NBA Roundup: Detroit Stays Alive, Houston Pushes Lakers to Brink, Cleveland Takes Series Lead

Cunningham drops playoff-record 45 as Pistons stave off elimination

Cunningham plays 44 minutes and sets a franchise record to save Detroit’s season. Jabari Smith Jr. leads Houston past L.A. Mobley, Schroder lift Cavs over Raptors in Game 5.

Houston beat the Lakers 99-93 as LeBron’s 25 wasn’t enough. Cavs topped Raptors 125-120 to lead 3-2...

Cade Cunningham rescued top-seeded Detroit’s playoff campaign against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, while the Los Angeles Lakers missed another chance to eliminate Houston.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers staged a strong comeback to grab a 3-2 series lead over the Toronto Raptors in the opening round.

Cunningham set a Pistons playoff record with 45 points, carrying Detroit to a 116-109 win in an elimination game and cutting the best-of-seven series deficit to 3-2.

Detroit’s star, recently back from a collapsed lung, logged almost 44 minutes as the Pistons avoided a shock first-round exit to eighth-seeded Orlando.

“We dug ourselves a big hole, it's going to be a tough one to climb out of, but we handled business tonight,” said Cunningham.

“We're at our best when our backs are against the wall,” he added.

After running the Eastern Conference in the regular season, Detroit stumbled out of the gate in the playoffs.

Facing the need to win three straight to stay alive, the Pistons jumped on Orlando early Wednesday in front of their home fans.

Playing with urgency, Detroit crashed the boards for 17 first-quarter rebounds and built a 12-point cushion.

  

Cunningham took over in the second, pouring in 20 points in the quarter.

  

Orlando trimmed the lead to six by halftime, then missed two potential go-ahead threes early in the third.

 

Cade dropped a 40-piece. pic.twitter.com/nblE8TkvEn

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 30, 2026

Detroit capitalized and pushed the margin back out. The Magic kept fighting, using back-to-back Paolo Banchero threes to cut it to three late.

A Cunningham three with under 30 seconds left finally put it away. Banchero matched him with 45 points to lead Orlando.

The Magic get another shot to close out the series Friday in Orlando. If needed, Game 7 would be Sunday in Detroit.

Took care of business. pic.twitter.com/WUcuxoU25b

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) April 30, 2026

Houston Holds Off LeBron, Forces Game 6 

Jabari Smith Jr. dropped 22 points as the Houston Rockets battled to a 99-93 win, cutting the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2.

After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Lakers now head to Texas for a tough Game 6.

Austin Reaves returned after missing nine games with an oblique injury, giving the Lakers a lift as they started strong in the first quarter Wednesday.

Still missing Kevin Durant due to an ankle issue, Houston responded and stretched the lead to 13 midway through the fourth.

LeBron James attacked the rim for a layup to trim it to single digits with five minutes left, energizing the L.A. crowd.

 

The Lakers couldn’t finish it off. A loss in Houston on Friday would leave L.A. in danger of becoming the first team ever to lose a playoff series after leading 3-0.

Final pic.twitter.com/ub54dG0eXM

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 30, 2026

The 41-year-old James led all scorers with 25 points and kept up his strong playoff form, though he went 0-for-3 from deep.

 

“We just couldn't make shots,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

“Missed some layups, certainly had some good looks for three that didn't go down. But we'll take a look at the whole process.”

  

Cleveland made it five straight home wins in the series, beating Toronto to move up 3-2.

 

Down 12 twice, the Cavs locked in defensively after halftime and rallied for a 125-120 win.

Evan Mobley sparked the comeback with 10 third-quarter points, and Dennis Schroder chipped in 19 off the bench.

With that result, all four first-round series in the Eastern Conference now sit at 3-2.