**Starting 5: Cade Leads Historic Rally, RJ Delivers OT Bounce, Sixers-Celtics Showdown Tonight**

Basketball News 03-May-2026
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Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

Starting 5: Cade drives historic comeback, RJ gets OT bounce, Sixers-Celtics tonight

Sixers-Celtics Game 7 today, LeBron & Lakers advance to face Thunder, Pistons rally from down 24 and RJ Barrett sinks wild 3 in OT.

Ben Lambert, for NBA.com | May 2, 2026 4:41 PM

The bounce that saved a season. RJ Barrett’s miraculous 3 in OT sends Raptors-Cavs to Game 7. Get ready for three first-round Game 7s for the first time since 2003.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

May 2, 2026

  • Game 7 Primer: Everything you need to know for tonight’s Game 7 between the Sixers and Celtics
  • How We Got Here: Walk back through six star-packed Philly-Boston games that led to Game 7
  • Comeback Cade: Cunningham’s Pistons stun Magic with 24-point rally to force Game 7 Sunday
  • Saving Bounce: Toronto-native RJ Barrett saves Raps’ season, forces Game 7 with big-bounce OT 3
  • Lakers Moving On: LeBron’s near triple-double, Lakers’ D close out Rockets; OKC up next

BUT FIRST … ⏰ Game 7 Saturday…

It all comes down to this, as the 76ers and Celtics clash in this postseason’s first Game 7 (7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock | Tap To Watch).

Up Next: Two more Game 7s come your way Sunday, with finales for the Magic and Pistons (3:30 ET, ABC) and the Raptors and Cavaliers (7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock). This year’s three Game 7s in the First Round are the 2nd-most since the change to the current 7-game format in 2003.

1. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR SIXERS-CELTICS GAME 7

“Game 7.” The best two words in sports. Two words the Sixers and Celtics have heard more than most. Tonight (7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock), the storied rivals will meet again on that stage, this time to decide who advances to face the No. 3 Knicks in the East Semis.

Game 7 Suits Them: For Boston, Saturday marks the 38th Game 7 in franchise history, the most for any NBA franchise. The C’s are 27-10 all-time in Game 7s.

No Stranger: It’s the 19th Game 7 for Philly, good for 3rd-most in the NBA.

Going The Distance Early: For all their experience, this is just the fifth (3-1) first-round Game 7 for the Celtics, and the first since 2018 (W). In Philly, this will be their first.

Setting Of 7: In Game 7s it’s hosted, Boston is 22-6, while the Sixers have a 1-10 Game 7 road record. That lone road win came in 1982 – at Boston Garden.

Celtics All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will share the floor together for their eighth of the franchise’s 37 Game 7s, which will tie for the 2nd-most of any C’s duo.

Jays In Sevens: Tatum averages 26.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 5.1 apg in his seven career Game 7s, while Brown adds 16.5 ppg and 5.8 rpg.

Expected to all play together for a fourth straight game, this would be Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George’s first Game 7 as teammates.

Process Points: Maxey is leading the Sixers with 26.3 ppg and 6.5 apg on 41.2 3P% in the series, while Embiid has added 26.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 7.3 apg after his near triple-double in Game 6.

Playoff P Loading: George is coming off his highest-scoring game of the series – 23 pts – bumping him up to 18.2 ppg on 54.3 3P%.

C’s Top Scorers: In the series, the Celtics are led by Brown’s 24.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 3.2 apg, while Tatum has added 23.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg, and 6.8 apg.

Game 7 Preview

Three-Ball Key: Boston has shot at least 36% from 3-point range in its three wins in this series, but was held below 30% in all three losses.

Impacting Identity: The Celtics have seen their made threes drop per-game from 18.3 to 11.5 in the Sixers’ back-to-back wins.

Read more on today’s impending Sixers-Celtics Game 7:

2. HOW WE GOT HERE: GAME 7 IN BOSTON

How We Got Here

Right from opening night – a one-point win for VJ Edgecombe’s eye-popping debut – a Sixers-Celtics pairing had the makings of a thrilling series. Then, the refreshed rivals went on to play two more regular-season tilts decided by a single possession. In this first-round face-off, No. 2 Boston set the tone and No. 7 Philly has answered.

  • Game 1: Jaylen Brown (26 pts) and Jayson Tatum (25 pts) set the scoring pace while Boston held Philly under 100 points, 123-91 (1-0 Boston)
  • Game 2: VJ Edgecombe (30 pts) and Tyrese Maxey (29 pts) helped the Sixers even the series, despite 36 from Brown, 111-97 (1-1)
  • Game 3: Tatum made his mark in the series with a takeover on the road, dropping 11 of his 25 in the 4th, including the dagger triple with 25.3 seconds left, 108-100 (2-1 Boston)
  • Game 4: Payton Pritchard dropped 32 points, hitting six of Boston’s Playoff record 24 triples in a 128-96 win. Joel Embiid (appendectomy) made his series debut with 26 points (3-1 Boston)
  • Game 5: With the rust removed, Embiid extended the series with 33 points, his first 30+ point game in the Playoffs in 2 years. Philly also held Boston under 100 points for the first time in the series, 113-97 (3-2 Boston)
  • Game 6: Back at home, Philly faced down elimination again, with 30 from Maxey, Embiid’s (19 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast) near triple-double, and PG’s (23 pts) 2nd-highest scoring Playoff game since 2021. Boston was kept under 100 points again, 106-93 (3-3)

But tonight’s Game 7 goes back farther than the six showdowns of this series, linked all the way back to 2012.

History

“I’ve been playing these guys for so long, I’m tired of losing to them,” Embiid said in the lead-up to Game 7. … “We have a chance to accomplish something special.”

Embiid’s era followed the end of the Celtics’ “Big 3,” marked by a 2012 Philly-Boston Game 7 where the championship C’s of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were pushed by Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday’s 76ers.

New Blood: In came the drafts of Tatum, Brown, and Embiid, and a renewed rivalry that met in three Playoff series from 2018 to 2024.

Last Time: 2024 brought these franchises’ most recent Game 7, where Tatum’s 51-point explosion set the record for most points in a Game 7 in NBA history.

What new twist will Philly and Boston’s latest Game 7 chapter bring tonight?

3. CADE, PISTONS ROAR BACK FROM 24 DOWN TO FORCE GAME 7

Down by 24 less than one minute into the 2nd half. Up by 14 with 2:34 left in the game. No. 1 Detroit came all the way back Friday night, both from its largest in-game deficit of the series, and an even more daunting 3-1 series hole.

“We dug ourselves a deep hole, and it’s time for us to climb our way out,” Cade Cunningham said postgame.

Pistons 93, Magic 79: Cunningham (10 reb, 4 stl) followed up his 45-point Game 5 by leading the charge back to save Detroit’s season and force Game 7, netting 32 points, including 19 in the 4th quarter. Tobias Harris (22 pts, 10 reb) again supported Cade, while Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane led Orlando with 17 apiece. | Recap

Magic Couldn’t Miss: After a back-and-forth 1st, Orlando started the 2nd on a 16-2 run and then didn’t miss a field goal for over 4 minutes, for a 35-12 quarter.

A Shift: Orlando’s 60-38 halftime lead stretched to that 24-point high with the first make of the 3rd – but they wouldn’t score from the field again for over 6 minutes. Detroit’s vaunted D kicked in, weathering a 7-0 spurt to hold Orlando to an 11-point 3rd, and doubling down to allow just eight in the 4th.

Magic Tough Stretch: Orlando missed 23 consecutive shots in that 4th, in what became a 19-point 2nd half of just four made field goals.

Motor Cade: That opened the door for Cunningham to drive the Pistons back into the game, mounting the first 19+ point 4th in an elimination game since Jamal Murray in 2020.

Cade Cunningham

“Never say ‘die’ – simple as that. Detroit grit,” said Cunningham of the largest road comeback win in a Playoff elimination game of the play-by-play era.

Franchise First: The 24-point rally is also the Pistons’ largest comeback Playoff win of the play-by-play era.

Swing Kings: Detroit is the first team in NBA Playoff history to win by 14 after trailing by 20+ at half. Only one other team (20-21 Clippers) has won by double-digits in that situation.

“Not everybody gets the opportunity to have a challenge like this in life,” Cade said of the 3-1 climb-back. “Just trying to make the most of it.”

Now, the superstar with 77 combined points over his last two games hosts his first Game 7. And Cade’s as eager as he is dangerous. “Excited for it. Let’s get to it.”

Game 7 gets going Sunday at 3:30 ET in Detroit (ABC).

4. TORONTO’S BARRETT SINKS HIGH-BOUNCE 3 IN OT TO SAVE SEASON

Six-plus Playoff games (counting OT) – 292-plus minutes of action… all came down to 1.7 seconds. That’s how much time came off the clock while RJ Barrett’s high-bouncing triple hung in the air – with the series hanging in the balance. When the shot dropped in, and Cleveland’s counter clanged short, Toronto had forced Game 7.

Raptors 112, Cavaliers 110 (OT): Barrett (24 pts, 9 reb) went bucket-for-bucket with Donovan Mitchell (24 pts, 5 reb) and Scottie Barnes (25 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl, 3 blk) dueled with Evan Mobley (26 pts, 14 reb) while dishing a Playoff career-high 14 assists as Toronto again staved off elimination. | Recap

Cavs’ Comeback: Mitchell logged 11 of Cleveland’s 23 points in the 4th as the Cavs chipped away at the Raptors’ 11-point edge. Mobley’s make with 15 seconds left tied the game (104-all) for the first time since the start of the 2nd quarter, and ultimately forced OT after a Cavs’ defensive stand.

James Harden (16 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast) scored four quick points in overtime for Cleveland’s first lead since the 1st quarter, putting pressure on Toronto to save its season. But the Raptors’ swarming D, which forced three OT turnovers, put the Toronto native Barrett in a position to extend the series.

“Off The Heel!” Barrett’s season-saving shot had the bounce of Tyrese Haliburton’s East Finals game-winner from last year, and glimmers of Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 East Semis clincher for the Raps.

RJ Barrett

“My teammates trusted me,” Barrett said. “I told Scott [Barnes] right before the shot… ‘If you’ve got nothing, I got you.’”

Barnes’ assist on the game-winner set his Playoff career-high and matched Chris Childs’ (2002) Raptors Playoff record. He’s also the first Raptor with multiple 25+ point, 10+ assist, 5+ rebound Playoff games.

“I said earlier we’re gonna do it for Toronto… every night,” Barrett said. “It meant a lot… Now we gotta go get Game 7.”

“Sometimes the basketball gods aren’t with you,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of Barrett’s bouncer. “And then it’s like, ‘OK, let’s go get Game 7.’”

Game 7 tips Sunday in Cleveland (7:30 ET, NBC & Peacock) to decide a series where all six games have gone to the home team.

5. LEBRON LEADS LAKERS TO ELIMINATE ROCKETS, OKC UP NEXT

The third time was the charm for LeBron James and the Lakers Friday.

Lakers 98, Rockets 78: With Houston facing elimination in a third straight game, L.A. fired up defensively for the edge it needed to clinch the series 4-2, getting 28 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists from James and a late lift from Rui Hachimura (21 pts, 6 reb, 5 3s). Amen Thompson (18 pts, 8 reb) and Alperen Sengun (17 pts, 11 reb) led the Rockets without Kevin Durant (knee) as Houston’s run ends in the first round for the second straight season.

The No. 4 Lakers now move on to face the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, advancing to the Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2023. | Recap

Road Run: L.A. used a 27-3 surge to flip a 5-point 1st-quarter deficit to a 19-point 2nd-quarter advantage, which kept the team ahead for good.

Restrict Reed’s Range: The Lakers keyed in on Game 5 X-factor Reed Sheppard (10 pts) on D, limiting him to 1-of-10 shooting from 3, and Houston as a whole to 5-of-28 (17.9 3P%).

King’s Conquests: LeBron achieved his 22nd-career series-clinching win on the road Friday, passing Derek Fisher and Tim Duncan for most all-time.

LeBron James

“He just has this ability to set the tone for the entire group,” coach JJ Redick said of James. “He did that again tonight, and our guys responded. And I’m really happy for him.”

“A lot of our guys… have not been in a closeout situation, and then especially on the road,” James said. “So, it’s important for me to go out and set the tone.”

“The way [LeBron] can control a game, it’s impressive,” said Austin Reaves, who provided 15 points in his second game back (oblique). “The stuff that [he’s] doing is not normal.”

Luka Doncic (hamstring) remains out, despite this reminder of his skills, as L.A. prepares to face the top-seed Thunder (day/time/network TBD).

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