The conference semi-finals of the 2025/26 National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs are underway, with only eight teams remaining in the postseason, but not before a trio of eventful Game 7s in the Eastern Conference last weekend, for what has been reported by the NBA as the highest viewership for the play-offs in 33 years. From the single sweep to the tremendous 3-1 comebacks and unbelievable collapses, the opening round of the play-offs had it all, and now the combatants have been whittled down to the eligible few, with the Larry O’Brien Trophy directly in their sights.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Celtics 109-100, in Boston, in the first Game 7 on Saturday night, behind spectacular performances from Joel Embiid (32 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists) and Tyrese Maxey (30 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists). The second-seeded Celtics led the series 3-1 before losing the final three games to the seventh-seeded 76ers in what was a resounding upset, having never lost a prior series in which they led by such a margin, which set up the semifinal matchup against the third-seeded New York Knicks, who defeated the Atlanta Hawks 4-2 in their opening series.

The second Game 7 of the weekend came on Sunday, where the top seed in the East, the Detroit Pistons, faced down the eighth seeded Orlando Magic squad, who were threatening to derail their Cinderella season. The Pistons were also 1-3 down in their series but gutsy performances over the last three games saved their season. Ironically, in 2003, the eighth seeded Magic also blew a 3-1 to the top seeded Pistons, to lose that series in seven games. Particularly impressive in Sunday’s game were Cade Cunningham (32 points, 12 assists) and Tobias Harris (30 points, 9 rebounds) in the 116-94 win, to set up the semi-final series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had to successfully stave off the Toronto Raptors in the last Game 7 of the round. The fifth seeded Raptors were 0-10 in play-off games in Cleveland heading into the game on Sunday, and each home team had won on their court in the previous six games of the series. Jarrett Allen (22 points, 19 rebounds), Donovan Mitchell (22 points) and the rest of the Cavaliers ensured that the record stayed intact following the 114-103 score line.

With the first round done and dusted, the Knicks opened the conference semi-final round on Monday night in Madison Square Garden, with a dominant 39-point win over the 76ers, behind Jalen Brunson’s stellar shooting performance, scoring 35 points (27 in the first half) while shooting 66.7 per cent from the field. As a team, the Knicks shot 63 per cent from the field, including 51 per cent from three-point range, while Embiid and Maxey did very little to help the Philadelphia cause, combining for only six total field goals (from 20 attempts) and 27 total points.

Truth be told, it wasn’t much of a contest as Philadelphia had 30 made baskets compared to 34 assists for New York. And with 19 turnovers to just 15 assists, there was no way the game would end well for Philly. It was New York’s largest win for a play-off game in franchise history and, dating back to their series against Atlanta, they are the first team in NBA history to record three-straight wins by 25+ points.

Game 2 of the series was played on Wednesday night, which saw a more competitive edge by the 76ers. Despite playing without Embiid, who was out with multiple injuries, they kept the game very close and even had a one-point lead at the end of the third quarter. The Knicks outscored the visitors 12-3 over the last 6:30 of the game and pulled away to win 108-102, to take a 2-0 lead, as the series heads to Philadelphia this evening. This regular season, the 76ers won the two games played against the Knicks in New York and lost the two played at home. They can ill afford to fall 0-3 this evening as no team in NBA playoff history has gone to that point and won a series. The Knicks are favoured by JustBet and it’s hard to see the 76ers winning, especially without Embiid in the lineup.

The Spurs welcomed the Minnesota Timberwolves into Frost Bank Center late Monday for the second game of the night, with the return of Anthony Edwards for the visitors. The newly minted Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, wasted no time and registered an NBA record, seven blocks in the first half alone (blocks have been recorded since the 1973/74 season), en route to a triple-double, to include an NBA-record blocks in a playoff game – 11 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocks with five assists. Edwards returned surprisingly early from the hyper-extended knee, suffered in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, and finished with 18 points (11 in the fourth quarter), to help the Timberwolves escape with a 104-102 win, despite the team shooting 12-of-21 at the free throw line.

Game 2 on Wednesday, however, was a completely different story. The San Antonio team set out to prove that Game 1 was just a glitch in the matrix and dominated their opponents from jump. The game was lost from early in the second quarter and, with a 38-point lead early in the fourth, both benches were cleared prematurely. The Spurs rode this horse to a 133-95 win, to even the series, and possibly break the spirit of their opponents, who suffered the worst defeat in the franchise’s history, leapfrogging a 30-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in April 2003. The series continues in Minnesota tonight, with the Spurs travelling as JustBet favourites, and after apparently rediscovering their groove, this series may already be over.

Tuesday night saw the other two semi-final opening games, with the No. 1 seeds on show – The Cavaliers travelled to Detroit, while the Lakers paid a visit to the home of the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pistons had an ominous streak of six straight Game 1 losses, including this season, and they had lost the last 12 play-off games against Cleveland, so history was not on their side. However, the JustBet odds were in their favour and they delivered. The duo of Cunningham and Harris, along with invaluable contributions from Duncan Robinson, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson, guided the East’s top seed to a convincing 111-101 win to snap the unenviable run.

Then, LeBron James, at 41-years-old, same age as his head coach JJ Redick and the Thunder’s head coach Mark Daigneault, marched his troops into Paycom Center, high on the recently concluded six-game series against the Houston Rockets. The Oklahoma City contingent appeared to enter the game with a bit of ‘ring rust’, having swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round and sat waiting for the Lakers to complete their assignment. That said, the Thunder never looked troubled and had a convincing 108-90 win. The four matchups this season between these two teams saw very little contest, with the Thunder winning all four by an average of 29.25 points, and there is very little to convince that the Lakers will do much in this series.

After the first round, there’s very little reason to believe that any team in the East that gets to the Final can defeat any representative from the West, which expectedly should be the Thunder or Spurs. Detroit was the closest thing in the East to Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the regular season, but their failings in the first round to Orlando exposed chinks in the armour. The Knicks may be the next best thing, but they too showed concerns against the Atlanta Hawks, going six games in the series. That said, they looked more like championship material at the end of that series and at the start of the current semifinal series, however, there is still a lot of basketball to be played before the final matchup, and anything can happen between now and then. Let’s watch and see.

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NBA 2025/26 Champion

Team Odds

Oklahoma City Thunder 1.60

San Antonio Spurs 4.50

New York Knicks 9.50

Detroit Pistons 18.00

Cleveland Cavaliers 35.00

Los Angeles Lakers 40.00

Minnesota Timberwolves 45.00

Philadelphia 76ers 150.00

*Note: Odds are subject to change

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