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Live Updates: 2026 NBA Playoffs, R1 | Sixers vs. Celtics on NBC/Peacock

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We’re bringing you the best of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, with the NBA.com live blog, featuring all of the meaningful moments, performances, observations, news, notes and highlights from Sunday’s action.

What we know about Sunday’s games:

  • Teams with a 2-1 lead have historically gone on to win an NBA Playoffs series 80% of the time.
  • With a 3-1 lead, it’s been 95.6% of the time, with 13 teams recovering from such a gap in NBA history.
  • If the series goes to 2-2, the home team for Game 5 has won 73.1% of the time.

 

What we know after Sunday’s games:

  • Raptors Even Series Against Cavs: Toronto took care of both of its home games and have evened up this series. Toronto won that 93-89 grinder by holding Cleveland to 37 percent from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range.
  • San Antonio Takes 3-1 Series Lead Over Portland: The Spurs had one of their most dominant halves of the season, outscoring the Blazers in the second half, 73-35. They now own a 3-1 lead in this series and are headed back home for Game 5.

Final scores

Raptors 93, Cavaliers 89 (Series tied 2-2)

Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 93 (SA leads 3-1)

APRIL 26, 2026 / 8:31 ET

Celtics-Sixers Second Half Underway on Peacock

Boston had a great opening half, thanks to 32 bench points.

They’re looking to take a 3-1 series lead.

See the second half on Peacock. 

APRIL 26, 2026 / 8:09 ET

Celtics Lead Sixers at the Half, 56-38

Boston got out to a 34-18 lead after the opening quarter and maintained that double-digit lead.

The Celtics bench scored 32 points.

Joel Embiid leads the Sixers with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in his return to action.

See the second half on Peacock. 

APRIL 26, 2026 / 7:41 ET

Celtics Lead Sixers After Q1, 34-18

Boston got 24 points from its bench in the opening quarter while Philly got none.

Payton Pritchard provided 13 of those points.

Joel Embiid made his return and scored the first eight points for the Sixers.

See the action on Peacock. 

APRIL 26, 2026 / 7:14 ET

Celtics-Sixers Tip on Peacock

Boston and Philly are about to kick off Game 4.

The Celtics lead this series, 2-1.

Joel Embiid is making his return to action after missing time due to an appendectomy.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 6:49 ET

Blazers on the brink after 2H collapse 😨

The energy inside Moda Center was night and day from the first half to the second. Portland led by 17 at the break and appeared to have the Spurs reeling. That lead was erased halfway through the third quarter, and totally flipped by the fourth. San Antonio outscored Portland 73-35 in the second half, marking the largest playoff win by a team that trailed by 15 or more points.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 6:25 ET

Spurs versatility on display

In game three, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper were the engine behind the Spurs’ victory and tonight it was De’Aaron Fox beside Victor Wembanyama. Fox scored 28 points while Wemby added 27, seven blocked shots and four steals.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 6:15 ET

Double-technicals late

Referees and players stepped in to separate Stephon Castle and Deni Avdija in the closing minutes after an and-one finish from Castle on the latter. It comes as San Antonio leads comfortably. Castle made the free throw after review, and starters were pulled out soon after with the game out of reach.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 6:00 ET

Fox showing off in the 4th 🦊

De’Aaron Fox is responsible for 10 straight San Antonio points, as the Spurs have flipped this game. The scoring run featured three unanswered buckets from Fox before he dished to Keldon Johnson for 3. Portland trailed by as many as 13 points in the run.

Wemby’s 6th block 👐

APRIL 26, 2026 / 5:45 ET

Spurs reclaim lead

This sequence from Victor Wembanyama showcases how much of a difference maker he is. He skied for an alley-oop flush from Stephon Castle to give their team the lead in the final frame. On the next play, he scored another reverse lob.

Before the quarter break, Wemby had this slam off the offensive glass at the buzzer that tied the game.

Deni Avdija leads Portland with 21 points, while the Trail blazers have also received very timely baskets and playmaking from Jrue Holiday.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 5:20 ET

Spurs erase deficit after HT

That didn’t take long! San Antonio opened the third quarter with a 13-0 scoring run to cut Portland’s lead to as low as four points.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 5:01 ET

Spurs down 17 at half

It’s been a brilliant showing on both sides of the ball through two quarters for Portland, who leads San Antonio. 58-41 at intermission. The team has a double-digit rebounding advantage while shooting a higher percentage from the field than the Spurs. There’s a big discrepancy in free throws as well, with the Blazers making 11 in the first half compared to San Antonio’s three.

Victor Wembanyama looks healthy after clearing concussion protocol, but is only 4-of-12 from the floor. Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox are the team’s leading scorers with 10 apiece.

Avdija and-one ⬇️

APRIL 26, 2026 / 4:45 ET

18-3 Portland run 😳

The second quarter has belonged to the Trail Blazers. Portland leads 52-37 in the closing minutes of the first half. Deni Avdija is up to 11 points while pushing the pace and finding teammates like Robert Williams for this strong alley-oop finish.

Jrue Holiday added to the run with a deep three to beat the shot clock.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 4:20 ET

Close after 1Q

Portland leads by two after the first quarter, thanks to a balanced scoring effort. No Trail Blazer is in double figures, but seven different players are in the scoring column already.

Victor Wembanyama, meanwhile, hasn’t missed a beat in his return from a one-game absence.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 4:07 ET

Best of 7, now best of 3

It wasn’t pretty, but Toronto won a pivotal game 4 to avoid being on the brink of elimination. The theme of this game was the Raptors’ execution late in quarters, opposed to Cleveland’s. Toronto manufactured scoring runs at the end of the first half, third, and fourth quarters that ultimately swung the game.

Scottie Barnes (23 pts, 10 reb, 6 ast) was superb, while Collin Murray-Boyles (15 pts, 10 reb) added a double-double off the bench. RJ Barrett made big shots late, while Brandon Ingram matched Barnes with a game-high 23 points.

The series returns to Cleveland for game 5 on Wednesday.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 4:02 ET

Getting to work early

APRIL 26, 2026 / 3:49 ET

Toronto on verge of victory 👀

APRIL 26, 2026 / 3:39 ET

Wemby is good to go

After missing game 3, Victor Wembanyama returns today against the Trail Blazers. Here’s the starting lineups for both teams as the action gets going in Portland.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 3:05 ET

12-2 Raptor run closes 3rd

Toronto used a late rally to close the gap before the fourth quarter, just like they did before halftime. With Cleveland’s stars struggling from the field, the opportunity is there for Toronto to even the series on their home court.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 2:55 ET

James Harden is the only Cleveland player in double figures with under 3:00 to play in the 3rd quarter. Evan Mobley found some success early in the third quarter but only has 6 points. Mobley, Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen have just 15 points combined so far.

The Cavaliers lead 56-53 with the final fram approaching.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 2:20 ET

Raps close the gap before HT

This one has teetered on ugly as both teams are shooting below 35% from the field with a combined 18 turnovers. Toronto found its stride late, however, as Brandon Ingram snapped out of his cold spell.

Listen to the crowd come alive as Ingram hit nothing but net on this buzzer-beating triple.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 2:13 ET

Injury updates ⚠️

According to NBA.com’s Jeff Zillgitt:

  • Victor Wembanyama’s status is still up in the air, hours ahead of game 4 versus Portland. San Antonio Head Coach Mitch Johnson is still unsure of the Kia DPOY’s availability today after entering concussion protocol due to a hard fall in game 2.
  • Donte DiVincenzo is expected to have surgery this afternoon on his ruptured right achilles tendon. The Villanova product started all 82 regular season games for Minnesota before suffering the non-contact injury in the opening moments of game 3 versus Denver.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 2:08 ET

Murray-Boyles getting busy 👏

The Raptors still trail Cleveland with time running out in the first half, but their rookie big man is showing a lot of promise. Collin Murray-Boyles is up to 9 points off the bench today.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 1:48 ET

Low scoring first quarter

Each team scored in the closing seconds of the first quarter as the Cavaliers took a 17-14 lead into the break.

1,144 assists & counting

James Harden is regarded as one of the best scorers in the league, but he’s also a top distributor. The Beard has made the postseason in 17 years straight, and adds to his legacy while climbing the all-time playoff assists list.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 1:36 ET

Mitchell shake & bake 3️⃣

APRIL 26, 2026 / 1:25 ET

Edwards suffers bone bruise

Minnesota’s All-Star guard went down in the first half of game 3 between the Timberwolves and Nuggets and will not return for the remainder of the series. Shams Charania reports that Anthony Edwards is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the left knee injury.

Scuffle under review 🔔

The Wolves managed to win without Edwards or Donte DiVincenzo, but an altercation broke out just before the final buzzer sounded. Charania adds that rulings are expected to be made before game 5 regarding possible suspensions.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 1:17 ET

Meet Scottie at the rim 😤

Scottie Barnes has set the tone early in Toronto. Both teams struggled to find early baskets, until Barnes finished a dunk in transition over Dean Wade.

Moments later he flushed a two-handed dunk in the half-court, prompting a Cleveland timeout. All of Toronto’s points thus far have come in the paint, as the lead 8-3 with 8:20 to play in the first.

APRIL 26, 2026 / 12:30 ET

Starting Lineups: Cavaliers-Raptors, Game 4

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 of their 2026 NBA Playoffs series at 1 ET on ESPN.

 

All stats from Thursday’s Game 3, which the Raptors won 126-104.

Cleveland:

  • PG James Harden (18 pts, 4 ast)
  • SG Donovan Mitchell (15 pts, 5 reb)
  • SF Dean Wade (5 pts, 5 reb, 1 stl)
  • PF Evan Mobley (15 pts, 6 reb, 7 ast)
  • C Jarrett Allen (12 pts, 3 blk)

Toronto:

  • PG Ja’Kobe Walter (0 pts, 2 reb)
  • SG RJ Barrett (33 pts, 5 reb)
  • SF Brandon Ingram (12 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl)
  • PF Scottie Barnes (33 pts, 11 ast)
  • C Jakob Poetl (8 pts, 6 reb)

APRIL 26, 2026 / 12:15 ET

Sunday’s injury report

Immanuel Quickley is out for the Raptors, while A.J. Lawson is available.

Jordan McLaughlin and Victor Wembanyama are questionable for the Spurs.

Joel Embiid is doubtful for the 76ers. Tyrese Maxey is available, while Kelly Oubre Jr. is questionable.

Luka Dončić is out for the Lakers, while Austin Reaves is questionable. Kevin Durant is questionable for the Rockets.

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