Starting 5: Thunder respond in Game 2; Knicks seek 2-0 East Finals lead

Smooth. Steady. Shai.

With OKC staring down a potential 0-2 hole in the West Finals, the Kia MVP and Clutch Player of the Year did what he does best:

Deliver.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

Back On Track: SGA, Thunder lean back into winning identity to tie West Finals

Strength In Numbers: How OKC’s depth won the margins in a game that demanded everything

Tonight In NY: Knicks look to carry momentum into Game 2, starting with defense

Cavs Eye Answer: Mitchell has Cleveland focused on its latest bounce-back bid

All-Rookie Honors: Flagg, Knueppel & Edgecombe headline the 2025-26 Kia All-Rookie Teams

BUT FIRST … ⏰

After an epic Game 1 rally, the Knicks host the Cavs in tonight’s Game 2 of the East Finals, looking to grab a 2-0 series lead (8 ET, ESPN | Tap to Watch).

All-Rookie Teams Unveiled: The 2025-26 Kia NBA All-Rookie Teams were announced Wednesday (see Section 5 for more), with more award teams dropping this week:

• Friday: All-Defensive Teams (7:30 ET, Peacock)
• Sunday: All-NBA Teams (7 ET, NBC & Peacock)
• Tuesday: NBA Coach of the Year (Time TBD)

Record WCF Game 1 Rating: The Spurs’ double-OT win over the Thunder on Monday was the most-watched West Finals Game 1 ever, averaging 9.2 million viewers on NBC/Peacock.

Alley & Oop Visit San Antonio: In a new series made for kids & kids at heart, join Alley, Oop & Buzzer on a basketball adventure as they learn all about Victor Wembanyama. Episode 1 is available now on NBA YouTube, NBA.com and the NBA App.

1. SGA & OKC ANSWER IN GAME 2, EVEN WEST FINALS 1-1

Defending champions. 

The back-to-back Kia MVP.

This season’s Kia Clutch Player of the Year.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Wednesday that this West Finals against the Spurs is about identities. He and the Thunder tapped back into theirs triumphantly in Game 2 to knot the series.

Thunder 122, Spurs 113: SGA went for a game-high 30 points and added 9 assists, leading seven double-digit Thunder scorers past Stephon Castle (25 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast), Devin Vassell (22 pts) and a versatile Victor Wembanyama (21 pts, 17 reb, 6 ast, 4 blk).

“Every team has their identity,” Shai said. “And when they impose their identity more than the other team does, they usually win, no matter what stakes are in the game…

“Tonight we just did a better job of that.”

Alex Caruso added 17 points off the bench, Chet Holmgren supported with 13 (and one huge finish), and Isaiah Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) came up big on both ends.

Tied at 1-1, the series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4, starting Friday. | Recap

• Continuation: The rivals picked up where they left off from Game 1’s two overtimes, playing a back-and-forth 1st quarter with 13 lead changes
• Early Answer: When the lead changed hands again 22 seconds into the 2nd quarter, OKC never gave it up, building an 11-point halftime lead on the strength of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 15 before the break
• Show-Stopper: San Antonio kept it close throughout the second, getting a jolt of energy when Castle unloaded a Dunk of the Year candidate, his loudest of 16 1st-half points. Wemby’s face said it all
• The Chase: San Antonio opened the 2nd half on a 15-4 run, with 8 of Wemby’s 10 3rd-quarter points, followed by 11 more from Vassell
• The Champs: SGA responded with 9 points in the period to get OKC back up by 8 to start 4th (96-88). When San Antonio started that final frame similarly to get within 2 (99-97), OKC mirrored Shai with an 11-0 burst to lead 110-97 with 6:38 left

From that point on, Shai had half of OKC’s points (6) to bring home the crucial, series-tying win.

• “I just tried to get to something I’m used to getting to,” SGA said, on a night where he shot 12-of-24
• Shai had answers when San Antonio cut the Thunder’s lead to five in the game’s final 5 minutes, from a lane floater to pressure free throws, to a clutch dagger jumper to reach 30
• “I had a quiet confidence about that,” coach Mark Daigneault said of Shai and OKC’s ability to bounce back. “We have to do a better job of getting him in advantageous situations, and I thought we did that tonight.”
• Among OKC Legends: This was Shai’s 27th career Playoff game with 30+ points, passing Russell Westbrook for 2nd-most in OKC history, behind only Kevin Durant (39)

OKC has now gone 33 playoff games without back-to-back losses, the longest such streak since the Heat’s 48 straight in three postseasons from 2012-14.

• Next Man Up: Jalen Williams exited early with tightness in his previously injured left hamstring. San Antonio’s Dylan Harper (12 pts) also left with a leg injury, on the day he was named to the 2025-26 Kia All-Rookie First Team
• Next Game Up: Game 3 tips off Friday in San Antonio (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)

2. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS: OKC’S SUPPORTING CAST SHINES

“The highest level of basketball you can find.” – Mike Tirico

“Body blow after body blow.” – Reggie Miller

“Just a battle of will every possession.” – Jamal Crawford

NBC’s broadcast crew could feel it courtside. Fans could feel it from home. Players felt it in real time.

Through two games, this West Finals has produced 106 minutes of pure, full-throttle Playoff basketball. And when the intensity is cranked up, everything means that much more.

It’s a scenario made for OKC’s supporting cast – a seasoned group that thrives in the margins, and one that delivered again in Game 2.

From All Angles: In Game 1, the Thunder’s bench scored a Playoff-high 50 points. It wasn’t enough.

In Game 2, facing a potential 0-2 deficit at home – a hole no Conference Finals team has ever come back from (0-14) – they went even bigger:

Fifty-seven points, and one of the unit’s most complete performances all season.

• Caruso Cooking: After dropping 31 on 8 3s in Game 1, Caruso scored 17 with three triples last night, becoming the first player ever to total 40+ pts and 10+ 3s off the bench over a two-game span in the Conference Finals
• All Over, All Night: Cason Wallace (12 pts, 4 ast, 4 stl) hounded Stephon Castle defensively, while Jared McCain (12 pts, 6 reb) buried three 2nd-half triples to help swing momentum
• Ajay On Time: Ajay Mitchell added 10 points, including a massive jumper with 2:12 left to end a nearly three-minute field goal drought for OKC, pushing its lead back to 10
• Complete Package: It marked just the fourth time this season that OKC has had four double-digit scorers off the bench. All four of those games have resulted in wins
• Special Delivery: The last time the Thunder had back-to-back 50-point playoff games from their bench? 2012

Then there’s Isaiah Hartenstein – a starter, but a core piece of OKC’s depth-driven identity.

After logging 12 minutes in Game 1, Hartenstein (10 pts, 13 reb) was tasked with slowing Victor Wembanyama last night. He rose to the occasion.

• The Assignment: After Wemby dropped 41 in Game 1, Hartenstein helped limit him to 21 in 37 minutes, holding the Spurs star to 4 points in the 4th
• The Impact: Without Wemby dominating the paint, OKC got back to what it does best, tallying 14 steals, while outscoring San Antonio 27-10 in points off turnovers
• Bench Bandits: Eleven of those steals came from Wallace (4), Mitchell (4), McCain (2) and Caruso (1)
• Second Chances: Hartenstein added to the extra possessions with eight offensive boards – matching his season high
• Closing Cast: The game’s final points? A Hartenstein defensive rebound to set up a Wallace assist to Caruso – handing San Antonio its first loss by more than five points this postseason

That end-to-end energy defined OKC all night.

• “If you’re not fearless, then you’re probably gonna lose and go home,” said Caruso. “You got to lay it all on the line if you want to win.”

3. TONIGHT, CAVS VS. KNICKS: INSIDE NEW YORK’S DEFENSIVE FLIP

Jalen Brunson wasn’t sure how it happened.

“Found a way. I don’t really have an answer for you,” he said on-court with a laugh, moments after leading the Knicks to their 22-point comeback win in Game 1.

New York could patent that “way.” In the last two postseasons, the Knicks are 4-3 in games they trailed by 20+ points. The rest of the league? 4-67.

Tonight (8 ET, ESPN), as they look to carry that momentum swing into Game 2, how do the Knicks keep pulling off the improbable?

• Offensively, it starts with Brunson. But the first thing that came to mind for him Tuesday night was defense: “We got some stops …”
• “What got us down 22: they were just making great decisions off the trap,” Brunson said. “We gotta clean that up a little bit.”
• Right Plays: In their 35-point, lead-building 3rd quarter, the Cavs dished the most assists either team had in a quarter (9), shooting 14-of-28 from the field

But the Knicks did start to clean that up in the 4th, holding the Cavs to 11 points in the final 12:52 of game time, including OT.

• Active Hands: Amid their 44-11 closeout, the Knicks forced four turnovers and limited the Cavs to 4-of-18 shooting
• Cavs Closers: New York also held Donovan Mitchell (29 pts) scoreless over that frame, as he and James Harden went 1-of-10 the rest of the way

Off the pick-and-roll, a mix of Landry Shamet, Josh Hart and Deuce McBride trapped Mitchell, while Mikal Bridges fronted Harden.

Away from the traps, Karl-Anthony Towns (5 defensive reb, 1 blk in 4th) and OG Anunoby both stay home to keep the Cavs out of the paint.

• What It Looked Like: New York still trapped, but made sure more bodies stayed in the paint, forcing the Cavs into more outside looks
• What It Did: Cleveland’s assists (3) and shooting percentage (5-17) dropped
• “It was our defense that has always been special in these Playoffs, and is what carried us in these Playoffs, that showed up in the 4th quarter and in overtime, and allowed us to be sitting here with a win,” Towns said

The defensive turn-up calls back to New York’s midseason identity shift, evolving into an elite, defense-first team.

• Season Clean-Up: Over 40 games from Jan. 18 to the end of the regular season, the Knicks owned the NBA’s 2nd-best DefRtg (108.2), behind the Thunder
• Same Identity: It’s carried over into the postseason, where they’re tied for the top defense among all Playoff teams, as their DefRtg has improved 4.3 points to 103.9

4. GAME 2 RESPONSE: MITCHELL, CAVS LOOK TO ANSWER AGAIN

The Cavaliers know how to respond.

Multiple times this postseason, they’ve had to rebound after a defeat. And after going 7 twice already these Playoffs, this team’s  grown accustomed to battling back.

That’s the task at hand for tonight’s Game 2 (8 ET, ESPN) as they try to send the series to Cleveland tied at 1-1.

“We could’ve lost by 40. It still would’ve been 1-0,” said Donovan Mitchell. “We played pretty solid for three quarters or so. We’ll make adjustments and go from there.”

• First Act: The Raptors erased the Cavaliers’ 2-0 and 3-2 series leads in the First Round, but in Games 5 and 7, Mitchell, James Harden and the Cavs gutted out victories
• Second Act: The East Semis offered another example. After the Pistons went up 2-0, the Cavs ripped off three consecutive wins before taking Game 7 on the road
• Next-Game Mentality: This postseason, Cleveland is 4-2 after losses and has outscored opponents by 13.8 ppg in those four wins

Mitchell has been at the forefront of those responses.

The star guard is averaging 25.9 ppg on this Playoff run. Tuesday night, he emphasized that Game 1 shouldn’t hide what his team displayed en route to the East Finals.

“That can’t happen. But it did,” Mitchell said postgame. “We play in two days. We can’t sit here and let it kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing.”

• Spida Sizzles: After losses, Mitchell’s averaged 25.5 points and 6 rebounds per contest, and was even more prolific in the East Semis with 28.1 ppg overall
• Dynamic Duo: Harden has averaged 16.3 points after losses this postseason. Combined with Mitchell, the two guards have put up 41.8 ppg in that regard
• Precedent: The Cavaliers lost their first five road games of this Playoff run, but won two in Detroit to book their date with the Knicks. Can they win a third to even up the series?

5. 2025-26 KIA NBA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: FIRST TEAM SPOTLIGHT

The 2025-26 rookie class didn’t just flash potential – it made an instant impact across the league, from Opening Night through these Playoffs.

VJ Edgecombe ignited Philly from Night 1, Kon Knueppel shattered 3-point records in Charlotte and Cooper Flagg edged both out for Kia Rookie of the Year, while joining rare air.

On Wednesday, all three players were unanimous First Team selections for the 2025-26 Kia NBA All-Rookie Teams. Joining them? The Spurs’ Dylan Harper and Grizzlies’ Cedric Coward.

In a year full of standout rooks, see how all five First-Teamers made their marks.

Cooper Flagg: He edged Knueppel, his former Duke teammate, for Kia ROY in the award’s second-closest voting margin since 2002-03 and was the first rookie since Michael Jordan to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

Kon Knueppel: The previous rookie record for 3s in a season was 206, set by Keegan Murray in 2022-23. Knueppel broke that mark in February en route to an NBA-best 273 treys, becoming the first rookie to lead the league in triples.

VJ Edgecombe: The do-it-all Philly guard finished third in Kia ROY voting behind Flagg and Knueppel, posting 16 ppg while leading all rookies in total steals and minutes.

Dylan Harper: While Harper has popped this postseason, he also delivered steady production throughout the regular season, scoring in double figures in 44 of his 69 games to bolster San Antonio’s dynamic backcourt.

Cedric Coward: The No. 11 pick averaged 13.6 points and 5.9 rebounds while emerging as an elite defender with a nonstop motor, finishing 4th in the NBA Hustle Award.

The All-Rookie Second Team features New Orleans’ Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, Utah’s Ace Bailey, Sacramento’s Maxime Raynaud and Toronto’s Collin Murray-Boyles.

What’s Next: The NBA All-Defensive Teams will be announced on Friday (7:30 ET, Peacock) and the All-NBA Teams on Sunday (7 ET, NBC/Peacock), with Coach of the Year set to be announced Tuesday.

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