NBA Playoffs: Takeaways As Magic Upset Pistons, Victor Wembanyama Shines in Playoff Debut

Orlando scored a major upset in Detroit after the Celtics and Thunder dominated Sunday afternoon’s games. In the nightcap, Victor Wembanyama's playoff debut went as expected.

Victor Wembanyama dropped 35 points in his playoff debut | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The first weekend of the NBA playoffs has come and gone. We almost went complete chalk, but one major upset came on Sunday night to tide us over as postseason play fully begins.

The Celtics kicked off the day with a dominant blowout 123–91 win over Philadelphia. Boston led from the early going and never looked back, powered by the talents of the two Jays—Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both put up strong numbers in their 2026 playoff debuts. The 76ers have a lot to reflect upon ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2 if this series has any hope of being competitive. Regardless, Boston looks like a true contender. Out West, the Thunder rolled through the Suns in Game 1 of their series, and look as strong as ever.

The evening slate began with the stunning upset. The Pistons took a massive leap after breaking into the playoffs last year, and are the No. 1 seed in the conference, but they could never quite take control against the Magic on Sunday, falling in the first major upset of the playoffs. The Trail Blazers couldn't keep up the underdog momentum in the nightcap, but what else would you expect in Victor Wembanyama's postseason debut?

With the first weekend of playoff action behind us, here’s one takeaway from each Game 1 that took place on Sunday:

Jayson Tatum is ready for the playoffs 

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics dominated the 76ers on Sunday | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Tatum’s return from his torn Achilles has been spectacular but it was still valid to wonder just how good he could be in the postseason. The NBA playoffs are famously much more physical than regular-season play and a seven-game series allows opponents to zero in on any weaknesses to a much greater degree. Tatum was great in his 16 regular-season games but how would he hold up at postseason-levels of physicality and attention from defenses?

The early returns suggest he will be just fine. The superstar forward did it all for the Celtics in a blowout Game 1 win over the 76ers, stuffing the stat sheet with 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and a pair of steals. He wasn’t tested very often defensively by a a Philadelphia team that struggled mightily on that end but held up on the few occasions he was. More broadly the 28-year-old just looked comfortable out there. 

It’s only the beginning but the Celtics’ championship hopes should have received another injection of optimism with how good Tatum looked to kick off the postseason. 

Thunder’s championship run should look awfully familiar 

The Thunder began their title defense with a dominant victory over Phoenix | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Despite everything that’s changed since the Thunder raised the Larry O’Brien trophy in June 2025, their Game 1 win over the Suns followed a terribly familiar script. 

Oklahoma City absolutely dominated Phoenix in a 35-point win. But it wasn’t because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rained middies for 40 minutes or due to an explosion from one of the Thunder’s many talented secondary players. No, it was the defense that won the day. OKC’s thorny defense throttled everything the Suns tried to run and didn’t allow anyone outside the Devin Booker-Dillon Brooks duo to get anything easy. In fact, they barely got anything at all—Booker and Brooks scored nearly half of Phoenix’s 84 points but the game was still never close in any regard. 

This was Plan A for the Thunder last season—win the day through a physical defense that forces a ton of turnovers and leaves plenty of room for error on the other side of the floor. This year SGA is a better offensive player and the supporting cast is a bit more well-rounded thanks to the emergence of Ajay Mitchell. But they went back to the championship-tested formula on Sunday. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see things unfold in a similar manner as OKC embarks upon its title defense. 

The Magic have officially turned a corner

The Magic were the sole road team to upset their opponent in Game 1 | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Orlando had a dreadful loss to the Celtics’ reserves to close the regular season which sent the Magic to the play-in tournament. Then, the Magic fell to the 76ers and had to play to keep their season alive in an elimination game with the Hornets. Jamahl Mosley’s bunch completely punked Charlotte and then got the first upset of the playoffs with a wire-to-wire win over the top-seeded Pistons on Sunday. Defense set the tone, with three steals from Jalen Suggs in the first half of the big road win over Detroit.

Paolo Banchero has had a great two-game stretch, leading the way for the Magic Sunday with 23 points. But it was a complete team effort with each member of Orlando’s starting five scoring 16 points or more. Pistons star guard Cade Cunningham still got his with 39 points to lead all scorers in Game 1, but the Orlando defense made All-Star big man Jalen Duren a complete non-factor. The first game of this series may say more about the Pistons, who weren’t able to take a lead on the Magic despite numerous chances. It’s just one game of a long series, but the Magic have impressed over their two biggest games of the year and appear to be clicking at the right time.

Victor Wembanyama shines in playoff debut, because of course

Victor Wembanyama had 35 points in his playoff debut | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Trail Blazers couldn’t continue the underdog momentum after Orlando’s upset against Detroit, but was Victor Wembanyama really going to lose in his playoff debut? The French phenom had the most points in a playoff debut in franchise history, finishing with 35 points, five rebounds and two blocks. He had 21 points in the first half, which set a record for the most points in the first half of a playoff debut in the play-by-play era according to the NBA.

Wembanyama’s 35 points were just seven shy of Luka Dončić’s record for the most points in a playoff debut. San Antonio earned the second seed in the Western Conference after a 62–20 season. The Spurs appear to be a true threat to knock off the defending champion Thunder should we get that dream matchup in the Western Conference finals, especially when you consider San Antonio had Oklahoma City’s number during the regular season. Wemby’s supporting cast did its job, too, with 17 points a piece out of De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, plus 15 more from Devin Vassell. 

Although it’s early, the Spurs seem ready for the biggest stage despite the lack of playoff experience.

If you want to experience the day of playoff action as it happened, below you’ll find Sports Illustrated’s live blog that covered each Game 1 on Sunday.

Sunday NBA playoffs schedule, game previews

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama makes his playoff debut Sunday against the Trail Blazers. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Celtics 123, 76ers 91 (Game 1)

Well that was ugly. While his three-point shot wasn’t falling, Jayson Tatum continued his stunning comeback with a solid 25-point outing in his first playoff game since last year’s Achilles injury, 21 of which came in the first half. His longtime runningmate Jaylon Brown led all scorers with 26, while the 76ers were held to just 39% shooting from the field and 17% from three.

Thunder 119, Suns 84 (Game 1)

Another game, another blowout. The Thunder outscored the Suns by 15 in the first quarter and never let up, running out to a dominant 35-point victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 25 points, while Jalen Williams put up 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Devin Booker had a decent game with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, but Phoenix shot just 35% from the field.

Magic 112, Pistons 101 (Game 1)

Orlando entered the season with high hopes, but dealt with injury throughout the season and never quite reached what many expected their potential to be. That continued into the play-in tournament, when the Magic were handled by the 76ers, but they followed it up with an impressive blowout of the Hornets to clinch the No. 8 seed. And on Sunday, just two days after they punched their playoff ticket, they put together an impressive wire-to-wire performance against the Pistons, outscoring the East’s top seed in three of the four quarters to score the first major upset of the playoffs.

Spurs 111, Trail Blazers 98 (Game 1)

Finally, Wemby is in the playoffs ... and San Antonio is gunning for the NBA title right now. The Spurs have been one of the league’s best teams all season and they continued the momentum on Sunday. Wembanyama went off for 35 points in his playoff debut, the most in franchise history. He started the game with 21 points in the first half, which was the most by any player in the first half of a playoff debut. It was Deni Avdija's playoff debut, too, and he had 30 points for the Blazers as Portland hopes to bounce back in Game 2 on Tuesday.

Saturday’s NBA playoff scores

LeBron James played alongside son Bronny James in the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Rockets on Saturday. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113 (Game 1)

Donovan Mitchell exploded for 32 points, while Max Strus scored 24 off the bench. Cleveland’s offense thoroughly outplayed Toronto’s vaunted defense in Game 1.

Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105 (Game 1)

Anthony Edwards and Minnesota started fast, but ultimately this came down to Jamal Murray early and Nikola Jokić late. Denver’s powerhouse pair combined for 55 points, while Jokić woke up from a quiet start to post a 25/13/11 triple-double.

Knicks 113, Hawks 102 (Game 1)

The pressure is on for New York to compete for a title, and the Knicks passed the first test on Saturday. Jalen Brunson was on fire to start the win over the Hawks, while Karl-Anthony Towns impressed with an efficient 25 points on 13 field goal attempts, adding eight rebounds and three blocks.

Lakers 107, Rockets 98 (Game 1)

Much has been made of Los Angeles’s injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but Houston, which can be offensively challenged at times, lost Kevin Durant ahead of Game 1. No Rockets player broke 20 points and as a team, they shot 38% from the field and 33% from three. LeBron James kept the Lakers offense humming with 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, but it was Luke Kennard who provided the most firepower, scoring 27 on 9-of-13 shooting (and a perfect 5-for-5 from three). L.A. shot an impressive 61% from the field and 53% from three.

---

More NBA From Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.