Playoffs: Cavs, Nuggets Win
Cleveland opened its first‑round NBA series with a 126–113 win over Toronto in Game 1 on April 18. (vavel.com) Denver also took Game 1 in the West, beating Minnesota 116–105, and the league’s opening weekend runs across April 18–19 with games airing on ABC, NBC, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video. (vavel.com) (espn.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
Cleveland and Denver opened the National Basketball Association playoffs Saturday with Game 1 wins at home, putting the Cavaliers and Nuggets up 1-0 in their first-round series. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) Cleveland beat Toronto 126-113 at Rocket Arena on April 18 after shooting 54% from the field and 50% from 3-point range. Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, Max Strus added 24 off the bench, and James Harden finished with 22 points and 10 assists. (nba.com) (espn.com) Toronto got 24 points from RJ Barrett, but Cleveland led 97-76 after three quarters and never gave back control. The Raptors entered as the No. 5 seed after a 46-36 regular season, while the Cavaliers were the No. 4 seed at 52-30. (espn.com) (nba.com) Denver beat Minnesota 116-105 at Ball Arena after trailing 62-46 at halftime and outscoring the Timberwolves 68-43 in the second half. Jamal Murray scored 30 points and went 16 for 16 at the free-throw line, while Nikola Jokić posted 25 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. (espn.com) (nba.com) Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but Denver turned a 10-point halftime deficit into an 11-point win. The Nuggets are the No. 3 seed in the West at 54-28, and the Timberwolves are No. 6 at 49-33. (espn.com) (nba.com) Those results started the first full weekend of the 2026 postseason after the play-in tournament ran from April 14 through April 17. The first round began Saturday, April 18, and continues Sunday, April 19, under the league’s best-of-seven format. (nba.com) (espn.com) The bracket this year is spread across several national outlets instead of one network package. NBA.com and ESPN list games on Prime Video, NBC, NBC Sports Network, ESPN and ABC during opening weekend, with Cleveland-Toronto Game 2 set for April 20 and Denver-Minnesota Game 2 also set for April 20. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) (sports.yahoo.com) Game 1 often shapes a series, and the league’s live playoff hub noted that teams winning the opener have gone on to win the series 77.8% of the time. Cleveland and Denver now head into Monday with the early edge and home court still in hand. (nba.com)
