Victor Wembanyama stuffed the stat sheet in his return from a concussion on Sunday, notching 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks, four steals and three assists as the San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 17-point half-time deficit to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-93 and take a 3-1 lead in their first-round play-off series.

Wembanyama, who won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday and is a finalist for the NBA MVP award, was back in action after sitting out Game 3 due to a concussion sustained from a face-first fall in the first half of San Antonio’s 106-103 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday.

The Trail Blazers weren’t fazed by Wembanyama’s return and jumped out to a 58-41 lead at the half, but the Spurs went on to outscore Portland 73-35 over the final two quarters.

De’Aaron Fox also starred for San Antonio with a game-high 28 points to go along with seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.

All-Star Deni Avdija topped Portland with 26 points and seven rebounds, Jrue Holiday contributed 20 points, six boards and four assists, and Jerami Grant added 17 points and five rebounds off the bench.

The second-seeded Spurs can advance to the second round of the play-offs for the first time since 2017 when they host No. 7 seed Portland on Tuesday.

COMEBACK COMPLETE pic.twitter.com/sfapJR4X3L

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 26, 2026

Celtics spoil Embiid’s return to 76ers’ line-up

Joel Embiid’s quick return from an appendectomy wasn’t enough for the Philadelphia 76ers, who were routed 128-96 by the Boston Celtics to fall behind 3-1 in the teams’ opening-round series.

The 2022-23 NBA MVP was back in Philadelphia’s starting line-up just 17 days after undergoing the procedure and saw his first game action since April 6, but Embiid showed no rust and had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes.

His performance was overshadowed by a record-setting three-point shooting effort from the second-seeded Celtics, who set a franchise mark with 24 made threes in 53 attempts from beyond the arc.

Payton Pritchard came off the bench and shot 6 of 12 from deep, and Jayson Tatum made 5 of 10 from long range.

Pritchard set a career play-off high with 32 points, Tatum scored 30 to go along with 11 assists and seven rebounds and Jaylen Brown knocked down three threes while adding 20 points and seven boards.

Tyrese Maxey chipped in 22 points and six assists for No. 7 seed Philadelphia, which shot just 9 of 30 from three-point range and was outrebounded 51-30.

The Celtics can wrap up the series in Game 5 at home on Tuesday.

Heading back home 3-1 pic.twitter.com/TDXgJFPi8H

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 27, 2026

Durant-less Rockets stay alive against Lakers

The Houston Rockets overcame another absence by Kevin Durant and cruised to a 115-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers to avoid being swept in the first round.

Durant missed the opener of the series with a bruised right knee and scored 23 points in Game 2 before spraining his left ankle late in the contest, an injury that’s kept the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history on the sidelines for the last two matchups.

Fifth-seeded Houston relied heavily on its starters in Game 4, with Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. combining for 95 of the team’s 115 points.

The No. 4 seed Lakers were down nine points at half-time, but the game got away from them in the third quarter as the Rockets outscored Los Angeles 34-18 and never looked back.

Deandre Ayton was leading the Lakers with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes before getting ejected in the third quarter after receiving a flagrant foul 2 for elbowing Sengun in the face when the Houston All-Star was driving toward the basket.

Ayton was still Los Angeles’ leading scorer and rebounder in an ugly game for most of the Lakers’ starters.

LeBron James had 10 points to match the third-lowest output of his NBA-record 296-game play-off career, and the 41-year-old committed eight turnovers for the second straight contest.

James shot 2 of 9 from the field – tying his fewest field-goal attempts in a play-off game – while Luke Kennard and Marcus Smart both went 3 of 8.

Kennard was held to seven points after averaging 21.3 in the first three games of the series, and Smart had nine points after averaging 20.3 in those wins for the Lakers.

James entered the contest averaging 25.3 points in the series.

Los Angeles gets another chance to advance to the second round when it hosts Game 5 on Wednesday.

Playoff dub in H-Town #AllFire pic.twitter.com/zDD6INrPeT

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 27, 2026

Raptors grind down Cavaliers to tie series

Scottie Barnes scored 23 points, including a pair of free throws to take the lead in the final minute, and the Toronto Raptors grinded out a 93-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to even their opening-round series at two games apiece.

RJ Barrett made a floater with 49 seconds left to cut No. 4 seed Cleveland’s lead to 87-86, and on the ensuing possession, the Cavs were unable to break Toronto’s full-court pressure and turned the ball over on an eight-second violation.

After a timeout, Barnes drew a foul and converted both free throws to put Toronto ahead, and he sealed the four-point win by knocking down another pair of foul shots with four seconds remaining.

The fifth-seeded Raptors emerged victorious despite shooting just 32 per cent from the field and 4 of 30 from three-point range.

No team since 1969 has won a play-off game with a lower shooting percentage.

Barnes added nine rebounds, six assists and three blocks, Brandon Ingram also scored 23 and Barrett had 18 points, eight boards and two steals.

Cleveland also struggled from the floor, shooting 36.8 per cent overall and 10 of 40 from deep.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 20 points but was 6 of 24 from the floor.

The home team has won each matchup in the series, with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday in Cleveland.

ALL TIED UP!@Raptors will seek a 3-2 series lead in Cleveland on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/D1Xl27JNRs

— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2026