Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in eliminating the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

De'Aaron Fox had 21 points, Julian Champagnie added 19 points and Dylan Harper had 17 as the Spurs led by as many as 28 points in winning their third straight game to advance to the second round.

San Antonio advances to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time since 2017, when it beat the Houston Rockets before losing Kawhi Leonard to an ankle injury and then getting swept by Golden State in the conference finals.

The Spurs will face the winner of the series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.

Leonard’s injury and subsequent trade led to a rapid descent in the Spurs’ fortunes. That futility allowed San Antonio to draft Wembanyama, and the 7-foot-4 center from France was stellar in closing out the series.

Portland cut its deficit to 91-82 with eight minutes remaining following an 11-0 run. But, San Antonio stuffed the rally, including Wembanyama sending Deni Avdija’s floater off the top of the backboard and into the crowd in the final minutes.

Avdija finished with 22 points, but was 1 for 6 from 3-point distance as the Trail Blazers shot 23% from long range.

 

See y'all in the Western Conference Semifinals #PorVida pic.twitter.com/Z53UVT15BV

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 29, 2026

Brunson stars as Knicks gain upper hand

Jalen Brunson scored 39 points, nearly extending his own franchise record for 40-point playoff games, and the New York Knicks routed the Atlanta Hawks 126-97 for a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.

With their second straight lopsided victory, the Knicks positioned themselves to win the series Thursday night in Atlanta. They would have another chance at home in Game 7 if they need it – and it's getting harder to picture why they should.

The Hawks took a 2-1 lead in the series with one-point victories in Games 2 and 3, but a pretty sizeable gap between the teams has appeared since. The Knicks led by 24 on their way to a 114-98 win in Game 4 in Atlanta and by 32 on Tuesday, when the lead was never below double digits in the second half.

Brunson already had eight 40-point games in his first three postseasons with the Knicks. He hadn't even cracked 30 in this series until pouring in 17 points in the fourth quarter to prevent any chance of Atlanta making it a game.

OG Anunoby added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The Knicks need one more victory to reach the second round for the fourth straight season, which would continue their longest streak since advancing nine straight times from 1991-92 through 1999-2000.

Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Hawks. Dyson Daniels scored 17, but CJ McCollum, the catalyst of both Atlanta victories, had just six.

 

played our game and got the dub on home court pic.twitter.com/fBpGeSPgZA

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 29, 2026

Embiid keeps 76ers alive

Joel Embiid scored 33 points in his second game back from an emergency appendectomy, and the Philadelphia 76ers’ defence tightened in the fourth quarter as they avoided elimination with a 113-97 Game 5 win over the Boston Celtics.

Game 6 is scheduled for Thursday night in Philadelphia, where the Celtics won Games 3 and 4.

Boston entered the fourth quarter with an 86-85 lead but scored just 11 points in the final frame. Philadelphia pulled away with a 12-0 run that was punctuated by a VJ Edgecombe 3-pointer that put the 76ers up 109-94 with 2:25 remaining.

The Celtics were a ghastly 3 of 22 from the floor in the fourth quarter and made only 3 of their 7 free throw attempts. Boston’s 13.6% shooting in the fourth was its worst in any quarter – regular season or postseason – since 2022.

Embiid scored 18 of his 33 in the second half, while adding eight assists in 39 minutes.

Tyrese Maxey finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Quentin Grimes made four 3-pointers to score 18 points off the bench for the No. 7-seeded 76ers.

Paul George played a game-high 43 minutes, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Jayson Tatum had 24 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Celtics, while Jaylen Brown finished with 22 points.

Tatum and Brown combined for two points in the fourth quarter, with neither player making a field goal in the final frame.

see you Thursday @cryptocom pic.twitter.com/pRH73YbYzf

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 29, 2026