Game 2 - Featured
NBC

Timberwolves @ Nuggets

Monday, 10:30 PM ET | Ball Arena, Denver, CO

The 3-seed Denver Nuggets host the 6-seed Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 2 of the Western Conference first round after Jokic and Murray produced vintage performances to take Game 1 by a 116-105 final. Denver opens as a 6.5-point home favorite at -245 on the moneyline with Minnesota at +200. Total 230.5. Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double in the opener and has spent the regular season averaging 35.8 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 11.3 assists against Minnesota while shooting 65.3 percent from the floor, 50 percent from three, and 93.2 percent at the free-throw line. Jamal Murray went a perfect 16-for-16 at the free-throw stripe in Game 1 on his way to 30 points.

Anthony Edwards is the series variable. He played Game 1 on a sore right knee that has limited him to a career-low 61 regular-season games, and he finished with 22 points and seven assists in the loss. The seven assists made him the Timberwolves' career postseason assists leader, a franchise milestone that landed in the middle of a Game 1 defeat. A fully healthy Ant is a top-five playoff scorer. A sore-knee Ant is closer to the 22-point floor he produced in Game 1. The outcome of the series tracks with which version plays three and four more games.

Rudy Gobert's drop coverage against Jokic held serve in Game 1. The Nuggets didn't score at their season average off the pick-and-roll. They just made every catch-and-shoot look. Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun shot below their regular-season averages from three and still finished with enough production to carry the win. If those role players regress upward in Game 2, Minnesota is in trouble. If Chris Finch can steal a possession or two by pressuring Murray at three-quarter court and forcing late-clock Jokic isolation, there's a path to stealing Game 2 and heading back to Target Center tied 1-1. Full breakdown on the standalone Featured Game page.

This is the third playoff meeting in four years between these franchises. Denver won in 2023 on the way to the first Jokic championship. Minnesota won in 2024 in seven games. The 2026 first-round reunion arrives with Denver as the 3-seed and Minnesota as the 6-seed after a 4-0 regular-season sweep by the Nuggets. Game 2 is the evidence either for the series going five games or extending into the kind of two-way theater that produced one of the best playoff series of the decade two years ago. Tipoff 10:30 PM ET on NBC and Peacock. Game 3 shifts to Target Center on Thursday.

Game 2
Peacock

Raptors @ Cavaliers

Monday, 7:00 PM ET | Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH

The 1-seed Cleveland Cavaliers host the 8-seed Toronto Raptors for Game 2 at Rocket Arena at 7 PM ET on Peacock and NBC Sports. Cleveland opens as an 8.5-point home favorite after taking Game 1 by 13 points on Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers are 33-47-2 against the spread this season, so the number is demanding in its own right. Toronto finished the regular season 42-40 against the spread in 82 games, which is a modest but not ignorable ATS edge for an underdog in a role that hasn't taxed them all year.

The Game 1 scoreline was the clearest possible read on the talent gap between these rosters. Donovan Mitchell produced efficient scoring. Darius Garland ran the point with his usual change-of-pace command. Evan Mobley anchored the defense in a way the Raptors' frontcourt could not counter. Kenny Atkinson's system extracts league-average production from rotation pieces and above-average production from the core, and the combination is a playoff-structured team that plays both ways. Toronto's path to a Game 2 cover or outright win has to come from a Brandon Ingram scoring outburst, an RJ Barrett volume night, or a shift in Scottie Barnes' role toward the primary shot-creator the Raptors need him to be on the road.

Barnes is the long-term question for Toronto. His ability to produce on both ends is what makes the Raptors a dangerous underdog in a two-game sample, but consistency across a seven-game series is a different kind of challenge. Cleveland's defensive length on the perimeter, led by De'Andre Hunter and Max Strus trading assignments, pressures Toronto's half-court sets in ways the regular-season meetings between these teams did not fully simulate. The Cavaliers' home-court record this season was among the East's best, and the crowd energy for a Game 2 after a Game 1 win is going to add an additional few points to the expected margin.

The 8.5 spread sits in the range where Toronto has a legitimate cover path but not a high-probability outright upset path. A Barnes stat line of 25 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists plus an Ingram scoring game of 26-plus is the ceiling scenario. That produces a tight fourth quarter and a cover. A Mitchell-Garland-Mobley triple of 25-plus each produces a Cleveland blowout. The total projection model has the game at 118-113 Cleveland, which would push the spread and land just under the expected number. Tipoff 7:00 PM ET on Peacock.

Game 2
NBC

Hawks @ Knicks

Monday, 8:00 PM ET | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks for Game 2 at Madison Square Garden at 8 PM ET on NBC. New York is a 5.5-point home favorite at -225 on the moneyline with Atlanta at +190. Total 216.5. The Knicks took Game 1 at the Garden and get another home game before the series shifts to State Farm Arena on Thursday. Trae Young's ability to produce 30-plus points against Tom Thibodeau's point-of-attack defense is the single most important offensive variable for Atlanta. Jalen Brunson's capacity to navigate Atlanta's pick-and-roll coverage and to generate mid-range pull-ups against Dyson Daniels is the equivalent question for New York.

Young has historically played his best basketball at the Garden, which is the kind of home-road anomaly that matters slightly less in the playoffs than in the regular season but still matters. His Game 1 performance was uneven. He produced the shot volume. He just didn't convert at his usual clip. Part of that is the Knicks' point-of-attack pressure forcing Young into harder looks than he takes against less physical guards. Part of it is the drop coverage with Karl-Anthony Towns ensuring Young doesn't get clean looks at the rim. Atlanta's offensive ceiling for a Game 2 win starts with Young scoring 35-plus points on efficient shooting.

Brunson is expected to carry roughly 35 minutes of ball-handling possessions with OG Anunoby as the defensive anchor against Atlanta's primary creators. Mikal Bridges' catch-and-shoot three-point shooting is the spacing that unlocks Brunson's midrange game. Josh Hart's playoff-level hustle stats produce the extra possessions that separate tight playoff games from comfortable home wins. Towns is the structural advantage against Atlanta's smaller frontcourt, and his ability to score out of the post without turning the ball over against double teams is the Knicks' swing plot point.

The 5.5 spread reflects both teams' regular-season evidence and the Game 1 result. Atlanta at +5.5 is the cleaner pick for bettors who expect Trae Young to bounce back from a rough shooting Game 1 at a venue where he has historically played his best basketball. New York at -5.5 is the pick for bettors who expect the Knicks' structure, home crowd, and defensive discipline to produce a second double-digit win. The 216.5 total is tight relative to the regular-season average for these teams. Both sides defend at playoff intensity and both have primary creators who can get stuck in long isolation possessions. The total projects closer to 212-to-215 than the listed number. Tipoff 8:00 PM ET on NBC.