The 2025 NBA Playoffs continue Friday, May 2, with a pivotal Game 6 matchup as the Golden State Warriors get a second try at closing out their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.
Like the Rockets, the LA Clippers live to see another day after last night’s win over the Denver Nuggets at home.
We’ve got a wrap-up of both of Thursday’s games and a preview of today’s below. But first, here’s the updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket.
Updated NBA Playoffs 2025 Bracket
With the New York Knicks advancing, the Eastern Conference semifinals matchups are now set. New York will play the Boston Celtics — a team they haven’t won a game against all season. (Check out the full Knicks-Celtics second-round schedule here.)
Here’s the current NBA Playoffs bracket after Thursday’s games:
Thursday, May 1 – Game 6 Recap
New York Knicks 116, Detroit Pistons 113
Knicks win series 4–2
The Knicks won Game 6 and their first-round series in dramatic fashion off a game-winning by — you guessed it — Jalen Brunson, who sank a three-pointer with 4.3 seconds to go, capping a 40-point night.
Brunson, the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, seems destined for moments like this. But the Knicks’ win wasn’t inevitable. They squandered extended double-digit leads in both halves, with the Pistons taking control toward the end of the 4th quarter.
The Knicks found themselves down 7 with 2:35 to go and a Game 7 looked inevitable. But then it was Jalen Time.
Brunson quickly got to work, sinking a floater for an and-one that cut the deficit to four.
Then, with 1:38 left, Brunson again drove to the basket, vigilantly defended by Dennis Schroder.
With his back to the basket on the baseline, Brunson faked a move right and nearly fell on his back. But he steadied himself, pivoted left, and made a difficult reverse layup underneath the basket to put the Knicks within two. And that’s when it became clear that the momentum was with New York.
Detroit is a gritty team led by emerging superstar Cade Cunningham. But the Pistons’ leader showed reticence in the game’s final minutes, and ended up falling short when taking a decisive shot. Cunningham missed a layup with 22 seconds to go that would have put Detroit on top by two, tightly defended by OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.
Anunoby had not just a stellar defensive effort with three steals and two blocks, but he also put up 22 points, hitting 4 of 10 threes. Mikal Bridges was also a bright spot, scoring 25 points, including a tip-in off a Brunson miss that tied the game at 113 in the final minute.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a strong presence on the boards, grabbing 15 rebounds, but took a backseat on the offensive and fouled out with 50 seconds left.
For the Knicks to stand a chance against the Celtics, Towns will have to be more aggressive on the offensive end and avoid foul trouble. New York will also need more contributions from bench players like Miles McBride, who will have to hit wide-open threes.
Los Angeles Clippers 111, Denver Nuggets 105
Series tied 3–3
The Clippers forced a Game 7 with a balanced offensive effort. James Harden led with 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Norman Powell contributed 24 points.
The Nuggets rallied from a 13-point deficit with 5:41 remaining but squandered several chances to close the gap in the final minutes — including two missed layups each by Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic.
Strong interior defense from Nicolas Batum and Ivica Zubac played a role in two of those stops, but Westbrook also missed a three-foot running layup with 2:13 left that would have cut the deficit to four. Jokic passed up an open three with less than 30 seconds left, opting instead for a contested layup, which he missed.
The most competitive first-round series now heads to a Game 7 in Denver — expect it to be a close one, with Jokic and the Nuggets edging out the Clippers.
Next Game: Saturday, May 3, 2025, 8:30 PM Eastern, Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Series Prediction: Nuggets in seven.
Friday, May 2 – Game 6 Preview
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
Warriors lead series 3–2
The Warriors aim to close out the series at home after getting blown out in Houston in Game 5.
The Rockets look to force a Game 7 — and they can do it by repeating their Game 5 formula. Houston shut down Golden State’s two biggest weapons: Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry, who were a combined 6 of 22 from the field.
Veteran Fred VanVleet has been a steady hand for the Rockets. He’s averaging 17 points a game in this series and led the way in Game 5 with 26 points. But the Rockets will need all cylinders firing to force a Game 7 — especially their young core.
Alperen Sengun has been stellar on both ends of the court this series, averaging 20.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.8 steals. But Jalen Green, their leading scorer in the regular season (21.0 points per game), has been invisible during most of the playoffs.
He’s averaging just 14.6 points per game off a dismal 38.8% shooting from the field. That average is masked by his 38-performance in Game 2 — an outlier. In the other four games in this first round, Green is averaging 8.75 points per game. The Rockets don’t need Green to be on fire to beat the Warriors. But if he has a standout game, combined with Sengun and VanVleet, they will prevail.
The odds for this game, however, are that Golden State bounces back and closes the series at home.
Series Prediction: Warriors in six.
Time: 9:00 PM Eastern
Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN app and website, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, YouTube TV
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