The second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs continued with excitement on Tuesday as two more Game 1s unfolded. The top-seeded teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences secured victories, signaling a strong start. The Detroit Pistons emerged victorious over the Cleveland Cavaliers with a score of 111-101, while the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Los Angeles Lakers, winning by 18 points.
The Thunder continue their impressive postseason streak, maintaining an undefeated record, while the Pistons find themselves leading a playoff series 1-0 for the first time since 2008. Let’s delve into the notable performances and moments from Tuesday night’s games.
Winner: Clutch Cade Cunningham
Pistons guard helped Detroit pull away late
In the Pistons’ matchup, Cade Cunningham took a brief rest with 6:32 left in the fourth quarter. At that point, Detroit had once held an 18-point advantage and had not trailed since the early moments of the game. However, their lead had dwindled to just five points. Within a rapid 90 seconds, Cleveland managed to tie the game.
Coach JB Bickerstaff likely intended to extend Cunningham’s rest, but sensing the Cavaliers’ momentum shift, he brought Cunningham back into the game. Returning to the court, Cunningham shifted his focus from scoring to playmaking, expertly setting up Jalen Duren for three consecutive dunks.
These crucial possessions ultimately decided the outcome. The Cavaliers never closed the gap to less than four points for the remainder of the game. Duren, showcasing his prowess, had not matched his regular-season scoring against Orlando in the first round, but his defensive and rebounding contributions were stellar.
On Tuesday, Duren concluded the game with 11 points, having recorded just one field goal before the pivotal dunks. He also grabbed 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end, and blocked two shots. His defensive intensity and dominance on the boards, coupled with Cunningham’s timely assists, mirrored the strategy that led to Duren’s 19.5 PPG average in the regular season.
Let’s give an additional shoutout here to Daniss Jenkins for his play late (he had some huge boards and a big-time pull-up jumper to put Detroit back up six with a little over three minutes left en route to 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists off the bench), and Tobias Harris was once again a rock with 20 points and eight boards.
Duncan Robinson buried five 3s on his way to 19 points. Ausar Thompson added 11 and was a defensive monster, as usual. Detroit no doubt loved its box-score balance in this game, with eight guys contributing at least six point and six in double figures.
But again, all of that was about to go out the window before Cade checked back into the game and created those three Duren dunks. The Cavs had all the momentum. And when push comes to shove, the Pistons are almost entirely reliant on Cunningham to create offense. He saved Detroit with 107 points in three elimination games vs. Orlando, and he clutched up again on Tuesday to give Detroit its first lead in a playoff series since 2008.
Loser: James Harden’s (and Cavs’) turnovers
Cleveland’s veteran creator coughed it up seven times
Turnovers were a major reason why the Cavs were forced to go seven games to beat the Raptors in the first round. They committed 121 of them in the series. James Harden was responsible for 36 of those, and in Game 1 against Detroit, he coughed up seven more. All told, the Cavs committed 20 turnovers that led to 31 Pistons points (a number of these were at least dead-ball turnovers, but still, it was too sloppy).
On the flip side, Detroit committed just 12 turnovers for 16 Cavs points. That’s a 15-point turnover swing to the Pistons in what wound up a 10-point game. You do the math.
As for Harden, he once again had more turnovers than made baskets (he went 6 for 15 from the field and 1 of 7 from 3 for 22 points). It marks the third time (in eight games) Harden has done that in these playoffs, in which he has now amassed 43 turnovers though eight games.
Over 181 career playoff games, Harden has now tallied at least as many turnovers as baskets 45 times, and more turnovers than baskets 22 times.
Harden has had the ball in his hands, on average, probably more than any single player in playoff history, so a certain amount of turnovers are going to be part of his equation. But he doesn’t score at the level he once did to offset those giveaways. This has to improve, or else Donovan Mitchell is going to have to take on more of the creative responsibilities for Cleveland.
Winner: Chet Holmgren’s matchups
OKC’s center took advantage of mismatches all night
You could just as easily give the nod to Jared McCain for his fourth-quarter shooting barrage. He’s playing for his long-term postseason minutes, whereas Holmgren is obviously secure in that respect.
But Holmgren was tremendous tonight in a way that bodes very well for the Thunder moving forward. The Lakers tried switching defensively early in the game. Holmgren took advantage of the mismatches to rack up a bunch of easy points early. When the Thunder get Jalen Williams back, they won’t need that much actual creation out of him. That’s what they have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for. If he can just punish mismatches as he did in Game 1, he takes switching off of the table for Thunder opponents.
He has, at this stage, more or less secured the title of best defender in the NBA not named Victor Wembanyama, blowing up Laker actions left and right and finishing the game with three blocks and a steal. The Lakers scored just 40 points in the paint in Game 1. With the 3s not falling and the Thunder a near lock to win the transition battle every night, this series is hopeless for the purple and gold if they can’t get to the rim. Holmgren was dominant on both ends in an easy Oklahoma City victory.
Loser: Austin Reaves as a 1A option
The Lakers guard had a night to forget in Game 1
Winning this series without Luka Dončić is an unrealistic goal for the Lakers. Really, this matchup is about evaluating their own players. Who matches up well with the Thunder? Who’s ready for the moment? Who can they trust moving into next year, when they presumably push more assets into the center of the table in an effort to contend?
No player in this series has more to prove than Austin Reaves. Had he not gotten injured earlier in the season, he would have been an All-Star. But he’s fairly athletically limited, and there are real questions about how he matches up against the sort of elite, physical defenders he’d expect to see in the postseason. Well, this is his fourth game against the Thunder this season, and he’s yet to reach 20 points or make more than six field goals. In this one, he shot 3-of-16 for eight points.
Now, Reaves isn’t at full strength. He came back from a Grade 2 oblique strain last round and likely isn’t at or near 100%. He wasn’t against Minnesota last year either. But he’s about to become a free agent this offseason, and while the Lakers almost certainly won’t let him go for nothing, how close they’re willing to get to the max and how untouchable they deem Reaves in future trade talks likely depend, to some extent, on their belief in him in this specific matchup. Winning a championship in the years to come probably means beating the Thunder, and at least in Game 1, Reaves didn’t look up to the task.
