NBA playoffs 2026 takeaways: Nikola Jokić’s mastery leads Nuggets by Timberwolves; Cavs bully Raptors

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets were flustered and out of sorts early in their playoff opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.

But the Nuggets weathered an early storm to secure a 116-105 win, taking an early 1-0 series advantage against what is now a familiar playoff foe.

The Nuggets beat the Timberwolves in the first round of the 2023 playoffs en route to winning the NBA championship. The Timberwolves then spoiled the Nuggets’ quest for a repeat in a dramatic seven-game game series in the second round of the following postseason.

Through one quarter Saturday, Nikola Jokić had as many turnovers (three) as points. Rudy Gobert and Minnesota’s defense flustered the Nuggets and their three-time MVP center, limiting Denver to 27.3% shooting and forcing six turnovers en route to a 33-23 lead.

Aaron Gordon picked up his third foul on offense late in the quarter and went to the bench, leaving the Nuggets without a key to the NBA’s most efficient offense.

But the Nuggets weathered the early storm after six days off. Spencer Jones, who was a game-time decision after missing the last six games of the regular season with a hamstring strain, gave the Nuggets a boost off the bench with five straight points, including a 3. Jamal Murray was perfect at the line in 11 first-half attempts. And Denver’s offense found its rhythm from the field, particularly from 3. By halftime, the Nuggets were shooting 44.7% from the field and 47.4% (9 of 19) from 3.

Murray had 17 points at halftime while Cameron Johnson (4 of 7, 2 of 5 from 3) was Denver’s most reliable weapon from the field.

The Nuggets made a concerted effort to get Jokić involved early in the third quarter. He attacked Gobert on the first possession of the half and got a layup off his own miss. Three possessions later, he pump-faked Gobert from the top of the key and drove past him for an uncontested layup.

Gordon, meanwhile, was off his foul-induced minutes restriction and became the aggressor in the third quarter. He hit a 3 to extend Denver’s lead to 75-68 midway through the period. He then scored a put-back dunk to cap 14-0 run and send the Denver crowd into a frenzy.

The dunk extended Denver’s lead to 82-68, and the Nuggets were in control. They took a 91-79 lead into the fourth quarter.

Minnesota ensured that the Nuggets didn’t run away with the win. The Timberwolves cut their deficit to 97-95 midway through the fourth quarter. But Jokić’ reeled off a personal 5-0 run, including an and-1 layup past Gobert to help the Nuggets again persevere.

Denver maintained control from there despite shooting 1 of 17 from 3 after halftime. But the Nuggets did go 30 of 33 at the line, with Murray hitting all 16 of his free-throw attempts while shooting 0 of 8 from 3.

Jokić tallied 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. He finished with five turnovers after committing four in the first half. Murray led the Nuggets with 30 points and 7 assists, and Gordon posted 17 points and 8 rebounds after scoring 5 in the first half.

Anthony Edwards’ status for the Timberwolves wasn’t certain until game-time. He was initially listed as questionable with a lingering knee injury that sidelined him late in the regular season.

He wasn’t efficient from the field while tallying 22 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists on 7 of 19 shooting. But he was aggressive and didn’t appear to have any limitations. How he continues to play on his ailing knee will be key to Minnesota’s hopes of tying the series in Game 2 Monday night.

— Jason Owens

The last time the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers met in the NBA playoffs was 2018, and the history between them is about as lopsided as it gets. Cleveland holds a 12-2 all-time playoff record against Toronto, winning all three previous series, including back-to-back sweeps in 2017 and 2018. The Raptors came in having swept the regular-season series 3-0, with a legitimate case that this playoff matchup would be different.

Game 1 didn’t offer much evidence of that. Cleveland won 126-113, taking an early series lead over Toronto. Here’s what decided it.

The Cavs were brilliant at all three levels, but it was their dominance near the rim that created the biggest advantage in Saturday’s victory. Cleveland scored 48 points in the paint, generating high-percentage attempts off James Harden’s pick-and-roll operation and Donovan Mitchell’s unrelenting drives. Toronto, meanwhile, managed 30 points in the paint — a workable number in isolation, but a losing number when the team on the other side is getting to the rim that freely. The Raptors’ first dunk as a team didn’t come until Scottie Barnes converted one midway through the fourth quarter, by which point the game was effectively over. Sandro Mamukelashvili led the Raptors in rebounding, signaling a major issue if they want to keep up in this series. Jakob Poeltl was a no-show (4 points, 6 rebounds) for Toronto, while Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen combined for 27 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 9-for-13 from the paint. Brandon Ingram was elite in the mid-range in the first half, but when Cleveland is getting that many clean looks at the rim while you’re settling for contested mid-range attempts, you’re playing into their hands.

Cleveland outscored the Raptors 36-22 in the frame and pushed the lead to 21 entering the fourth. Mitchell scored 9 of his 30 points in the period. Then Max Strus got loose. He scored 8 of his 22 points (8-10 FG, 4-6 3PM) in the third quarter, providing a game-changing momentum boost in the third. And that’s where the game started to separate itself. Cleveland’s depth was far too much for Toronto. Both squads went deep into their rotations — the Cavs went with 10, while the Raptors ran 9. However, the Cavaliers’ bench outscored the Raptors’ 36-20 before garbage time, led by Strus. Cleveland was one of six teams in the league this season to utilize 40-plus lineups, and while rotations typically tighten in the playoffs, its depth is a genuine weapon rather than a byproduct of regular-season experimentation. The Cavs’ plug-and-play scheme could prove to be a leverage point in this series, especially with Raptors point guard Immanuel Quickley injured.

For Toronto: The 18 turnovers are the most urgent and fixable issue. Cleveland turned them into 22 points, which alone made up the final margin. Ball security in Game 2 is non-negotiable. Toronto led the league in fast-break points this season, but managed just one on Saturday. To have a chance, the Raptors must push the pace before Cleveland sets its defense and weaponizes transition to neutralize Mobley and Allen without fouling. The 3-point shooting was there (48% on 27 attempts), proving the offense can click when the ball moves. They need Quickley back healthy to run at full speed and more from their bigs. Toronto showed real fight in the first half. Its path back in the series is clear: make better decisions, play faster, and get more production from the frontcourt. Ingram needs to step up. After a strong first half, he scored 4 points (0-1 FG, 4-4 FT) in the second half. Inexcusable.

For Cleveland: Keep pounding the paint. There’s no reason to change that approach. Harden set the tone early and having six Cavs score in double figures with Mitchell going for his usual 30-piece is Cleveland at its best. Its depth allows it to match any Toronto lineup. If the Cavs keep Toronto a jump-shooting team rather than one that feeds off defense and transition, this could be a quick series.

— Dan Titus

Mets DH Jorge Polanco goes to injured list with right wrist contusion

Amid a nine-game losing streak, the New York Mets have placed designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist contusion, the team announced Saturday.

Polanco, 32, sustained the injury during Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went 0-for-4 in the game with two strikeouts.

“It’s a wrist contusion, like a bone bruise,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters before Saturday’s game with the Chicago Cubs.

“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” Mendoza continued. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took [Tuesday] night. … It just got worse the following day.”

Polanco has also been dealing with bursitis in his left Achilles tendon, but that condition was improving, according to Mendoza. That injury has contributed to the veteran’s slow start to the 2026 season after signing a two-year, $40 million deal with the Mets. He’s played in 14 of the team’s 20 games.

In 61 plate appearances, Polanco has a .179/.246/.286 slash line with three doubles, one home run and two RBI. Though it’s early in the season, that production is far below the 26 homers, 30 doubles and 78 RBI he compiled last year for the Seattle Mariners, batting .265/.326/.495 in 524 PAs.

To take Polanco’s spot on the major-league roster, catcher Hayden Senger was called up from Triple-A Syracuse. In 12 games this season, he has five home runs and 11 RBI to go with a .257/.316/.714 slash line. Mendoza told reporters he wanted Senger as another right-handed catcher who can allow him to use Luis Torrens as a pinch-hitter or put Francisco Alvarez at DH.

The Mets have lost nine consecutive games going into Saturday’s matinee, the team’s longest losing streak since 11 straight defeats in 2004. At 7-13, the Mets are currently last in the National League East, 1.5 games behind the fourth-place Philadelphia Phillies.

Larry Bird, Steve Kerr, others pay tribute to Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Schmidt after Brazilian icon dies at 68

Oscar Schmidt turned down an opportunity to pursue an NBA career, instead prioritizing his time with the Brazilian national team, yet still became one of the most prolific scorers in basketball history.
Buda Mendes via Getty Images

Oscar Schmidt authored a 46-point performance in the final of the 1987 Pan American Games, leading Brazil to a historic victory over the United States in a game that partly precipitated the formation of the “Dream Team.”

Schmidt, a 6-foot-9 forward with a 3-point stroke that was ahead of its time, earned the nickname the “Holy Hand,” or “Mão Santa” in Portuguese. The late Kobe Bryant idolized him growing up in Italy, where Schmidt played against Bryant’s father.

A Basketball Hall of Famer with international influence despite never playing in the NBA, Schmidt’s legacy is undeniable. It’s being rightfully echoed this weekend after Schmidt died Friday at the age of 68.

Schmidt’s family said in a statement that he battled a brain tumor for 15 years “with courage, dignity and resilience … while remaining a role model of determination, generosity and love of life. Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide.”

That message was relayed by members of the basketball community on Friday.

“I always admired Oscar and considered him a friend, he was, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever play the game,” said fellow Hall of Famer Larry Bird in a statement circulated by the NBA.

“It was an honor of a lifetime when Oscar asked me to present him at his well deserved induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. My sincere condolences to Oscar’s family.”

Schmidt was inducted into the Hall in 2013. He played in a record-tying five straight Olympics, appearing in every Summer Games from 1980-1996. He’s responsible for seven of the 10 highest-scoring outings in Olympic men’s basketball history. Fittingly, he’s the Games’ all-time leading scorer.

By the time he retired in 2003, he was 45 years old and was unofficially considered the top scorer in basketball history with 49,737 points across his club and national team appearances. LeBron James surpassed him in that category in 2024.

The then-New Jersey Nets selected Schmidt in the sixth round of a 1984 NBA Draft that was headlined by Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

“Come on, man. If you want me, get me the first round,” Schmidt said in a March 2024 episode of the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast.

At the time, Schmidt explained that, despite his frustration about dropping that far in the draft, he showed up to Nets training camp with something to prove: that he belonged. He felt like he accomplished that goal in preseason competition.

“I go there and said to the coach, ‘Coach, here’s one point a minute,’” Schmidt recalled. “If you give me 20 minutes, I’ll give you 20 points. We played five games … . They gave me 25 minutes, I gave him 25 points. They become crazy about me.”

Back then, there was a FIBA rule that prevented NBA players from representing their national team.

“For me, national team was first one,” Schmidt said emphatically in the interview with Torre. “National team, you represent a country.”

Later, Schmidt humorously made something clear to the camera: “I never played in the NBA because I didn’t want to play in the NBA — because New Jersey Nets drafted me in the sixth round. Choice 131. That’s why I never played in the NBA. Because I got offended with that.”

International players weren’t populating NBA rosters like they are today. Schmidt’s dominance overseas, and especially in the Olympics, cast a more luminous light on foreign players and their NBA-caliber skill sets.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who lent a smooth-shooting hand to five NBA championship teams before coaching the league’s all-time leading 3-point marksman, discussed Schmidt on Friday before the Warriors’ play-in tournament loss to the Phoenix Suns.

“I want to give my condolences to Oscar Schmidt’s family,” Kerr said pregame, via The Athletic.

“ … He was one of the greatest shooters I’ve ever seen in my life. Just no conscience, a little bit of the Steph Curry mentality. Never, ever thought twice about letting it fly. Just a beautiful player with an incredible mentality.”

Kerr shared a story about him tearing an ACL in 1986. Kerr sustained the injury in the semifinals of the FIBA world championships in Madrid that year. Kerr was playing for Team USA against Brazil.

Schmidt came to his assistance.

“He literally picked me up, carried me off the floor,” Kerr said, per The Athletic. “It was an incredible gesture on his part, and over the next few years, he really exploded.”

Schmidt put up video-game numbers in international play. In between, he starred in Europe and South America. His star shone so bright it was, and will always be, seen by the NBA.

NBA playoffs 2026: Raptors’ Immanuel Quickley out for Game 1 vs. Cavaliers with strained hamstring

The Toronto Raptors will be without starting point guard Immanuel Quickley as they begin their first-round NBA playoff series versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Quickley is out for Saturday’s Game 1 with a strained right hamstring he suffered in Toronto’s final regular-season game last Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets. He did not play the second half of that matchup after playing 17 minutes in the first half.

The six-year veteran missed eight games from late March to early April due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. There’s no indication the foot condition led to his hamstring injury, though it’s a possibility.

Quickley, 26, was the Raptors’ leading 3-point shooter this season with 476 attempts. His 37% rate was second among Toronto scorers to Brandon Ingram’s 38% (on 353 attempts). He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points per game with 5.9 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.4 steals.

As it applies to the matchup with the Cavaliers, Quickley would have been the primary defender on Donovan Mitchell. Jamal Shead will replace Quickley in the Toronto starting lineup and thus draw the defensive assignment on Mitchell, who led Cleveland in scoring with 27.9 points per game.

Scottie Barnes is regarded as the Raptors’ best defensive player, but will likely be occupied with checking James Harden (20.5 points per game) throughout the series.

Dodgers reportedly calling up slugger Ryan Ward, last year’s Pacific Coast League MVP, from Triple-A

The Los Angeles Dodgers are calling up outfielder/first baseman Ryan Ward from Triple-A Oklahoma City and are expected to activate him this weekend, according to The Athletic.

Ward, 28, earned Pacific Coast League MVP honors last season and had a slash line of .290/.380/.557 with 36 home runs, 31 doubles, 122 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 652 plate appearances.

The Dodgers’ 2019 eighth-round draft pick came into this year ranked as the team’s No. 19 prospect by MLB.com and just outside the organization’s top 20 minor-leaguers by The Athletic. This season, he’s batting .324/.432/.588 with 4 homers, 6 doubles, 14 RBI and 3 steals in 18 games.

While Ward’s production warrants a call-up to the majors, it’s unclear as to where he’ll play in the Dodgers’ lineup. Shohei Ohtani is entrenched as the designated hitter and Freddie Freeman mans first base. Teoscar Hernández doesn’t need a left-handed bat to platoon with him (he’s batting .313/. 306/.604 versus right-handed pitching this season), and Kyle Tucker bats left-handed in right field.

As a team, the Dodgers lead MLB with a .289 average and .864 OPS against right-handers, powered by the likes of Ohtani, Freeman, Tucker (who’s off to a slow start) and Max Muncy.

However, Ward would provide a left-handed power bat off the bench for a Dodgers roster that only has Dalton Rushing to bat from that side of the plate. Last season, Ward batted .319/.402/.636 in 463 PAs against right-handed pitching.

“The thing I like about Ryan is he’s performed,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the California Post during spring training. “We’ve asked him to do certain things, whether it’s positional versatility or cutting back on the strikeouts, hit for a little more power. He’s done all that.”

The Dodgers have not yet officially announced Ward’s call-up and thus haven’t revealed a corresponding roster move to open a spot for him. One possibility could be infielder Miguel Rojas going on the bereavement list after his father died on April 7. Rojas stayed with the team afterward.

You Should Start Spring Cleaning With This Dyson Cordless Vacuum While It’s on Sale for Over $200 Off

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The Dyson V15 Detect Extra cordless vacuum is on sale for $339.99 on StackSocial, a notable discount from its usual price. This is a refurbished model of Dyson’s top-tier cordless vacuum from a few years ago. It adjusts suction based on what it picks up, shows you what it is collecting on a small LCD screen, and even uses a laser on the cleaner head to highlight dust you would normally miss on hard floors. It sounds like a gimmick until you see how much fine dust shows up under that green light.

In everyday cleaning, the V15 is built for people who want one vacuum to handle everything. The motor is strong and has enough power to pull debris out of carpets and pick up fine dust on hard floors without switching machines or exerting much effort. Plus, its Motorbar head does a good job of handling hair without tangling, which is useful if you have shedding pets or long hair. You also get a long list of tools, including a hair screw tool for upholstery, a crevice tool for tight corners, and a soft dusting brush for more delicate surfaces. It also converts into a handheld in seconds for use on stairs or in car interiors. Battery life can stretch up to an hour, but that depends on how much power you use. If you keep it on higher settings for deep cleaning, you will need to recharge sooner.

It’s a Grade-A-rated refurbished unit, which means it’ll arrive in practically mint condition but only comes with a 90-day third-party warranty instead of Dyson’s standard coverage. But if you’ve been eyeing a Dyson and just couldn’t justify paying full price, this deal makes it easier to get a high-end vacuum without paying retail.

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