The 2026 NBA postseason opened Saturday night with home wins by the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, giving both clubs early control of their best-of-seven first-round series.
Cleveland contains Toronto after halftime
Cleveland defeated the Toronto Raptors 126-113 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, pulling away after limiting Toronto to 59 points over the final two quarters. Guard Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting, while newcomer James Harden posted 22 points and 10 assists in his first playoff game with the Cavaliers. Together, the backcourt duo scored or created 82 of Cleveland’s points, accounting for 65% of the offense.
Max Strus, who missed most of the regular season with a left foot injury and did not suit up until March 15, supplied 24 points off the bench. Toronto played without injured guard Immanuel Quickley (hamstring) and relied on Scottie Barnes, who finished with 21 points on 6-for-14 shooting but committed five turnovers.
Game 2 is set for Monday at 7 p.m. ET in Cleveland on NBC/Peacock.
New York slows red-hot Atlanta
At Madison Square Garden, the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102, holding what had been one of the league’s most productive offenses to 47 first-half points and 102 overall. Jalen Brunson paced New York with 28 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists despite absorbing an inadvertent elbow above his right eye.
With Brunson cooling off in the second half, New York widened the margin by exploiting Towns’ mismatches. OG Anunoby and Josh Hart alternated defensive assignments on Nickeil Alexander-Walker and CJ McCollum, limiting clean looks. Atlanta fouled reserve center Mitchell Robinson intentionally during the fourth quarter in an unsuccessful bid to stall the Knicks’ momentum. New York led by as many as 18 with 3:14 remaining before the Hawks trimmed the final margin.
Game 2 will also be Monday at Madison Square Garden, with tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock.
Source: ESPN
