The NBA playoffs are here. Four games, four home wins, and more than enough story to carry us through the weekend. Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points to extend his own record to nine straight series openers with 30-plus, while Max Strus delivered a career playoff high off the bench. LeBron James posted 19 points and 13 assists to lead the Lakers past the KD-less Rockets, then shared the floor with his son Bronny in a moment he called the best of his career. Jokić and Murray combined for 55 points, 18 rebounds, and 18 assists as Denver dominated Minnesota after the midpoint. And Karl-Anthony Towns erupted in the second half to help the Knicks pull away from the Hawks late. All four home teams won. The postseason is open for business.

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Cleveland Cavaliers 126, Toronto Raptors 113

Donovan Mitchell opened the 2026 playoffs the same way he's opened every postseason series of his career — by going for 30-plus, extending his own NBA record to nine consecutive series openers at that threshold. This time it was 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting, with the Cavaliers pulling away by 24 in the fourth quarter and making a statement against a Raptors team that had beaten them three times in the regular season.

Cleveland led wire to wire but didn't put the game away until a 27-9 run straddling the end of the second quarter and the opening of the third. Max Strus — back from a broken left foot that cost him the first 67 games of the season — scored 11 points during that stretch, part of a 24-point playoff career-high that had the Cavaliers' bench erupting with every make. Strus went 3-of-3 from three during the decisive run, and by the time Sam Merrill's three made it 100-76 early in the fourth, the game was over. James Harden had 22 points and 10 assists — and was responsible alongside Mitchell for more than 80 of Cleveland's 126 points — proving the trade that broke up the Mitchell-Garland backcourt was justified. Evan Mobley contributed 17 points and 7 rebounds in the anchor role.

Toronto battled without Immanuel Quickley, who started with a right hamstring strain and was replaced by Jamal Shead. Shead was quietly excellent — 17 points with 5 threes in his playoff debut — and RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 24 points. Scottie Barnes had 21 points and 7 assists and kept Toronto competitive into the second half. But 18 turnovers — many coming at the worst possible times — turned into easy transition opportunities for Cleveland, and the Raptors could never get enough stops to threaten the lead in the third quarter when Cleveland buried 5-of-8 threes.

Cleveland leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is Monday in Cleveland, where Toronto is 0-8 all time in the postseason.

CLE 126 · TOR 113

New York Knicks 113, Atlanta Hawks 102

The Knicks got off to a blistering start — 8-of-9 from the field in the opening minutes, MSG rocking — and Brunson was excellent in the first half with 19 points at the break. But Atlanta kept it close, kept executing, and made enough second-half runs to generate genuine late tension before Karl-Anthony Towns ended the suspense with a decisive second-half burst.

Brunson finished with 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists as the Knicks' primary engine. But Towns was the story of the second half — 19 of his 25 points coming after intermission, including a stretch where he hit a three, followed by Jordan Clarkson's two buckets, then a Towns and-1 and a three to cap a 10-0 run that made it 106-87 and rendered Atlanta's final pushes academic. OG Anunoby added 19 points and 8 rebounds in a physical, engaged two-way performance, and Josh Hart delivered 11 points and 14 rebounds — the 14 boards his most notable contribution to a game Cleveland wanted physical. New York shot 48 percent from three on the night.

Atlanta's night included a CJ McCollum technical for kicking his leg into Brunson on a jumper, and the Hawks twice intentionally fouling backup center Mitchell Robinson, who went 1-of-4 from the line — an Achilles heel they'll keep exploiting. Jalen Johnson had a 20-point first half for Atlanta before the Knicks tightened up. Dyson Daniels brought his usual two-way energy. But the Knicks had enough at every critical moment, and Mike Brown's first postseason at MSG opened with a home win.

New York leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is Monday at MSG.

NYK 113 · ATL 102

Los Angeles Lakers 107, Houston Rockets 98

Before anyone could process the basketball, the most memorable moment of the opening Saturday had already happened: LeBron James and Bronny James checked in together to open the second quarter, becoming the first father-son duo in NBA playoff history to share the floor. LeBron called it "the best thing that's ever happened to me in my career, above everything I've accomplished." Bronny played four minutes, went 0-of-0 with a turnover and two fouls, and was greeted with an ovation when he exited. The history was in the moment, not the stat line.

The basketball itself was a statement for a Lakers team many had written off. With Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves both out, and Kevin Durant sitting for Houston with a right knee contusion suffered in practice, the game lacked its two most anticipated stars — but the Lakers didn't lack a conductor. LeBron finished with 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds at 41 years old — the oldest player in NBA history to post double-digit assists in a playoff game. The Lakers shot efficiently, controlled the pace, and held the Rockets to 37 percent shooting while building a lead they never truly relinquished.

Luke Kennard led LA with 18 efficient points off the bench. Deandre Ayton added 19 points and 11 rebounds in his playoff debut as a Laker, dominating the interior with exactly the kind of decisive finishing the Lakers needed from him. Without Durant, Houston leaned on Alperen Sengun — who was their best player with a physical, crafty 20-plus point showing — and Amen Thompson, who generated transition points but couldn't manufacture enough offense to keep pace. Reed Sheppard started in Durant's place but struggled without Durant's gravity to create spacing.

Houston's Rockets were the team on paper that should have won this game comfortably. The version without KD was not that team. The Rockets have every reason to expect Durant back for Game 2, which changes the calculus of this series entirely.

Los Angeles leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is Tuesday night in LA.

LAL 107 · HOU 98

Denver Nuggets 116, Minnesota Timberwolves 105

The Timberwolves came out well — jumping to an early lead and keeping Denver honest through the first half as Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle established a physical, competitive tone. It was level at 62-62 going into the third quarter. Then Denver ran a 14-0 run, and when the Nuggets go on a run like that in the playoffs, teams tend not to recover.

Nikola Jokić posted his standard-issue triple-double: 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists — running the offense like a point guard, finding cutters, making defenses collapse, and creating for Jamal Murray at every turn. Murray led the team with 30 points and 7 assists, attacking the Timberwolves' pressure repeatedly and converting in the mid-range and off the dribble. Together they accounted for 55 points, 18 rebounds, and 18 assists — a combined performance that is simply difficult to defend when both are operating at this level simultaneously. Christian Braun added 16 points in the role-player role the Nuggets need from him. Bruce Brown provided energy off the bench.

Minnesota's Edwards was listed as questionable before the game and played — finishing with a double-digit night but not quite the explosive version that makes the Timberwolves truly dangerous. Randle was physical and effective. Spencer Jones contributed some perimeter shooting. But once Denver's third-quarter run opened the gap to 12, Minnesota never got closer than 8. The Nuggets' mid-range dominance and Jokić's ability to read any defense in real time kept the Timberwolves from ever finding their footing defensively for sustained stretches.

Denver leads the series 1-0. Game 2 is Monday in Denver.

DEN 116 · MIN 105

The theme of opening day was comfortable. Every home team won, and only the Lakers-Rockets game carried any real dramatic uncertainty — and that was largely because Durant sat, not because the Rockets threatened to win it. The favorites looked like favorites. Cleveland was dominant when it mattered. Denver was in complete control of the game's identity by the third quarter. New York had enough at every key moment. The Lakers, shorthanded as they were, still had LeBron James running a playoff offense like he's been doing it for 23 years — because he has.

What this opening Saturday also established is that the real drama of the first round is still ahead of us. The series that have the most genuine uncertainty — Lakers-Rockets once KD returns, Knicks-Hawks if Atlanta can clean up the turnover problems, Cavaliers-Raptors if Quickley comes back — haven't actually been played yet. Saturday was a first chapter, and first chapters in the playoffs rarely tell you the whole story. The matchups are set. The adjustments are coming. Game 2s tip Monday.

Stud of the Day: Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers — 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting in a series opener for the ninth time in a row — a new NBA record. Mitchell doesn't just show up in these games; he makes them his. He scored 13 in the first quarter, 11 in the third when Cleveland broke the game open, and delivered clean efficient basketball the entire night. He's the best player on what looks like a very good Cleveland team, and he opened the playoff with a statement.

Dud of the Night: Toronto Raptors (team) — 18 turnovers, many in the worst possible moments, in a game without their starting point guard against the team that has beaten them 11 consecutive times in the playoffs. The Raptors have the personnel to make this a series — Barrett and Barnes are real, Shead exceeded expectations in his debut — but they will not beat Cleveland giving the ball away at this rate. The Cavaliers converted those mistakes into transition points and the gap became irreversible in the third quarter.