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The NBA playoffs kicked off with standout performances from Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kennard, leading their teams to victory. Wembanyama scored 35 points in his playoff debut, while Kennard added 27 points for the Lakers.

Look where a 6’8” guy has to attempt his layup against Wemby: very top right corner of the backboard, otherwise it’s getting splattered. pic.twitter.com/yPj89LvQN2
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 20, 2026 That's not a blocked shot in the box score, but it might as well be. Here Wembanyama puts up a road block on Toumani Camara while hardly having to move, then spikes 's shot without jumping. Wemby is literally not fair on defense. This is not right
Victor Wembanyama scored 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting and made 5 of 6 three-pointers in his playoff debut.
Luke Kennard scored 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 5 for 5 from three-point range, helping the Lakers secure a win.
Wembanyama's 35 points set a Spurs record for a playoff debut, surpassing Tim Duncan's previous record of 32 points.
In Game 1, the Spurs faced the team they upset, while the Lakers played against the Rockets, missing key players Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves.

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— Wemby Central 👽 (@WembyCentral) April 20, 2026 The dude looks like he's playing with kids. Honest to god, making plays like this at 7-foot-4 is the peak of basketball evolution. I don't know how it can ever get any crazier than this. WEMBY IN TRANSITION IS UNFAIR 👽
Behind the back. Spin. SLAM.
He's up to 9 PTS midway through the 1Q in his postseason debut! pic.twitter.com/3XHnoIrxBR
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2026 Wemby also made five of his six 3-pointers. That is the second-most 3s made in a playoff debut in league history (trailing, as you probably could've guessed, the great Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Voshon Lenard, each of whom cashed six triples in their playoff opener). Wembanyama hit a bunch of impressive 3s, but flow dribbling into a fading corner job is sick. Victor Wembanyama dribbles to the corner and DRAINS the fadeaway 3-pointer 😱
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 20, 2026 He also finished three alley-oop dunks, highlighting the outrageous gravity of his rim rolls. It's the reason the Spurs led the league in corner 3-point attempts, because wing defenders are forced to sink down off of their shooters to at least marginally disrupt things like this. Victor Wembanyama with the alley-oop dunk off a lob by De'Aaron Fox
35 Points for Wemby. pic.twitter.com/rgY8xz7jnx
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 20, 2026 It's a total pick-your-poison situation. Even when multiple defenders collapse into the paint, all you have to do is toss the ball to the moon and he's the only one who can reach it. Victor Wembanyama throws down the alley oop jam from De’Aaron Fox.
He immediately went to console with his teammates after this. These guys love each other.
Spurs up 1-0 in the series. pic.twitter.com/0twlZ83yXo
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) April 20, 2026 Indeed, Wembanyama was the best player on the floor in San Antonio's 111-98 Game 1 win. But it wasn't the only playoff debut that went well for the Spurs, as second-year wing Stephon Castle finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Castle didn't shoot it as efficiently, but he was everywhere in this game. The future is now for this Spurs team, and it is impossibly bright.
No surprise:
Luka played the whole 1st and is also the Lakers’ Leading Scorer after 1.
Oh, wait…I’m sorry…
I meant LUKE.
11 pts | 5/6 fgs | 12min pic.twitter.com/S5ppxyGOzB
— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) April 19, 2026 Here, he leverages a hard closeout to get into a soft-spot pull-up: Here, his initial drive is cut off, so he calmly retreats and, when the Rockets screw up the switch, he flows right into one of his five 3-pointers: LeBron James was terrific in this game as well, stuffing the box score to the tune of 19 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and a block. He orchestrated offense from all over the floor, faced up from the elbow, worked out of the post, but give JJ Redick credit for making Kennard the focal point of a lot of actions. He could've asked James to redline his scoring engine and he would have burned out, if not in this game then surely down the line in what the Lakers hope is a long series. Asked what fueled his performance: "It's everybody continuing to build confidence in me to be aggressive and look for my shot whenever I can," Kennard said. "…When I see space and the rim, I'm going to look to get it up."
Back when it matters most.
Jayson Tatum’s first playoff game since tearing his Achilles 😤 pic.twitter.com/eXRm6jsjcd
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 19, 2026 Tatum did it all in Game 1. Scored from all three levels. Created for teammates. Defended. Ran the floor. At the time of year when everyone else is fighting the fatigue of a grueling season, Tatum is fresh and hitting his stride just in time for the Celtics to make a real run at a title.
Donovan Mitchell 32 PTS, 4 AST, 2 STL, 11/20 FG, 4/7 3FG, 69.3% TS vs Toronto pic.twitter.com/iq3531O0Zh
— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) April 18, 2026 Mitchell's pick-and-roll prowess is well chronicled (88th percentile as a scorer, per Synergy). He's basically impossible to cover off the dribble with his array of options, from pulling up for 3 to attacking downhill with such shifty, low-leverage force you'd think you were watching Barry Sanders hit a cutback hole. The Cavs were way too much offensively for the Raptors, whose only chance of competing in this series is to defend. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. In addition to Mitchell's 32, James Harden and Max Strus combined for 46 points on 8-of-13 from 3. The Raptors just can't keep up with this kind of offense. If it continues, it's going to be a short series.
*Deni Avdija, Paolo Banchero, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Jalen Williams, LeBron James, James Harden, Max Strus, Jaylen Brown, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Suggs, CJ McCollum*