2025 NBA Playoffs results, highlights, recap April 27, including Anthony Edwards outdueling Luka Doncic

All four series from Sunday are 3-1 now, but it’s Minnesota and Los Angeles that feels like it could go on the longest.

TIMBERWOLVES 116, LAKERS 113 (Minnesota leads series 3-1)

What. A. Game.

Anthony Edwards took another step toward being a top-five player in the league, dropping 43 points, 16 in the fourth quarter as he took over when it mattered. LeBron James made a block and a steal late, playing great defense in the clutch (and sorry LeBron, that was a foul on Ant late). Edwards and Luka Doncic dueling it out.

” Just trying to prove I belong,” Edwards said of dueling Doncic and LeBron.

The difference in this game and this series is the help Doncic and Ant are getting — or, not getting — around them.

Lakers coach J.J. Redick played his core five guys — LeBron, Doncic, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura — the entire second half. Not one substitute. Legs got tired, and the Lakers lost the fourth quarter 30-20.

Meanwhile, Chris Finch is closing the game with two Timberwolves bench players in Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo. That depth and versatility are why the Timberwolves are one win away from the second round.

KNICKS 94, PISTONS 93 (New York leads series 3-1)

I am firmly in the “don’t blame the referees for your loss” camp — there were 47+ other minutes to change the course of the game and not leave things to one play.

This game makes it hard to take that stance. The Pistons got screwed at the end of this one, Josh Hart clearly fouled Tim Hardaway Jr. on a game-winning corner 3-pointer and that has to be called.

Crew chief David Guthrie admitted the mistake, speaking to a pool reporter after the game:

“During live play, it was judged that Josh Hart made a legal defensive play. After postgame review, we observed that Hart makes body contact that is more than marginal to Hardaway Jr. and a foul should have been called.”

This is another tight game in an entertaining series, but I’m not sold making that call would change where this series is headed. Jalen Brunson once again showed why he is the Clutch Player of the Year scoring 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, plus he had 11 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had another big game with 27.

Cade Cunningham is ready for this moment, he had a 25-10-10 triple-double. It’s just not enough in this series.

CELTICS 107, MAGIC 98 (Boston leads series 3-1)

Orlando is a good team that plays with real grit, it is are pushing Boston in this series. This game was tied 91-91 with four minutes remaining.

Then Boston closed it out on a 16-7 run behind a big day from Jayson Tatum, who finished with 37 points, and that was the ballgame.

Game 4 was a continuation of the same story from this series: Orlando just struggles to score. It shot 8-of-30 from beyond the arc in this game. Most of the shot creation falls on the shoulders of Paolo Banchero and he put up 31 points but on 12-32 shooting (36 true shot attempts), it’s asking too much of him to do all the creation.

Game 5 is back in Boston and while Orlando is not going to go quietly, that feels like it will be the end of the series.

PACERS 129, BUCKS 103 (Indiana leads series 3-1)

The horrible scene of Damian Lillard sitting on the floor, likely with a torn Achilles (that will not only end this season but also likely keep him out of most of the next one), was hard to watch. It was a cloud over this entire game.

Game 4 of this series continued the simple pattern of the first three: Indiana has no answer for Giannis Antetokounmpo but they at least can throw everything at him to slow him down, while Milwaukee cannot stop the Pacers from scoring at will.

The Bucks need a big secondary scorer next to Antetokounmpo to be a threat and without Lillard nobody stepped up.

Good game from Myles Turner, as the big man led the Pacers with 23 points.