NBA Playoffs: Lakers Advance To Second Round As Pistons And Raptors Force Game 7

The NBA playoffs produced a dominant series win and two tense escapes on Friday night, as the Los Angeles Lakers closed out Houston while Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors both forced Game 7s with dramatic comebacks in their first-round playoff series.

The No. 4 seeded Lakers advanced by beating Houston 98-78 in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series, restricting the Rockets to their lowest points total of the season and moving on to face the top-seeded Thunder in Game 1 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

Series	Game 6 Result	Top Scorer	Series Status
Lakers vs Rockets (West)	Lakers 98-78 Rockets	LeBron James 28	Lakers win 4-2
Pistons vs Magic (East)	Pistons 93-79 Magic	Cade Cunningham 32	Series tied 3-3
Raptors vs Cavaliers (East)	Raptors 112-110 Cavaliers (OT)	Scottie Barnes 25	Series tied 3-3

LeBron James led Los Angeles with 28 points, steering the Lakers into the second round for the first time since 2023, when the team reached the Western Conference finals but lost to Denver while top scorer Luka Doncic missed

that entire series.

Houston stayed close early, yet the game turned in the first half when Los Angeles strung together a 27-3 surge, turning a tight contest into an 18-point advantage at the break, and the lead grew to 22 late in the third quarter before the Rockets briefly responded.

Amen Thompson scored 18 points and Alperen Sengun added 17 for Houston, but the Rockets’ offence stalled, and the franchise exited in the first round for a second straight season after falling to the Warriors in seven games in last year’s opening playoff series.

Houston put together an 8-2 burst late in the third quarter to trail 71-55 entering the final period, yet the Lakers answered straight away with a 10-3 start to the fourth, including five points from Rui Hachimura, rebuilding a 23-point cushion at 81-58 with about seven minutes left.

Hachimura finished with 21 points and hit five 3-pointers, supporting James in attack while the Lakers’ defence held Houston to only 78 points, a season low, sending Los Angeles into a second-round meeting with the Thunder with clear defensive momentum.

Tone-setter. Game-changer. The King is one of one. pic.twitter.com/WNyD3SWrHA Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 2, 2026

NBA playoffs: Pistons’ huge comeback stuns Magic

Cade Cunningham produced 32 points as the top-seeded Detroit Pistons overturned a 24-point deficit to defeat the Orlando Magic 93-79, extending their Eastern Conference first-round series to a decisive Game 7 that Detroit will host on Sunday.

Orlando controlled the first half and led by 22 at the break, then quickly pushed the advantage to 62-38 early in the third quarter, appearing ready to become only the seventh No. 8 seed to knock out a No. 1 seed in a conference quarterfinal.

The momentum shifted sharply when the Magic endured a collapse that statistics highlighted as historic, becoming the first team since 1996-97, the season when play-by-play tracking started digitally, to lose at home after leading by at least 24 points with a chance to clinch a series.

During that stretch, Orlando missed 23 straight field-goal attempts while Detroit powered through a 35-5 run, with Tobias Harris contributing 22 points as the Pistons overturned the contest and reshaped the storyline of both the game and potentially the entire series.

Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane each scored 17 points for the Magic, who failed again to close out the matchup and are now 0-2 in closeout chances in this series heading into Sunday’s winner-takes-all Game 7 on the road in Detroit.

Let's take this back to the crib. pic.twitter.com/HBFf7YHbaA Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) May 2, 2026

NBA playoffs: Barrett’s overtime three keeps Raptors alive

RJ Barrett’s late heroics extended Toronto’s season, as Barrett hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Raptors to a 112-110 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and force Game 7 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Barrett’s decisive shot struck the back of the rim, bounced high above the backboard and dropped cleanly through, while Evan Mobley had a final chance for Cleveland but saw a 3-pointer hit the front of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Scottie Barnes recorded 25 points and 14 assists, Barrett and JaKobe Walter each scored 24 points, and Collin Murray-Boyles added 17, as Toronto managed to hold on despite letting an 11-point fourth-quarter lead slip away before extra time.

Mobley led Cleveland with 26 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell added 24 points and James Harden contributed 16, yet the Cavaliers finished with 18 turnovers, which Toronto converted into 25 points, leaving the home side vulnerable in the closing stages.

Game 7 will be played in Cleveland on Sunday, with the home team having won every game so far in the series, adding pressure on the Raptors to break that pattern while the Cavaliers attempt to recover quickly from this narrow overtime defeat.

bounce felt long result was never in doubt. pic.twitter.com/VuVW96y0ZA Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) May 2, 2026

The night’s results left the Western Conference with a confirmed second-round match-up between the Lakers and Thunder, while the Eastern Conference picture remains unsettled, with Detroit-Orlando and Toronto-Cleveland both heading to Game 7 after swings in form that underlined the pressure of playoff basketball.