The biggest halftime lead in NBA playoff history

The Houston Rockets are brimming with confidence after avoiding elimination twice with consecutive wins to force Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs

Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points, Tari Eason added 18 and the Houston Rockets avoided playoff elimination for the second straight game with a 99-93 victory over the Lakers in Game 5

James Harden garnered the most attention for the series of moves the Cleveland Cavaliers made near the NBA trade deadline

Dennis Schroder scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Evan Mobley hit a pair of pivotal 3-pointers in the final period and finished with 23 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 125-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of their first-round series

Austin Reaves returned from a nine-game injury absence Wednesday night when the Los Angeles Lakers attempted to finish their first-round playoff series with the Houston Rockets in Game 5

Cade Cunningham came through for the Detroit Pistons when they needed him

Cade Cunningham scored a franchise playoff-record 45 points, including a step-back jumper with 32 seconds left, and the top-seeded Detroit Pistons beat the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic 116-109 in Game 5 of their first-round series to stave off elimination

The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics aim to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs with road victories while the Denver Nuggets look to force a Game 7 against the injured Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night