NBA playoffs winners and losers: Ayo Dosunmu puts the Nuggets on the brink, Jalen Brunson gets some help

Loser: The Nikola Jokić era

The Nuggets, on the rare occasions in which they were healthy this season, were every bit the championship contender they were supposed to be. They are also, more rapidly than most seem to accept, creeping up on this core's expiration date. Aaron Gordon has struggled to stay on the floor through muscle injuries for two years now. The Nuggets already had to make a major, financially motivated trade last summer when they spent a first-round pick to turn Michael Porter Jr. into Cam Johnson. With Peyton Watson hitting restricted free agency this offseason, more savings are expected. Denver is out of tradable first-round picks. The Thunder and Spurs are probably never going to be more vulnerable than they are now. Their young rosters are only getting better. Who knows what the Lakers have planned to upgrade around Luka Dončić. Minnesota beat the Nuggets in 2024 and has them on the ropes in 2026. It's possible that the Western Conference is about to pass the Nuggets by. The window may not close after this season, but it's probably never going to be more open than it is this year. If it's going to happen again for the Nuggets, it kind of needs to happen now. Which is what makes a loss like this so discouraging. There are ancillary factors, of course. Gordon is clearly not himself. Watson is out. Jokić has been playing through a wrist injury. But there was no sense of urgency from the Nuggets in the second half. They were outscored by 21 points *after* Anthony Edwards left the game for good. The Nuggets have a long history of playing with their food. This is a team that lost to the Wizards twice in the 2024-25 season. But the TImberwolves played with appropriate, playoff-level intensity for 48 minutes. By the time the Nuggets got to the party, it was already too late. If Denver loses this series in this way, all bets are off this offseason. Ownership has all the justification it needs not to pay up to keep the team together. David Adelman's seat could certainly warm up. And Jokić himself, who has always sworn he plans to extend this offseason, suddenly has a decision to make. He has never been known to use his leverage as a star to influence team affairs. If he wants change, if he senses ownership isn't willing to make the investments needed to stay in the championship race, this would be the time. And if there's any part of him that has a wandering eye, well, a loss like this isn't exactly an encouraging note to end a season on before considering an extension. The Nuggets should be the healthier team the rest of the way. They still have two home games. They can at least salvage the series. If they don't, well, get ready for a rocky offseason in Denver. -- *Sam Quinn*

Winner: Knicks balance

When it's going bad for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson has to do everything, sometimes because he defaults to that and sometimes because he has no choice. In New York's Game 4 win over the Hawks on Saturday, that wasn't the case. Brunson, in fact, finished just 7 of 18 for 19 points. He was one of five Knicks who scored in double figures. Here are the other four:

• **OG Anunoby:**22 points, 10 rebounds
• **Karl-Anthony Towns:** 20 points, 10 rebounds
• **Miles McBride:**11 points, 3-for-6 on 3s
• **Josh Hart:** 10 points, nine rebounds All told, nine players contributed at least two buckets, and they did it efficiently on 49/45 shooting splits as a team. The Knicks were the more physical team from start to finish. They knew this was a must-win, and you saw a team that was somewhere between desperate and determined. Atlanta never really had a chance. The Knicks led by 21 going into the fourth quarter and as many as 24. This is a serious series. These are two pretty evenly matched teams. On Saturday, the Knicks got themselves off the ropes. All attention now turns to Game 5 on Tuesday. Historically speaking, the winner of that game (in a 2-2 series) will have north of an 80% chance of winning the series. -- *Brad Botkin*

Winner: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named the Clutch Player of the Year earlier this week and is likely going to win his second consecutive MVP award when that honor is announced next month. He showed why on Saturday. With Jalen Williams sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Gilgeous-Alexander put together one of the best postseason performances of his career to lift the Thunder to a road win and a 3-0 lead over the Suns in their first-round series. The Thunder are now just one win away from their third consecutive first-round sweep. Gilgeous-Alexander poured in a playoff career-high 42 points on 15 of 18 from the field and dished out eight assists. Twelve of those points and four of those assists came in the fourth quarter as he almost single-handedly held off the Sun's repeated attempts to get back in the game. Overall, he either scored or assisted on 62 of the Thunder's 121 points. Gilgeous-Alexander is now the third player in Thunder history to have multiple 40-point playoff games, joining Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who both have seven. He also recorded the second-most efficient 40-point playoff game in NBA history, behind only Terry Porter.

Highest field goal percentage in 40-point games in NBA history

Winner: Magic's late-game shot-making

During the regular season, the Magic were one of the worst offensive teams in the league in clutch time (score within five points in the last five minutes). In those situations, they ranked 21st in offensive rating (107.3) and 25th in true shooting percentage (52.4%). So when the Pistons went on an extended 26-8 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead with 2:52 remaining on Saturday, there was real concern in Orlando. Where would the offense come from down the stretch? Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, the Magic's two best players, answered the call when their team needed them the most. Immediately after Cade Cunningham had put the Pistons in front with a free throw, Wagner went down and hit a tough step-back jumper to put the Magic back in front. On the next possession, he buried a 3-pointer to push Orlando's lead out to four. Both shots came over Cunningham.

9-0 ORLANDO RUN SEALS GAME 3!

DOWN 1 WITH UNDER 3 TO PLAY. 8-POINT WIN.

MAGIC TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD 🍿 pic.twitter.com/yhIF3kLiuT

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026 With just over 30 seconds to play, the Magic were trying to hold on to a five-point lead when Banchero hit one of the most absurd shots you'll see all postseason. His step-back 3 hit the back of the rim and bounced nearly 10 feet above the basket before dropping straight down through the net. Orlando's possessions prior to those buckets from Banchero and Wagner weren't pretty, but late-game offense in the playoffs rarely is. Teams that win in the postseason have guys who can make shots amid the chaos. Too often, Banchero and Wagner haven't been those guys, but they were on Saturday afternoon, and now the Magic have a 2-1 lead on the No. 1 seed. *-- Jack Maloney*

Loser: Jalen Duren

Prior to the season, the Pistons and Jalen Duren were unable to reach an agreement on an extension, and the big man will hit restricted free agency this summer. As Duren was putting together an All-NBA caliber campaign, it seemed as though he would be in line for a max extension worth up to $239 million. After the first three games of this series, that may no longer be the case. Duren is going to get paid this summer, but he may have cost himself some money with his play over the last week. Here's a look at Duren's lines:

• **Game 1:** 8 points (3-4 FG), 7 rebounds, 1 block, 3 turnovers in 33 minutes
• **Game 2:** 11 points (4-10 FG), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 turnovers in 32 minutes
• **Game 3:** 8 points (3-10 FG), 9 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 turnovers in 27 minutes And now his playoff averages compared to his regular season numbers: | Season segment | PPG | RPG | FG% | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Regular season | 19.5 | 10.5 | 65% | | Playoffs | 9 | 8.3 | 41.7% | Duren was so ineffective on Saturday that J.B. Bickerstaff went to Paul Reed for the majority of the third quarter. And in a four-point game with just over a minute to play, Duren fouled out after Wendell Carter Jr. secured an offensive rebound. Duren's leap during the regular season was one of the main reasons the Pistons won 60 games and earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He's looked nothing like that player over the first three games against the Magic, and if the Pistons continue to get this version of Duren, they're going to have a very difficult time winning this series. *-- Jack Maloney*