Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic are the finalists for NBA MVP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder began their title defense with a 119-84 rout of the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series

The Boston Celtics have rolled past the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round matchup

Kevin Durant was ruled out of Houston’s playoff opener against the Los Angeles Lakers with a bruised right knee about 90 minutes before tipoff

Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series

Jalen Brunson scored 28 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 of his 25 in the second half and the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series

Jamal Murray shot and made 16 free throws

Jamal Murray scored 30 points, going 16 of 16 from the free-throw line and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets shook off a sluggish start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 in the opener of their first-round playoff series

Donovan Mitchell has more support on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster going into this year’s postseason run