We had three more games of NBA playoff action on Wednesday night, all of which set us up for some fantastic drama down the line. In the first game of the night, the Pistons were able to stave off elimination by the Magic, pushing their series to a Game 6 in which eighth-seeded Orlando will have the chance to close things out at home.
Right after that, the Cavaliers took control of their series against the Raptors with a win at home in Game 5. The home team has yet to lose a game in that series, so we could be primed to go seven.
And finally, the Rockets staved off elimination for another night by topping the Lakers
Below, we break down our takeaways from another fantastic night of basketball. If you want to relive the action as it happened, our live updates of the evening’s games are below.
Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero gave us our first great duel of the playoffs
Heading into the first round, it’s likely the head-to-head player matchups that had fans most excited were the potential showdowns to come between LeBron James and Kevin Durant or Anthony Edwards and Nikola Jokić, adding another page to their rivalry. Injuries have largely robbed us of the LeBron-Durant series we wanted to see, and while Nuggets-Wolves has been a thrilling series, we haven’t had a night where both stars went big.
But on Wednesday, Cade Cunningham and Paolo Banchero put on a show that made it abundantly clear why both players were taken with the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years at the draft.
Both Cunningham and Banchero went off for 45 points, with Banchero torching the Pistons defense to single-handedly keep the Magic in the game and Cunningham essentially willing Detroit to victory in the face of potential elimination. Both stars made buckets at all three levels, and consistently were ready to deliver in their team’s greatest moment of need.
Cunningham came out on top in this one, but we could be in for another great show in Game 6 on Friday night in Orlando, and again, if we’re lucky enough to see this series go seven games.
The Cavs won with balance
The Cavaliers rode a balanced attack to a 125-120 win over the Raptors on Wednesday night, and it was exactly what they needed. Four Cleveland players had 19 or more, with Evan Mobley and James Harden potting 23, while Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Schroder had 19. That balance helped the Cavs come back after being down 12 on multiple occasions.
Mobley’s 23 were especially impressive, as he’d struggled for much of the series but had the final five points of the third quarter before hitting two big three-pointers in the fourth quarter. He finished 3-for-3 from deep on the night after going 2-for-11 in the first four games of the series. He was 8-for-13 from the field.
Schroder was the surprise of the night off the bench. He scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to help key Cleveland’s big comeback. He was so good that Mitchell remained on the bench for most of the game’s final period, and only returned with 2:47 left.
The Cavs took a 3-2 lead in the series with their big win on Wednesday night. They showed what’s possible when Mitchell and Harden get help from their teammates.
Lakers get lit up from deep
The Lakers had a second chance to close out the Rockets on Wednesday night, this time at home, but again, they failed. L.A. looked out of sorts all game, but their defensive rotations are what killed them. The Lakers repeatedly left Houston’s shooters open and were punished for it.
With Kevin Durant out, the Rockets are not a great three-point shooting team, but they were in Game 5. Houston moved the ball on offense and got the Lakers into bad rotations. While L.A. was sucked in, attempting to defend drives and the paint, the Rockets dished for shots from deep. They made 14 three-pointers on the night. While that’s nearly three more than their regular-season average, it also opened the floor up and led to the team assisting on 25 of its 33 field goals. Meanwhile, the Lakers were a woeful 7-for-27 from beyond the arc.
The Lakers got a boost from Austin Reaves’s return from injury. He had 22 points, four rebounds and six assists, but integrating him after nearly a month may have impacted the team's cohesion.
If the L.A. wants to end this series, it has to tighten up its three-point defense.
Relive all the action from our live blog below.
NBA playoffs live updates, scores, highlights for Pistons vs. Magic Game 5
NBA playoff schedule, broadcast information for Wednesday, April 29
Pistons vs. Magic (1–3), Game 5
- Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
- Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
- Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105
- Game 4: Magic 94, Pistons 88
- Game 5: Wednesday, April 29, 7 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
It all comes down to this for the East’s top team. After a spectacular regular season, Detroit has come out flat and has struggled to get anything going offensively, even in its one win against Orlando. Should the Magic win, they’d become just the seventh No. 8 seed to win a series against the No. 1, the last being the Heat against the Bucks in 2023.
Cavaliers vs. Raptors (2–2), Game 5
- Game 1: Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
- Game 2: Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105
- Game 3: Raptors 126, Cavaliers 104
- Game 4: Raptors 93, Cavaliers 89
- Game 5: Wednesday, April 29, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Cleveland’s impressive offense dominated its first two home games, while Toronto found some scoring punch in Game 3 and saw its defense put the clamps down on the Cavs in Game 4 to even things up and take all of the momentum in the series. Rocket Arena was not kind to the Raptors in Games 1 and 2. We’ll see if they can carry over what worked at home as the series heads back there.
Lakers vs. Rockets (3–1), Game 5
- Game 1: Lakers 107, Rockets 98
- Game 2: Lakers 101, Rockets 94
- Game 3: Lakers 112, Rockets 108
- Game 4: Rockets 115, Lakers 96
- Game 5: Wednesday, April 29, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Houston wasn’t blown out by Los Angeles in the first three games of the series, but could not get over the hump. They broke through in Game 4 to keep the series alive, but still have an uphill climb to reach the second round, and they’ll once again be without Kevin Durant, while the Lakers are getting closer to Austin Reaves’s return. He remains questionable for Wednesday night’s game.
More NBA Playoffs 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.
- The Pistons Needed Cade Cunningham to Dominate—He Put Up a Historic Performance to Keep Season Alive
- Top 10 Stay-or-Go NBA Draft Decisions That Could Shape the 2026 College Hoops Season
- Why LeBron James Doesn’t Want to Be Like Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony When He Retires
- The Celtics’ Biggest Problem Right Now Is the Disappearance of One of Their Best Players
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Playoffs: Rockets Down Lakers, Cade Cunningham Saves Pistons.
