The first two matchdays of the NBA play-offs have been disputed, and Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and (perhaps surprisingly) the Cleveland Cavaliers are the teams with a lead, having won the first two matches. In the best of seven series, two more victories will be enough for them to qualify for the Conference semifinals.
Defending champions Thunder were the last team to play on Wednesday, beating Phoenix Suns 120-107, with "clutch player" Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 37 points. However, their star Jalen Williams, who has been struggling with injuries all season, and only played 33 regular season games, suffered a hamstring injury and will likely miss the rest of the play-offs and finals.
Lakers lead 2-0 against Houston Rockets, Cavaliers lead 2-0 against Toronto Raptors, and Thunder lead two 2-0 against Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, Atlanta Hawks tied 1-1 with New York Knicks, and so did the Minnesota Timberwolves against Denver Nuggets, the Philadelphia 76ers against Boston Celtis, the Detroit Pistons against Orlando Magic, and the Portland Trail Blazers against San Antonio Spurs.
Game 3 continues immediately, with games between Hawks vs. Knicks, Raptors vs. Cavaliers and Timberwolves vs. Nuggets on Thursday night.
