where Karl-Anthony Towns was for nearly two quarters, but his final stat line showed how important he is to the Knicks' fortunes overall and just how much of a matchup problem he is for the Hawks.
"Pick your poison," Hawks coach Quin Snyder said of the Towns conundrum in the pregame.
With 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists and one knot about his eye, courtesy of an accidental elbow from Jonathan Kuminga, Towns was all over the place before the night was done.
Brunson got the Knicks started, but they created separation once they deployed Towns to his full capability. It's something they'll likely repeat in Game 2 on Monday.
Towns finished with just 13 shot attempts but was 3-of-4 from 3, continuing his streak of strong performances against Atlanta. He shot over 63% from the field and 50% from 3 in the regular season versus the Hawks.
If it took the Knicks a little while to discover Towns on Saturday, he gave them a shining reminder of why he makes the game easier for everyone else when he's on. -- Goodwill
What we learned from Game 1: The first game of this series went about as well as the Cavs could have hoped for. After a hot-shooting first half from Toronto, the Cavs held the Raptors to 59 points in the second half (including just 22 in the third quarter), taking away their transition offense and allowing Cleveland's superstar duo to dictate the pace and tenor of the game.
Donovan Mitchell finished with 32 points on efficient 11-of-20 shooting while James Harden added 22 points and 10 assists, and the two combined to score or assist on 82 of the Cavs' 126 points (65%). Cleveland's backcourt will be its biggest advantage in this matchup, especially with Toronto missing guard Immanuel Quickley to begin the series. The Cavs duo was too much for the Raptors to handle on Saturday, and Toronto might not have the offense to keep up if it can't find a way to get its transition game kick-started. -- Jamal Collier
What to watch in Game 2: What adjustments can the Raptors make after such a dominant performance from Cleveland? Quickley's absence loomed large for Toronto in Game 1 as the Raptors' offense struggled to find any rhythm or pace in the second half.
Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said prior to the game that Quickley was improving after he injured his hamstring during the regular-season finale, but it's unclear if he will be recovered in time for Game 2 on Monday. If not, the Raptors are going to have to find ways to get much more comfortable on offense and need even more from Scottie Barnes, who shot just 6-of-14 for 21 points and had five turnovers in Game 1. -- Collier
