Four Wild Overreactions From Game 1 of Every Second Round NBA Playoff Series

Overreacting to the Knicks’ blowout win and the Cavaliers fumbling away a Game 1 comeback.

Do the Lakers have a chance against the Thunder? | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

And then there were eight.

After an action-packed first round that featured one sweep and three Game 7s, eight teams remain in the NBA’s annual chase to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

A lot was learned in the first 48 minutes of each best-of-seven series. Just a few avenues away from Monday’s Met Gala, the Knicks looked plenty fashionable with a 39-point win over the 76ers. And down south in San Antonio, the young, up-and-coming Spurs were bullied by the veteran Timberwolves but still had a chance to win at the buzzer.

On Tuesday, the Pistons defended home court and held off the Cavaliers despite a late push from the visiting side as Jalen Duren remembered how to play basketball. The final opening game of the bunch came in Oklahoma City and the Thunder absolutely rolled over the Lakers despite a fairly strong start from Los Angeles. 

All of the contests brought us interesting storylines and hints at how the coming games will unfold. Which makes it a natural time to wildly overreact to everything that’s happened. 

Without further ado, here is one overreaction from each Game 1:

Knicks 137, 76ers 98: This series is over

Overreaction? Yes.

Embiid’s 76ers did not play well on Monday. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It’s tough to feel good about the 76ers’ chances after a 39-point loss in Game 1, but the Knicks have to come back down to earth at some point, right? New York has won its past three games by 119 points combined and became the first team in NBA history to win three straight playoff games by 25 points or more with the Game 1 beatdown on Monday.

The Knicks shot 63% from the field and 51% from three in Game 1, which simply isn’t sustainable over a best-of-seven series. New York was the only Eastern Conference team that didn’t have to survive a Game 7 in the first round after Jalen Brunson & Co. had the audacity to take care of the Hawks in six games. Philly had just one day of rest between its Game 7 win that sent home the Celtics early. Joel Embiid experienced discomfort multiple times in the decider with Boston and scored just 14 points in 25 minutes to open the series with the Knicks. Even more, New York held Tyrese Maxey to 13 points on a rough night from the field in Game 1.

Philly lost Game 1 against Boston by 32 points and as much as we want to declare a series over after just one game, especially such a decisive one, the Sixers have a chance at least until New York steals one on the road.

Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102: San Antonio’s inexperience is a problem

Overreaction? No.

As outlined by Sports Illustrated’s Tyler Lauletta last month, the Spurs’ starting five entered the 2026 playoffs with a combined 270 career playoff minutes, all belonging to De’Aaron Fox. In comparison, the 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder—well known as a young team—combined for 2,708 playoff minutes, and the 2024 Celtics entered that postseason with nearly 17,000. 

While the inexperience didn’t rear its ugly head in the first round against the Trail Blazers, the Spurs did look like a much greener team on Monday night. Minnesota was in control of the entire game as a road underdog. Everything San Antonio threw at them, the Wolves and their deep rotation of veterans had an answer.

Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101: Donovan Mitchell is choking in the playoffs again 

Overreaction? No. 

Mitchell hasn’t found his groove since Game 2 of the first round. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

As the Cavaliers entered this postseason with the unspoken understanding that another early flame-out would lead to dramatic roster overhaul this offseason, Donovan Mitchell’s underwhelming playoff résumé was exposed to light for the first time in a while. After he dropped two 30-point games to begin this playoff run it seemed Mitchell heard the noise and was not about to let it get louder. But since Game 2 against the Raptors he’s struggled and Cleveland is now down 1–0 to Detroit because Mitchell couldn’t rise to the moment against the Pistons. 

In the Game 1 loss, Mitchell finished with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting and three turnovers to two assists. There was no signature flurry of scoring that turned the tide. The moment seemed ripe for a signature Mitchell scorcher when the Cavs pulled off a double-digit comeback and were only down by four points with a few minutes remaining. Instead, the seven-time All-Star went missing—Mitchell only took two free throws over the last four minutes of the game before draining a last-chance three-pointer with 30 seconds left and the game already out of reach.   

Is it happening again? Will Mitchell fall apart as his team gets eliminated? Right now, that doesn’t feel like an overreaction. It’s been the same story during his time in Cleveland—Mitchell is good for a big 30-point performance once or twice a series but otherwise fails to play like the superstar he is. Whether it’s a tighter whistle (as he himself suggested postgame Tuesday night), his body getting worn down or just a classic shrinking from the lights situation, Mitchell’s play has been troubling for multiple postseasons now—and it’s on him to change that. 

Thunder 108, Lakers 90: Not even Luka Dončić can save the Lakers

Overreaction? Yes.

The Thunder are the defending champions and finished the season with the NBA’s best record for a reason. Even at full strength, the Lakers were fighting an uphill battle in Round 2 against a dominant OKC club. Without the league’s most gifted scorer in the lineup, the gap between these two sides was very apparent, especially in the second half.

Los Angeles got a very strong performance from LeBron James (27 points on 12-of-17 shooting, six rebounds, four assists). Rui Hachimura gave the team a spark with 18 points, matching reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was pestered by the Lakers defense all night and turned the ball over seven times. 

And it wasn’t nearly enough. 

L.A. has no quality answer for Chet Holmgren, and the Thunder bench—which was emptied as OKC pulled away late—outscored the Lakers’ reserves 34–15. 

And yet, we still need to see Luka Dončić out there. That may be incumbent on Los Angeles extending this series out a bit, a tall task without their best scorer, LeBron James shouldering the load at 41 and Austin Reaves still working his way back to 100% as evidenced by his brutal Game 1 showing (eight points on 3-of-16 shooting). But when he’s right, Dončić is a definitional bucket. No one in the NBA can fill it up the way he can, regardless of opponent. We learned that just a few short years ago when he carried the Mavericks all the way to the Finals.

It may all be for naught. The Thunder may handle business before Dončić can play, and if he comes back well short of 100%, he may not make the difference. He only played in two of the Lakers’ four games against Oklahoma City (and got hurt in one of them), finishing the season with 31 total points while shooting 33% from the field and knocking down just 2-of-14 threes against the reigning champs. But his potential return brings a glimmer of hope to L.A. and it’ll take a bit more for the Thunder to completely stamp it out.

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