The 2024-25 NBA playoffs are in full swing, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals.
On Saturday, the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to advance to the second round after defeating the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies. The No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets evened the series with the No. 5 seed LA Clippers after an exciting Game 4, which ended with a game-winning buzzer-beater from Aaron Gordon. Sunday, the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers are now down 3-1 after they lost Game 4 on the road to the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ll have a chance to bounce back in Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors, in a tough Game 4, took the 3-1 lead over the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets on Monday.
As the West playoffs continue, here’s what matters most and what to watch for in all four series.
Jump to a series:
Thunder-Grizzlies | Rockets-Warriors
Lakers-Timberwolves | Nuggets-Clippers
More coverage:
East first-round takeaways
Schedules and results | Offseason guides
Monday’s game
Game 4: Warriors 109, Rockets 106
What we learned:
Houston entered this series with a reputation for suffocating defense and bruising physicality. But it was Golden State exhibiting those traits, coupled with big nights from Jimmy Butler III (27 points) and Brandin Podziemski (26 points), that helped the Warriors take a 3-1 lead in the series. With the Warriors blitzing and trapping point guard Jalen Green all series, the Rockets needed more from Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, and Amen Thompson. The trio delivered with a combined 73 points, led by Sengun and VanVleet, who chipped in 31 and 25 points, respectively. Ultimately, missed free throws played a major role in Houston’s downfall. The Rockets missed 12 of their 31 free throws, which registers as the most missed free throws in a single game by any team this postseason. Golden State established dominance from the onset, seizing a 13-2 lead over the first 3:45 of the contest on the strength of two Draymond Green 3-pointers while converting four Houston turnovers into seven points. The Rockets understood their razor-thin margin for error on the road against a veteran Warriors team dripping in championship pedigree, and they showed resilience in fighting back to take a 57-50 lead at intermission. Houston scrapped its way back into the game by leaning on the Ime Udoka mantra of turning defense into offense, forcing nine turnovers, which converted into 17 points.
— Michael C. Wright
1:43
Draymond: ‘Playoff Jimmy’ saved our season
Warriors star Draymond Green discusses Jimmy Butler’s impact on Golden State’s win in Game 4 vs. the Rockets.
Game 5: Warriors at Rockets (Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
What to watch:
Things got chippy between these two teams again, Green got into foul trouble and had to sit much of the third and a good chunk of the fourth. Houston’s defense had Curry under control compared to Game 3 and Sengun had a huge scoring night with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while VanVleet hit eight 3-pointers. But the Warriors still found a way to win with Podziemski picking up the scoring slack for much of the game before a less-than-100% Butler made big plays in the fourth. This is why the Warriors got Butler, who scored 14 of his points in the fourth. Green came up with a huge in the fourth with a stop late on Sengun to pull out Game 4, and despite a battle from Houston, they found a way to win. Up 3-1, Golden State will look to close this series out at Houston in Game 5. Even if the Rockets keep their season alive, Golden State has given itself a cushion and a chance to advance at home in Game 6. But this veteran Warriors team doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. Winning at Houston could mean some valuable rest days for the Warriors, depending on what happens in the Lakers-Wolves series. And Golden State doesn’t want to give Houston any life and hope.
— Ohm Youngmisuk
Game 4: Timberwolves 116, Lakers 113
What we learned:
Minnesota outscored the Lakers 32-19 in the fourth quarter — and 19-9 in the final 5:06 — to take a 3-1 lead in the series. This was a monumental missed opportunity for L.A. After the Lakers failed to protect a 10-point first-quarter lead and went into the half trailing by four, coach JJ Redick made his first major lineup adjustment of the series by benching Jaxson Hayes to start the third, with Dorian Finney-Smith in his place. That group used a 14-0 run out of the break to fuel a 36-23 quarter. But Redick kept those five players in for all 24 minutes of the second half. Anthony Edwards scored 24 of his 43 points after halftime, outshining another brilliant effort from LeBron James (27 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks). Luka Doncic bounced back to form with 38 points after a stomach bug sabotaged his Game 3 effort, but he had four turnovers and James had three, including one trying to inbound the ball to Doncic trailing by one with 10.7 seconds left. Rui Hachimura had his best game of the series (23 points, five rebounds) and Austin Reaves made up for a scoreless first half to score 17 in the second — but his potential tying 3 missed at the buzzer.
Game 5: Timberwolves at Lakers (Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET, TNT)
What to watch:
What kind of fight the Lakers will have left in them. They put themselves in a position to win both games in Minnesota but couldn’t close out either. L.A. should get a lift from its home crowd, but the Wolves are a confident team and based on how they came in and stole Game 1 at Crypto.com Arena, there’s no reason to think they will be intimidated by the atmosphere.
— Dave McMenamin
Game 4: Thunder 117, Grizzlies 115
What we learned:
Overall top-seeded Oklahoma City made quick work of Memphis, sweeping the Grizzlies, who haven’t won a playoff series since 2022 and didn’t beat a Western Conference team with a winning record after January. Likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his first efficient scoring performance of the series in the finale, finishing with 38 points on 13-of-24 shooting. With Ja Morant out, the Grizzlies couldn’t handle the Thunder’s tenacious defensive pressure, committing 22 turnovers that Oklahoma City converted into 32 points. Now, the Thunder will get some rest and await the winner of the Nuggets-Clippers series.
— Tim MacMahon
Game 4: Nuggets 101, Clippers 99
What we learned:
Nikola Jokic is about the only player in the world who can post consecutive triple-doubles in a playoff game and have people saying the opposing team was doing a good job on him. Saturday, with Denver’s season hanging in the balance, he turned in his finest performance of the postseason — a 36-point, 21-rebound masterpiece — to carry his team to a win. The first half was close, as Jokic was facilitating for others. But at halftime, he kicked it into another gear, scoring or assisting on 26 of the Nuggets’ 35 points in the third quarter to stake Denver to a 20-point lead. The Nuggets found their championship mettle in this game and threw it away in the fourth quarter, blowing the biggest lead in playoff franchise history. Denver escaped as Aaron Gordon miraculously caught an air ball from Jokic and dunked it at the buzzer for the win. Wow.
Game 5: Clippers at Nuggets (Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET, TNT)
What to watch:
The Clippers weren’t known as a great 3-point shooting team this season. So while they shot lights out in Game 3 (18-of-39), their overconfidence from behind the arc sank them Saturday in Game 4. LA hit just 10-of-30 from behind the arc. Some of that was because Denver played much better defense, aggressively double-teaming Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and forcing other players to beat them. In this game, the Clippers’ supporting cast couldn’t step up, and Denver evened the series with two days off to heal up before Game 5 at home.
— Ramona Shelburne
