Sports

NBA Playoff Takeaways: Lakers Lock Up Kevin Durant; 76ers, Trail Blazers Pull Off Huge Road Upsets

By Liam McKeone & SI Staff Sports Illustrated

Updated April 21, 2026 10:55 PM

The first set the 2026 first-round NBA playoff games was extremely chalky. The second has been anything but.

Monday night saw the Hawks and Timberwolves rebound from first-game losses to steal wins on the road in Game 2 of their series. Tuesday night delivered another pair of road upsets to even series, as the 76ers lit up the Celtics from deep and the Trail Blazers capitalized on an early exit for Victor Wembanyama to win a classic.

Not all road teams were so lucky, however. The Rockets had Kevin Durant back in the mix, but it wasn't enough to power Houston to a Game 2 win against LeBron James and the Lakers.

Here are our top takeaways from each game of Tuesday night's exciting first-round triple-header.

VJ Edgecombe is the 76ers' swing factor

76ers guard VJ Edgecombe fought through injury early in the game to put together a dominant performance against the Celtics in Game 2. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The 76ers did a lot as a team to even up their first-round series against the Celtics in Game 2 on Tuesday night. But VJ Edgecombe proved himself the swing factor when it comes to Philadelphia's playoff hopes. The rookie bounced back in a loud way after struggling in his postseason debut with 30 points on 12-for-20 shooting from the floor. He made some extremely timely buckets down the stretch as well.

It was a clutch performance to help his team avoid a 2–0 hole. But it was more of the same for Edgecombe against this Boston team. The electric young guard loudly announced he was ready for the NBA by dropping 34 points on the Celtics in the season opener. Entering this playoff series he and star teammate Tyrese Maxey averaged 50 points combined against Boston this year. The Celtics have a talent differential on paper and were much better during the regular season but there's no denying they struggle to stop the Sixers' speedy backcourt.

Maxey can be counted on to deliver. If Edgecombe can keep stepping up like this, there's reason to believe Philadelphia could push the higher-seeded Celtics to the brink in the first round.

Former No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson has a star turn for Trail Blazers

Scoot Henderson had the best game of his NBA career in Game 2 of the Trail Blazers vs. Spurs series. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Victor Wembanyama was the No. 1 pick of the 2023 NBA draft by the Spurs, and he's more than lived up to the impressive billing. He's been arguably the most impactful defensive player in the NBA since entering the league, winning Defensive Player of the Year this season, and is an MVP finalist. Two picks later, the Trail Blazers selected guard Scoot Henderson.

Days ago, ahead of the series opener between San Antonio and Portland, Henderson was asked whether he'd still take himself over Wemby.

"Hell yeah," he said, per The Oregonian.

Henderson's scoring ability hasn't really been a question during his three NBA seasons. His ability to be a well-rounded piece of a winning team's rotation, however, has been, and his absence for the first 51 games of the season with a hamstring injury didn't help. Since returning, though, Scoot has received plaudits from coaches and teammates for his improvement on defense-and in a late-season lineup shift by coach Tiago Splitter, was plugged into the starting lineup alongside veteran Jrue Holiday late in the season.

Now, with the Blazers in the playoffs, that patience and belief is paying off. Henderson was Portland's only effective guard in their 111–98 Game 1 loss, and in Game 2, he put together his best game as a pro, leading all scorers with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting (5-of-9 threes) in the 106–103 win. Time will tell whether this was a true turning point for Henderson, who like his 2023 draft rival Wemby is still just 22 years old. In any case, he has given the Trail Blazers some serious life and could help extend a feel-good postseason run for a team that hadn't been to the playoffs since 2021.

Not even Kevin Durant could cure Rockets' offensive woes

LeBron James and the Lakers held Kevin Durant to three second-half points after a fast start for the Rockets. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Kevin Durant returned to the floor on Tuesday night, a return the Rockets were hoping would lead to better offense. That hope didn't pan out, to the misfortune of Houston and everybody who stayed up past 1 a.m. ET to watch the finish of the team's loss to the Lakers. Because not even Durant's sweet shooting can cure how freaking ugly the Rockets' offense is.

Durant had 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting. He had 20 in the first half but got completely shut off in the second half as JJ Redick directed Los Angeles to swarm KD whenever he had the ball. As a result Durant was forced into more of a facilitator role. That's not a new experience for the all-time scorer and on most of his teams it hasn't been an issue. But his Houston teammates had no clue what to do when he was doubled.

It's not news the Rockets lack offensive punch outside of Durant but it certainly felt like it was even worse under playoff pressure as everybody scrambled to try to make something happen, but nobody was on the same page. As a result Durant totaled nine turnovers and 12 shots, while Houston scored fewer points than in Game 1 without him. That is what we in the business call not great.

The Lakers will continue to hound Durant and refuse to even let him get shots off by leaving other Rockets wide-open as long as Houston continues to let them get away with it. Changing that will require a level of offensive awareness and organization this team hasn't shown an iota of so far this series.

Did you miss Tuesday's games? Relive the biggest moments in our live blog below.

Celtics vs. 76ers, Spurs vs. Trail Blazers, Lakers vs. Rockets Game 2 score, live updates, highlights

Tuesday NBA playoffs schedule, previews and Game 1 recaps

Once again, it is on LeBron James to guide the Lakers against the Rockets with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves on the mend. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

76ers 111, Celtics 97 (Series tied at 1–1)

Where was this shooting in Game 1, Philadelphia? After hitting just four threes in their series-opening loss, the Sixers went 19-for-39 from deep on Tuesday. The dynamic duo of VJ Edgecomb and Tyrese Maxey combined for 59 points while Paul George chipped in 19. Jaylen Brown had 36, but he was the only Boston player to break 20.

Trail Blazers 106, Spurs 103 (Series tied at 1–1)

The headlines will focus on Wembanyama's injury and status moving forward, but that shouldn't take away from an impressive effort by Portland (and San Antonio, without their best player). The Blazers got an incredible game from Scoot Henderson, who picked up the scoring load as Deni Avdija struggled from the field, and strong contributions from Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara and Robert Williams III, among others.

Lakers 101, Rockets 94 (Los Angeles leads 2–0)

Durant was back in the lineup for the Rockets, and had an impressive first half ... and was held to just three points in the second half, while LeBron James once again looked like the best player on the floor. L.A. also got huge contributions from Marcus Smart (25 points) and Luke Kennard (23) to pick up the win.

More NBA Playoffs From Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI's NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI's YouTube channel.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as NBA Playoff Takeaways: Lakers Lock Up Kevin Durant; 76ers, Trail Blazers Pull Off Huge Road Upsets.

This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 3:12 PM.