The Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons each secured 2-0 leads in their respective NBA Conference semi-final series, notching home wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Defending champions the Thunder defeated the Lakers 125-107 in the Western Conference matchup, with Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributing 22 points apiece. LeBron James scored 23 for the Lakers, but his team squandered a five-point advantage to trail by 13 at the end of a decisive third quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s reigning MVP, was limited to just 28 minutes on the floor due to foul trouble. “I have full faith in our entire roster,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said when asked about playing without his star. “We’ve proven that throughout the season. We’ve worked to build that mindset, and our guys are competitors. They see game challenges as opportunities and attack them.”
Cade Cunningham starred for the Pistons in their 107-97 Eastern Conference victory over the Cavaliers, pouring in 25 points—including 12 in the fourth quarter—and dishing out 10 assists. “Cade is absolutely incredible,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He’s the finisher, the closer, every adjective you can think of. That’s him. He does his best work in the fourth quarter.” Tobias Harris added 21 points for Detroit, marking his seventh straight playoff game with 20 or more points, a streak he never achieved in back-to-back regular-season games.
Both top-seeded teams now head on the road for Saturday’s games in the best-of-seven semi-finals, with the Thunder aiming to extend their unbeaten playoff run this season.