The GIST: Like your friends in their late twenties, NBA teams are on very different trajectories: Some are preparing for the start of the second round, others are still locked in a tightly-contested first-round series, and a few more are catching flights to Cancun. Let’s dig in.

✈️ LA Lakers, Detroit Pistons sent packing: For the first time in franchise history, the Lakers fumbled a top-three seed, falling 103–96 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Wolves, led by a 27-point, 24-rebound masterclass from Rudy Gobert, were simply the better team, taking advantage of a smaller Lakers squad to punch a second-round ticket. Cue the rumor mill.

• The NY Knicks also dished out an L on the road, using a clutch game-winning three from Jalen Brunson to eliminate the upstart Pistons with last night’s 116–113 dub and set up a second-round showdown with NY’s forever foe, the reigning champ Boston Celtics. Spicy.

🔥 Two first-round series still to be decided: Perhaps the feistiest opening-round set, the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors are neck-and-neck, trading baskets and (almost) punches through the first five games. The Warriors boast a 3-2 lead heading into tonight’s 9 p.m. ET Game 6. Ready for some high-stakes hoops? Two one thumb up.

• If that’s not enough drama, tomorrow’s the first Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers clash at 7:30 p.m. ET in a winner-take-all matchup. On the line? A second-round date with the top-seeded (and well-rested) Oklahoma City Thunder.

▶️ Second round action tips off on Sunday: After cruising through their opening round, the Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. And while one overly proud pops won’t make the trip, his All-Star son, the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton, will go head-to-head with Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell. Buckets, literally.