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SPORTS
NBA roundup: Knicks advance with 51-point rout; Wolves move on, too
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Apr 30, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates after a victory over the Atlanta Hawks during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images OG Anunoby scored 26 of his 29 points in the first half to lead visiting New York to a historic 140-89 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday as the Knicks won their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series 4-2. It was the most points scored by the Knicks in a playoff game and the 51-point margin of victory their largest in the postseason. The only bigger victory margin in club history came earlier this year, when New York routed the Brooklyn Nets 120-66 on Jan. 21. The Hawks endured the second-worst postseason defeat in franchise history. The then-St. Louis Hawks lost 133-75 to the Minneapolis Lakers on March 19, 1956. New York, who produced a 63-11 first-half run, led by as many as 61 and beat the Hawks for the third straight game to advance to the conference semifinals for the fourth straight year. Karl-Anthony Towns had his second career playoff triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, along with three steals. The starters were out of the game midway in the third quarter. Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98 Elevated into the starting lineup of a heavily depleted backcourt, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored a career-playoff-high 24 points to help Minnesota close out Denver in Game 6 in Minneapolis. The sixth-seeded Timberwolves advance to face the second-seeded Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, with Game 1 scheduled for Monday in San Antonio. Without All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards (knee), Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles), Game 4 hero Ayo Dosunmu (calf) and veteran Kyle Anderson (illness), the Timberwolves turned to Shannon — who did not play in the first three games of the series. He stepped up, capping his 9-of-20 performance shooting from the field with a crucial three-point play that ignited a game-ending 10-1 run for the Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels scored a game-high 32 in the win. Nikola Jokic helped keep the Nuggets within striking distance, finishing with team highs in points (28), assists (10) and rebounds (nine). 76ers 106, Celtics 93 Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points as surging Philadelphia beat visiting Boston again, forcing a decisive Game 7 in their first-round series. The second-seeded Celtics led the series 3-1 following a 32-point win in Philadelphia on Sunday, but the seventh-seeded Sixers rebounded to post double-digit wins in Games 5 and 6. The teams will reconvene Saturday for Game 7 in Boston, where the Sixers will aim to complete a 3-1 series comeback for the first time in franchise history. Paul George added 23 points for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his third game since returning from an emergency appendectomy. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 18 points but also committed five of his team’s 13 turnovers. –Field Level Media



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Ducks claim first playoff series win since 2017, oust Oilers
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Apr 28, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; The Anaheim Ducks celebrate after a goal scored by forward Alex Killorn (17) during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images Chris Kreider, Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson all scored once in three-point outings as the Anaheim Ducks advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 5-2 home-ice victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 on Thursday. Cutter Gauthier collected one goal and one assist while Ryan Poehling added a goal for Anaheim, which claimed the Western Conference quarterfinal series 4-2. Goaltender Lukas Dostal made 25 saves as the Ducks recorded their first postseason series victory since 2017. The Ducks’ opponent in the Western Conference semifinals will be the winner of the series between the Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth, which Vegas leads 3-2. Connor Murphy and Vasily Podkolzin tallied for the Oilers, who lost in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the previous two seasons. Goalie Connor Ingram stopped 26 shots. For the first time in the series, Anaheim opened the scoring. Poehling’s fourth tally of the playoffs came just before the midway point of the first period. After the line’s workmanlike effort to gain possession of the puck in the offensive zone, John Carlson sent a point shot that ricocheted off a defender and then the back of Poehling’s leg before going into the net. Kreider doubled the lead four minutes later with his first of the series, a one-timer off the rush that found the mark on the short side to make his 35th birthday all the better. Murphy put the Oilers on the board 91 seconds later with a tap-in tally during a scramble. However, Gauthier restored Anaheim’s two-goal edge with his team’s eighth power-play goal of the series, benefitting when his shot redirected off a defender’s stick and into the net at 16:50 of the opening frame. Anaheim scored with the man-advantage in all six games. Less than one minute after the Oilers had a goal waved off, Terry made it a 4-1 game by burying a shot from the slot with 46.5 seconds remaining in the second period. Podkolzin’s goal 73 seconds into the third period — a shot was going wide of the net but banked off Podkolzin’s leg and into the cage — provided a spark for a possible Oilers comeback. However, Carlsson quashed the rally hopes by scoring an empty-net goal with 3:34 to go. –Field Level Media



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Rockets Notes: Smith, Sheppard, Young Core, Durant
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Fourth-year forward Jabari Smith Jr. raised some eyebrows when he said the Rockets were “obviously the better team” ahead of Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Lakers, but he backed up the statement by helping his team stave off elimination again, per Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle.
“It’s just a mindset to have,” said Smith, who had a team-high 22 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while playing solid defense. “I don’t care who we play, I don’t care what team I’m on. When we were winning 22 games (his rookie season), I would probably have said we were the better team every night. I mean, people are gonna take it how they want to take it, but I don’t care. Whoever I’m with on the court. I’m gonna think that my team is better than the other team.”
The Rockets lost the first three games of the series, including blown lead late in Game 3. But they now have a chance to even the series at three games apiece on Friday when they return to Houston.
Smith only averaged 20.4 minutes per game in last year’s playoffs, Young notes, but he’s at 42.0 MPG through five games in 2026. The former third overall pick has averaged 19.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 1.2 SPG in the series, which he’s hoping to extend further on Friday night.
“You can’t just say it and then come out and tuck your tail,” Smith said of his comment. “You’ve got to get out there fighting and do the things that it takes to win. So, I’m gonna stand on that statement, and we’ve just got to keep proving it.”
We have more from Houston:

Late-game miscues from Smith and Reed Sheppard contributed to the Rockets’ Game 3 collapse, but Sheppard was more composed with the Lakers attempting another comeback on Wednesday, as Varun Shankar writes for The Houston Chronicle. The second-year guard made some key plays down the stretch, scoring four straight points after the Lakers went on a 11-1 run to get the game within three (Twitter video link). “We didn’t want to let that happen again,” said Sheppard, who played through a cold.
No matter what happens the rest of the series, young players like Smith, Sheppard, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason have shown significant growth over the past two games, according to William Guillory of The Athletic. The Rockets have held L.A. below 100 points each of the past two contests. “Big-time performances by everybody across the board,” head coach Ime Udoka said Wednesday. “You start this really young lineup, and they are somewhat battle-tested now. (We needed to) show growth in certain moments and progress in certain moments. Obviously, in a game situation when you turn the ball over twice and foul a shooter, you want to show growth, and I think we did that tonight.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday morning that Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) will remain sidelined for Game 6. He’s officially listed as doubtful, Guillory tweets, which suggests he’s unlikely to play.



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