NBA Playoffs: Live Updates As Spurs Lead Timberwolves; Pistons Force Game 7 vs. Cavs

We’re down to six teams in this year’s NBA playoffs, and soon that number will be four. Potentially as soon as tonight, with Friday featuring two Game 6s—at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET—that could see two teams eliminated.

Out in the East, the No. 1-seeded Pistons have their backs against the wall after fumbling away a late Game 5 lead to the Cavaliers. Game 6 is in Cleveland tonight, and the Cavs will be looking to eliminate the visiting side and appear in the franchise’s first Eastern Conference finals since LeBron James wore the uniform. A loss would leave a sour taste in Detroit’s mouth exiting the postseason, given the opportunities the team had to move on; they went up 2–0 in the series early on and held a nine-point lead in Game 5 with three minutes to go before losing in overtime.

Out West, the No. 2 seed Spurs are on the verge of pushing the Timberwolves out of the playoffs after a dominant Game 5 from San Antonio superstar Victor Wembanyama. Anthony Edwards will have to muster up another heroic performance to stave off elimination in Minnesota, and his teammates will have to step up after the Wolves posted their worst shooting numbers as a unit last time out.

It’s going to be a lot of fun, and Sports Illustrated will be providing updates on all the action throughout the night. Below you can find SI’s live blog for Pistons-Cavs Game 6 before we shift over to Spurs-Wolves.

Pistons-Cavaliers Game 6 live updates

How we got here in the Pistons-Cavaliers series

Game 1: Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101 (Detroit)
Game 2: Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97 (Detroit)
Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109 (Cleveland)
Game 4: Cavaliers 112, Pistons 103 (Cleveland)
Game 5: Cavaliers 117, Pistons 113 (OT) (Detroit)

Game 6 is taking place on the heels of a truly thrilling Game 5. The Cavs won their first road game of the postseason by erasing several Pistons leads—most meaningfully a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes— in front of a hostile Detroit crowd. Despite some controversy in the final seconds, Cleveland managed to force overtime and pull out the victory behind 51 combined points from the James Harden-Donovan Mitchell star pairing.

The Cavaliers know tonight is a big one. Win, and they’re in their first ECF since 2018. Lose, and they’ll be headed back to Little Caesars Arena for Game 7 on the road. The Pistons aren’t going to make it easy, but with zero home losses this playoff run, the Cavs figure to have the upper hand.

How we got here in the Spurs-Timberwolves series

Victor Wembanyam — The Spurs and Timberwolves will battle in Game 6 tonight. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102 (San Antonio)
Game 2: Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95 (San Antonio)
Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108 (Minnesota)
Game 4: Timberwolves 114, Spurs 109 (Minnesota)
Game 5: Spurs 126, Timberwolves 97 (San Antonio)

Wembanyama dominated last time out to give the Spurs a 3–2 series edge. While the young star brushed off any questions about his ejection in Game 4 stemming from an elbow thrown at Naz Reid, it certainly felt like he was trying to make up for things in Game 5. And boy, did he. Wemby had 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Antonio to a rout of a victory. Now, he’ll be locked in on trying to power the Spurs to their first Western Conference finals showing in nine years.

The Wolves, meanwhile, will have the home crowd behind them and, as always, you can bet on Anthony Edwards showing up ready to play. His supporting cast has been too inconsistent in these playoffs (hence the 3–2 series deficit), but if they can step up, Minnesota has the combination of physicality and shot-making to give San Antonio all it can handle.