All Sunday, April 26, NBA Playoffs action - Scores, Highlights, Breakdowns
- Stefanos Avraamidis
- Apr 27
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 28
Sunday's NBA playoff action provided some massive swings in momentum. We saw dominant blowouts, critical series-tying wins, and a massive fourth-quarter surge from the Spurs. Across these games, three series moved to a 3-1 lead, while one series was brought back to level footing.
Here's a breakdown of the action from yesterday:
Matchup | Result | Series Status |
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers | 128–96 | BOS leads 3–1 |
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers | 114–93 | SAS leads 3–1 |
Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | 93–89 | Series tied 2–2 |
Houston Rockets vs. L.A. Lakers | 115–96 | LAL leads 3–1 |
Toronto Raptors 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 89
The Toronto Raptors keep hope alive at home to even the series vs the Cleveland Cavaliers at 2-2. The Raptors pulled off a gritty, "ugly", win. Despite a dismal 4-for-30 (13%) night from three-point range, Toronto dominated the glass and used a 10-2 run in the final two minutes to steal Game 4. The epic close-out for the Raptors was fueled by Scottie Barnes' clutch plays. He finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and Brandon Ingram's composure, who ended up with 23 points, 3-of-7 (43%) from the three-point line, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. On the other side, Cleveland struggled with their shooting too, as Donovan Mitchel shot 6-for-24 (25%), finishing with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. In total, Cavaliers had 36.8 field-goals percentage (FG%), 25 3P%, but what most-likely cost their loss was their 17 turnovers, coming from Raptor's hustle and rough defense.
San Antonio Spurs 114, Portland Trail Blazers 93
The San Antonio Spurs fought back an epic comeback on Victor Wembanyama's return to steal Game 4 in Portland and increase the series lead to 3-1. The generational talent returned from concussion protocol to head the Spurs with 27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 7 blocks and +28 +/-. The Game 4 of San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers can be described as a "tale of two halves". Portland look in control with a 17-point halftime lead, but Spurs defense shut the door in the second half. The turning point came in the fourth quarter in which Spurs went to a 14-0 run. De'Aaron Fox led all scorers with 28 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds +21 +/-. For the Portland Trail Blazers Deni Avdija scored 26 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and gave 3 assists, Jrue Holiday finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Jerami Grant ended up with 17 points and 5 rebounds. On the downside for Portland, Scoot Henderson didn't manage to score a point in 27:05 minutes of playing time.
Boston Celtics 128, Philadelphia 76ers 96
The Boston Celtics team is one win away from progressing to the second-round after a demoralizing blowout in Philadelphia. The Celtics' depth was on full display, and the Sixers looked out of sync even with Joel Embiid's return. A massive offensive effort, with the Celtics hitting 24 three-pointers. The impact player for Boston was Payton Pritchard, who scored a record-breaking 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting off the bench, the guard looked unstoppable. He also gave 5 assists, grabbed 4 rebounds and had +20 +/-. Celtics star-duo was in attendance as well Jayson Tatum finished with 30 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown scored 20 points and got 7 rebounds. For Philly, Joel Embiid put up 26 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Tyrese Maxey had 22 points and 6 assists.
Houston Rockets 115, Los Angeles Lakers 96
Despite missing Kevin Durant for a third straight game with an ankle injury, the Houston Rockets avoided a sweep by dismantling the Lakers 115-96. Houston's victory was fuelled by a remarkably balanced offense, that saw every starter hitting the 16-point mark, while a sloppy Los Angeles squad doomed themselves with 23 turnovers. Amen Thompson led all scorers with 23 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Tari Eason finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals and Alperen Sengun added 19 points and 6 rebounds. For the Lakers, LeBron James had a quiet night, as he scored 10 points and went for a 2-for-9 shooting. DeAndre Ayton played big part of Los Angeles offense. He finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds before getting ejected on a Flagrant 2 foul when he elbowed Alperen Sengun.
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