BBNBA Playoffs: KAT advances, Maxey survives, and Murray goes home

Thursday night’s NBA Playoff games were all over the place. All three matchups featured former Kentucky Wildcats. Some played well. Others….did not.

We’ll start with the good. Karl-Anthony Towns was part of a historic beatdown. The (3) New York Knicks absolutely demolished the (6) Atlanta Hawks in Game 6, winning 140-89 and advancing to the second round along the way. A 51-point postseason win is bonkers, but this game was quite literally over before the first quarter came to an end. The Knicks led 40-14 after one quarter (the largest first-quarter playoff lead in the shot clock era) and were up 83-36 at the intermission (the largest playoff lead at halftime). It was a beatdown of epic proportions. New York led by as many as 61 points — SIXTY-ONE POINTS!!!

The Knicks didn’t even need a good performance from Towns, who still posted a triple-double anyway (his second of the series) with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals in 27 minutes. Thursday’s blowout capped off a three-game winning streak for New York, which trailed this series 2-1 early on. Up next, they’ll get the winner of the (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers.

Speaking of…

Tyrese Maxey’s 30-ball keeps Sixers alive

We’ve got our first Game 7, baby! And Tyrese Maxey helped make it happen, dropping 30 points as the 76ers took down the Celtics in Philadelphia by a score of 106-93. Philly has lost a couple of games in this series by 32 points each, but has always found ways to respond. Now, we have a Game 7 heading back to Boston. Only one team in NBA history has won a series despite losing two games by 30-plus points: the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 against the St. Louis Hawks.

Maxey shot 11-22 (3-5 3PT) from the field to reach his 30 points in 39 minutes. He tacked on five assists, two rebounds, and two steals for good measure. Paul George and Joel Embiid chipped in 23 and 19 points, respectively, as Philly held the Celtics to just 14 points in the third frame. But Maxey was the best player on the floor from start to finish. Justin Edwards even saw some action for the Sixers, adding two points and five rebounds in his 10 minutes of action.

TYRESE MAXEY, HOW?!

The Sixers are in control as they look to force a Game 7!

📺 Peacock and NBCSN pic.twitter.com/qYkn4dPSYU

— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 1, 2026

Julius Randle ends Jamal Murray’s season

To say the series between the (3) Denver Nuggets and (6) Minnesota Timberwolves was a strange one would be an understatement. It came to an end last night as the Wolves took Game 6 at home 110-98, advancing to the second round in the process. Despite being without Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu (who dropped 42 points earlier in this series), the Wolves found a way to take down Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and a Nuggets team with championship aspirations.

Murray picked a bad time to not show up, too. Usually a playoff riser throughout a career, he finished with just 12 points on 4-17 shooting, six rebounds, and four assists in 40 minutes while posting a -18, easily the worst on his team. Neither he nor Jokic played up to their usual standards this series. It had Jokic suggesting in the postgame that the entire team would be fired if this were his home country of Serbia. It was a disastrous display from the Nuggets.

The good news? Julius Randle is moving on in search of his second straight Western Conference Finals appearance. He posted 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds for the Wolves on 6-17 shooting. Jaden McDaniels was the star of the show for Minny with his 32 points and 10 rebounds, while Terrence Shannon Jr. contributed 24 points of his own. The Wolves were just far more athletic and tougher than Denver. Randle played a big part in that being the case.

Thursday night’s stats

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	106-93 W vs. BOS	30	11-22 (3-5)	2	5	2	0	0	15	39
Julius Randle (MIN)	110-98 W vs. DEN	18	6-17 (2-5)	4	5	1	0	4	15	37
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	140-89 W @ ATL	12	1-4 (0-1)	11	10	3	1	3	35	27
Jamal Murray (DEN)	110-98 L @ MIN	12	4-17 (0-2)	6	4	0	1	0	-18	40
Justin Edwards (PHI)	106-93 W vs. BOS	2	1-3 (0-2)	5	0	0	0	2	-5	10
Amari Williams (BOS)	106-93 L @ PHI	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA Playoffs

TIME/TV	MATCHUP	SERIES
7:00 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(1) Pistons @ (8) Magic	ORL leads 3-2
7:30 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(4) Cavaliers @ (5) Raptors (Quickley: out)	CLE leads 3-2
9:30 p.m. ET | Prime Video	(4) Lakers (Vanderbilt) @ (5) Rockets (Sheppard)	LAL leads 3-2

Join KSR Plus! With a KSR Plus membership, you get access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR’s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.