A wave of serious injuries continues to impact the NBA playoffs significantly.
Minnesota’s Donte DiVincenzo suffered a torn Achilles tendon during Saturday night’s game, bringing his season to an abrupt end and potentially affecting his availability for the 2026-27 campaign. DiVincenzo now joins a concerning list of star players who have torn their Achilles during playoff action over the past year, including Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard, who was with Milwaukee before moving to Portland.
In an odd twist of fate, all four players wear the number 0 jersey.
Minnesota’s injury troubles deepened as Anthony Edwards also exited Saturday’s contest with a knee problem that requires additional medical evaluation.
The DiVincenzo injury occurred during a game that featured a late-game altercation involving Denver’s Nikola Jokic and other players in the closing moments. The NBA plans to review the incident Sunday and may issue disciplinary action. Denver, currently down 3-1 in the series, faces elimination in Game 5 on Monday evening.
Several key players remain questionable for Sunday’s action depending on their injury status, including Houston’s Kevin Durant, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves, and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama. Luka Doncic has been ruled out for the Lakers, while Joel Embiid’s status for Philadelphia remains doubtful.
Sunday’s slate includes four matchups: the Lakers travel to Houston seeking a series sweep, San Antonio visits Portland, Cleveland heads to Toronto, and Boston takes on Philadelphia.
Saturday’s results showed Orlando defeating Detroit 113-105 to take a 2-1 series advantage, Oklahoma City dominating Phoenix 120-108 for a commanding 3-0 lead, New York beating Atlanta 114-98 to even their series at 2-2, and Minnesota crushing Denver 112-96 to move within one win of advancing.
Saturday night witnessed basketball history as two players accomplished an extremely rare scoring achievement. Prior to Saturday, only four instances had been recorded since 1963 of a player tallying at least 40 points while missing four or fewer shots in a playoff contest.
That exclusive club doubled in size during Saturday’s games. Minnesota’s Ayo Dosunmu exploded for 43 points while missing just four field goal attempts, and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 42 points with only three misses.
These performances place them alongside Anthony Davis (2020), Dirk Nowitzki (2011), Elton Brand (2006), and Terry Porter (1992) as the only known players to achieve this remarkable feat during playoff action. League historians believe no other NBA players have accomplished this, though complete shot attempt records from the league’s earliest seasons are unavailable.
The NBA’s awards season continues with Monday’s Rookie of the Year announcement scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT on Peacock and NBCSN. The three finalists are Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe, Dallas’s Cooper Flagg, and Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel.
Additional awards will be revealed throughout the week, including Basketball Executive of the Year on Tuesday, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year on Wednesday, and the Hustle Award on Thursday. All announcements will occur at 1 p.m. EDT on NBA social media platforms.
Several awards have already been distributed this season. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama made history as the youngest Defensive Player of the Year winner and the first to receive a unanimous vote for the honor. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nearly achieved unanimous selection for Clutch Player of the Year, earning 96 of 100 possible first-place votes.
San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson captured Sixth Man of the Year honors over Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. with 63 first-place votes. Boston’s Derrick White received the Sportsmanship Award as chosen by league players, narrowly edging Indiana’s TJ McConnell. Atlanta claimed back-to-back Most Improved Player awards, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker following last year’s winner Dyson Daniels.
Major awards still pending include Most Valuable Player, which will go to either Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama, or Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Coach of the Year will be awarded to Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson, or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla.
Sunday’s television schedule features Cleveland at Toronto at 1 p.m. EDT on ESPN, San Antonio at Portland at 3:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN, Boston at Philadelphia at 7 p.m. EDT on NBC and Peacock, and the LA Lakers at Houston at 9:30 p.m. EDT on NBC and Peacock.
Defending champion Oklahoma City leads championship betting odds at -120, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Cleveland (+1300), and the Los Angeles Lakers (+2500). Denver sits at +2800, with New York at +3000 and Detroit at +3500. Despite their 3-1 series lead, Minnesota’s odds have dropped to +12500 following the injuries to DiVincenzo and Edwards.
Key upcoming dates include conference semifinals beginning May 2-4, the NBA draft lottery on May 10, Eastern Conference finals starting May 17 or 19 on ESPN and ABC, Western Conference finals beginning May 18 or 20 on NBC and Peacock, and the NBA Finals opening June 3 on ABC.
Minnesota’s Julius Randle praised teammate Ayo Dosunmu following his historic 43-point performance, saying: “I didn’t know he was that damn good. I ain’t going to lie to you. … But damn, I’m glad we got him.”
Additional notable statistics include Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert extending his career three-point drought to 0-for-24 after missing another attempt Saturday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s incredible recent fourth-quarter shooting (18-for-19 from the field since March 17), and Karl-Anthony Towns recording just the seventh triple-double in Knicks playoff history with his 20-10-10 performance.
