Spurs Advance, Embiid Forces Game 6, Brunson Drops 39: Tuesday Night Delivered Everything

NEW YORK, APRIL 29, 2026 —

Key Takeaways

• The San Antonio Spurs advanced to the conference semifinals by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night — Victor Wembanyama’s first playoff series win, ending a seven-year postseason drought for the franchise and setting up a second-round matchup that will determine who faces OKC in the West.
• Joel Embiid returned from appendicitis to score 33 points as the 76ers demolished the Celtics 113-97 in Game 5, dominating the second half to force Game 6 in Philadelphia Thursday — keeping alive what has become the most compelling Eastern Conference series of the first round.
• Jalen Brunson scored 39 points and added 8 assists as the Knicks blew out the Hawks 126-97 to take a 3-2 series lead — a performance that answered every question raised by Atlanta’s stunning back-to-back wins in Games 2 and 3 and put New York firmly back in control.

Tuesday’s NBA playoff triple-header was the best single night of basketball since the playoffs began. Three games, three distinct storylines — a dynasty in the making getting its first series win, a historic comeback from a serious surgery, and New York’s most important player reminding everyone why Madison Square Garden is the most dangerous building in basketball when he gets going. Here is everything that happened.

Wembanyama Wins His First Playoff Series

The San Antonio Spurs closed out the Portland Trail Blazers 114-95, winning their first playoff series since 2017.

For Victor Wembanyama, Tuesday night completed something that has been building since he was drafted first overall in 2023 — his first postseason series victory, at age 22, with a performance that included the historic comeback win in Game 4 and a dominant close-out in Game 5. The Spurs haven’t won a playoff series in nine years. Under head coach Gregg Popovich’s final season before officially handing over the reins, San Antonio’s young core delivered the result their franchise needed to believe the rebuild is real.

Wembanyama will now face either the Lakers or the Rockets in the second round. The Lakers lead that series 3-1, with Game 5 tonight. If Los Angeles closes out, a Spurs-Lakers Western Conference semifinal — pitting the oldest dynasty in the West against the youngest — would be one of the most watchable second-round series in years.

Embiid Returns, Celtics in Trouble

The most stunning development of Tuesday night happened in Boston, where a player who had missed three consecutive games with appendicitis — an illness that required surgery and would sideline most athletes for weeks — walked into TD Garden and put up one of the gutsiest performances of the entire postseason.

Joel Embiid scored 33 points and was unstoppable, leading the 76ers on a series of critical runs as Philadelphia dominated the second half to win 113-97 and force Game 6 in Philadelphia on Thursday. The Celtics, who had led the series 3-1 and appeared to be a formality away from the second round, suddenly look vulnerable in a way that nobody anticipated 48 hours ago.

Rookie VJ Edgecombe, who had already delivered a breakout 30-point Game 2 performance, continued his emergence as one of the most exciting young players in the playoffs. Tyrese Maxey added 16 points. The 76ers were without Joel Embiid for three consecutive games — and won one of them. With their best player back and playing at the level he showed Tuesday, Philadelphia is genuinely dangerous.

Game 6 is Thursday in Philadelphia. Boston has never blown a 3-1 series lead in franchise history. They will be desperate to close it out on the road. Embiid will be waiting.

Brunson Is Locked In

Jalen Brunson scored 39 points and dished out 8 assists as the Knicks blew out the Hawks 126-97 to take a 3-2 series lead.

Atlanta had stolen the momentum entirely through Games 2 and 3 — CJ McCollum’s late heroics in Game 2, then a one-point Game 3 stunner — and had Madison Square Garden rattled. Brunson’s response Tuesday was the kind of performance that defines playoff legacies. He was in complete control from the opening tip, dictating tempo, getting to the rim whenever he chose, and punishing every defensive mistake Atlanta made.

Karl-Anthony Towns added an all-around performance with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, as all five Knick starters finished in double figures. The Knicks’ balanced attack — capable of running through Brunson when he’s locked in, or spreading the floor to Towns and others when defenses load up — is exactly what you want heading into a crucial Game 6 on the road.

Game 6 is Thursday in Atlanta. The Hawks need it. The Knicks want to close it. CJ McCollum thrives in hostile buildings and has already shown he can swing this series. It will not be easy.

Full Tuesday Results and Tonight’s Schedule

Complete Game 5 results from Tuesday: 76ers 113, Celtics 97 — BOS leads 3-2; Knicks 126, Hawks 97 — NYK leads 3-2; Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 95 — SAN ANTONIO ADVANCES 4-1.

Tonight’s schedule features two potential series-clinching games. Lakers vs. Rockets at 10 PM ET on ESPN — Los Angeles leads 3-1 and can advance to the second round tonight. A Lakers close-out sets up a Spurs-Lakers Western semifinal. If Houston wins, the series goes to Game 6 in Houston Friday. Magic vs. Pistons at 7 PM ET — Orlando leads 3-1 and is one win from completing one of the great first-round upsets in recent memory. Detroit has been held under 100 points in three of four games. The Pistons, who went from the league’s worst team to its No. 1 seed in two years, are fighting for survival.

The first round is nearly over. By Thursday morning, the West bracket could be set. The East still has three series hanging in the balance — and at least one more Embiid performance waiting in Philadelphia.