Jaden McDaniels had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points in a surprise start for the injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves in a 110-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on Thursday night that finished off another tense NBA playoff series between the rivals.

With their top three guards – Donte DiVincenzo, Anthony Edwards and Ayo Dosunmu – missing because of injuries, the Timberwolves went big with Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid fuelling a 64-40 advantage in points in the paint and an 50-33 edge in rebounding.

Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, will start the second round at San Antonio on Monday. The second-seeded Spurs beat Portland in five games in their first-round series.

Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, but sidekick Jamal Murray struggled to get free from McDaniels and finished with just 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Cameron Johnson scored 27 points to lead Denver's 10-for-27 night from deep, but Jokic and the 3-pointers simply weren't enough to keep up with a fiercely motivated Timberwolves team.

PLAYED OUR CARDS RIGHT. pic.twitter.com/gFXRKRIrCL

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 1, 2026

Knicks advance with record-setting rout

OG Anunoby scored 29 points in 27 minutes, Karl-Anthony Towns notched his second triple-double of the series and the New York Knicks had their biggest playoff victory in franchise history, overwhelming and eliminating the Atlanta Hawks 140-89 in Game 6.

The Knicks broke several NBA records by halftime. Their 40-15 lead at the end of the first quarter marked the largest of the shot-clock era and their 47-point halftime lead was the biggest in playoff history.

New York's 51-point win tied for the sixth-largest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.

Dyson Daniels and Mitchell Robinson were ejected after fighting following a pair of free throws from Anunoby that gave the Knicks a 50-point lead in the second quarter.

The Knicks exceeded 100 points with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter and New York's starters were done for the night with 2:45 remaining in the third.

Anunoby scored 26 of his points in the first half. Mikal Bridges finished with 24 and Towns, five days after becoming the fourth Knicks player with a playoff triple-double, had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

The Hawks were 12 for 39 from the field in the first half and 4 for 18 from 3-point range. Atlanta had 14 turnovers in the first half.

The Knicks will face the winner of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

good night knicks fam pic.twitter.com/dZ2mRT60eQ

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 1, 2026

Maxey helps 76ers force Game 7

Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points, a resurgent Paul George had 23 points and a Philadelphia 76ers’ team that lost by 32 points twice in this first-round playoff series played their most complete game of the season and forced Game 7 with a 106-93 win over the Boston Celtics.

The decisive game is Saturday in Boston.

Uplifted by Joel Embiid’s early return from an appendectomy, the Sixers rebounded from two blowout losses to win Game 5 in Boston and were buoyed by a throwback effort from George to keep a comfortable lead in Game 6. Embiid did his part in Game 6 with 19 points.

The play of the game – and maybe the series – came in the third when Kelly Oubre Jr. blocked Jaylen Brown, Maxey scooped the loose ball and fed to George on the break, who then dazzled with a behind-the-back pass to VJ Edgecombe who finished with a thunderous dunk for a 69-54 lead.

George hit a team-high five 3s that all stretched the lead and the offence ran through him when Embiid – still recovering from his early April surgery – was on the bench.

Jaylen Brown was hampered by three fouls in the first half and finished with 18 points. Jayson Tatum had 17 for the Celtics and left in the third quarter with an apparent calf injury.

SIXERS WIN. pic.twitter.com/ECceosu2g6

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 1, 2026