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2026 NBA playoffs second-round odds: Pistons, Knicks favored in tight Eastern Conference series

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The New York Knicks are turning into a wagon and the Minnesota Timberwolves keep winning no matter who is on the court. The Knicks had another blowout win on Monday and Minnesota opened its series in San Antonio with a close win on the road (and the return of Anthony Edwards).

On Tuesday, NBA title favorite Oklahoma City starts its series against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers battle for Midwestern supremacy.

This story will be updated throughout the second round as the odds change with the results for every game.

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Detroit Pistons vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers

Game 1: 7 p.m. ET, Tuesday

Series odds: Pistons -120, Cavaliers +100

Both teams enter this series after surviving Game 7s at home. The Pistons came back from 3-1 down to Orlando (and 24 points down in Game 6 while facing elimination) to avoid the embarrassment of losing as a No. 1 seed. The Cavaliers came back from 10 points down in the first half to get past Toronto in Game 7.

The Pistons have not gotten a lot of respect in the betting market despite being the top seed in the conference, but they are slight favorites to win this series. The first round didn’t do much to add confidence in Detroit, but it’s not like Cleveland looked like world-beaters either. At least the Cavs won every home game against the Raptors.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham averaged 5.9 turnovers per game against the Magic, which was the most of anyone in the first round. He also averaged 32.4 points per game. For the most part, Cunningham didn’t get much help until Tobias Harris dropped 30 points in Game 7. Cunningham won’t be able to beat Cleveland by himself.

The James Harden experiment in Cleveland showed mixed results in the first round. Harden averaged 20.6 points, 6.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 5.1 turnovers in the first round. He gives Donovan Mitchell some much-needed help in scoring and creation, but the Cavs might need even more to get past Detroit.

No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers

Knicks lead series 1-0

Game 2: 7 p.m. ET, Wednesday

Series odds: Knicks -450, 76ers +350

Are the Knicks just world-beaters now? New York followed up the 51-point win against Atlanta that closed out that series with a 39-point win against Philadelphia to open this one.

The Knicks couldn’t miss. They shot 63 percent from the field and 51 percent (19-for-37) from 3-point range. New York had 74 points by halftime. Jalen Brunson had 35 points in 31 minutes.

There are a lot of ways to say the Knicks were good on Monday.

Joel Embiid, meanwhile, was just 3-for-11 from the field and Tyrese Maxey had just 13 points.

This series probably won’t go this way the whole way through, but the Knicks haven’t had a competitive game in a week and a half.

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers

Game 1: 8:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday

Series odds: Thunder -1600, Lakers +900

The Thunder were the only team to pull off a sweep in the first round and are getting near even-money odds (+120) to sweep the Lakers as well.

Just over a month ago, this series would’ve been a blockbuster. Luka Dončić was entering the MVP discussion, Austin Reaves was proving to be a consistent scorer and LeBron James was still LeBron James. However, Dončić has been out since April 2. The Lakers survived the also-shorthanded Houston Rockets in the first round without Dončić and with Reaves only playing two games.

Getting Reaves back helps, but in order to compete with, let alone beat, Oklahoma City, the Lakers will need Dončić. He could return this series, but it doesn’t sound like it will be soon.

As long as Dončić is out, the odds are going to be lopsided in the Thunder’s favor. OKC is favored by a whopping 15.5 points for Game 1.

No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves lead series 1-0

Game 2: 9:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday

Series odds: Spurs -1200, Timberwolves +160

Several hours before Game 1 started, the Spurs were heavily favored to advance and a Western Conference final with Oklahoma City seemed nearly inevitable. Then, Anthony Edwards decided to suit up and come back from injury. Now, Minnesota has a 1-0 series lead.

The Spurs are still favored to win the series after dropping Game 1 at home 104-102, but the odds moved from -1200 to -190. Minnesota was 7-to-1 advance and is now +160.

Edwards scored 18 points in 25 minutes so there should be more to come as his minutes load increases. The Timberwolves were without Ayo Dosunmu, who sat out Game 6 against Denver with a calf injury.

It’s not a great sign for the Spurs that they lost at home and Minnesota had a minute-limit on Edwards and Dosunmu could return at some point this series. That said, while Victor Wembanyama had 12 blocks, he was 0-for-8 from 3-point range. He and De’Aaron Fox both had off shooting nights and Julian Champagnie still had a really good open look at a 3-pointer to win the game at the buzzer.

A sweep seemed possible going into the series. Now, it looks like this could be a good one.

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How to watch Reds vs. Nationals: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

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The Cincinnati Reds will look to Elly De La Cruz, on a two-game homer streak, against the Washington Nationals at 6:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, at Nationals Park. Chase Burns (13-1, 2.35 ERA) will start for the Reds, who are 56-59 this season and fourth in the NL Central. Andrew Alvarez (2-3, 3.94 ERA) is expected to start for the Nationals, who are 57-61 and fourth in the NL East.

How to watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Washington Nationals

Reds vs. Nationals odds

  • Favorite Moneyline: Reds -133
  • Underdog Moneyline: Nationals +110
  • Total: 8.5
  • Total Over Odds: -115
  • Total Under Odds: -105

Injury reports

Reds

Spencer Steer: 10 Day IL (Wrist), Hunter Greene: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Tony Santillan: 15 Day IL (Oblique), Nick Lodolo: 15 Day IL (Finger), Graham Ashcraft: 60 Day IL (Forearm), Brandon Williamson: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Blake Dunn: 60 Day IL (Elbow)

Nationals

James Wood: 10 Day IL (Oblique), Drew Millas: 10 Day IL (Finger), Connelly Early: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Josiah Gray: 60 Day IL (Elbow), DJ Herz: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Ken Waldichuk: 60 Day IL (Forearm), Richard Lovelady: 60 Day IL (Tricep), Mitchell Parker: 60 Day IL (Elbow), PJ Poulin: 60 Day IL (Flexor)

Stats to know

  • Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart is slashing .255/.333/.479 this season with 25 home runs (12th in MLB), 86 RBIs (2nd in MLB) and an OPS of .813. He has a 22.1% strikeout rate and a 10.4% walk rate in 498 plate appearances, and he has scored 63 total runs. Stewart has recorded 12 steals on 16 attempts.
  • In 431 plate appearances, De La Cruz is hitting .277/.360/.509 with a .869 OPS and 21 steals on 27 attempts. He has hit 20 long balls, driven in 54 runs and scored 66 times.
  • Washington’s CJ Abrams is slashing .287/.361/.548 this season with 28 home runs (8th in MLB), 88 RBIs (1st in MLB) and an OPS of .908 (7th in MLB). He has a 22.7% strikeout rate and an 8.6% walk rate in 488 plate appearances, and he has scored 72 total runs. Abrams has recorded 21 steals on 26 attempts.
  • In 480 plate appearances, Daylen Lile has posted a 19% strikeout rate and a 5.8% walk rate while slashing .244/.296/.421 with 15 home runs, 59 RBIs and 59 runs scored. He has stolen 11 bases on 16 attempts.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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Boston’s winning streak stops at 9 when another late Red Sox rally runs out of gas

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The (latest) Boston Red Sox winning streak stops at nine.

On Saturday, the Athletics played the spoiler at Fenway Park, raining on what has at times seemed like a summerlong parade in Boston. Their 7-3 win over the Red Sox denied Boston its second double-digit winning streak of the season.

The Red Sox tried to muster some late magic, which has become a bit of a hallmark of this wild, never-say-die Boston season. They put runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth, but the push ended when Jarren Duran struck out. Then, in the ninth, Boston strung together three hits and a walk, but Eli White lined out to center field to end the game.

“I think that’s our identity, I think that’s who we are as a team,” Jahmai Jones said, “is, you know, it’s the ninth inning. We’ve seen a lot of comebacks for us, we’ve seen a lot of late-inning rallies. We’re never going to give up until game’s over.”

Did interim manager Chad Tracy have hope? Yep, he sure did.

“It was a great effort to get the tying run to the plate and give ourselves a shot,” Tracy said afterward. “It was awesome. … That ball was smoked by Eli, and if you get another one on there you’ve got the winning run at the plate, so it was a good effort.”

Boston out jumped to an early 2-0 lead Saturday when Andruw Monasterio’s single in the first drove in Jones and Caleb Durbin. Left-hander Gage Jump kept the Red Sox at bay for the remainder of his six-inning, 11-strikeout effort.

The Red Sox had cruised to a 13-1 win on Friday night, rolling to that victory one night after rallying five times against the White Sox in a 13-inning marathon.

Even with Saturday’s loss, the Red Sox (64-52) have won 11 of their past 13. They are 32-6 since June 25 — a run that also included a franchise-record 15-game winning streak in July.

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How to watch Guardians vs. White Sox: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

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The Chicago White Sox carry a four-game losing streak into a contest versus the Cleveland Guardians, at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday. Gavin Williams (11-6, 3.56 ERA) will start for the Guardians, who are 58-59 this season and third in the AL Central. Anthony Kay (8-5, 4.09 ERA) is the expected starter for the White Sox, who are 59-56 and first in the AL Central.

How to watch Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox

Guardians vs. White Sox odds

  • Favorite Moneyline: Guardians -133
  • Underdog Moneyline: White Sox +110
  • Total: 7
  • Total Over Odds: -115
  • Total Under Odds: -105

Injury reports

Guardians

Slade Cecconi: 15 Day IL (Arm), Shawn Armstrong: 60 Day IL (Leg)

White Sox

Joey Bart: 10 Day IL (Hand), Kyle Teel: 10 Day IL (Ankle), Chris Murphy: 15 Day IL (Flexor), Tanner Murray: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Prelander Berroa: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Ky Bush: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Mike Vasil: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Jordan Leasure: 60 Day IL (Flexor), Brooks Baldwin: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Drew Thorpe: 60 Day IL (Elbow)

Stats to know

  • Cleveland’s Chase DeLauter has hit 12 home runs this season. He has also tallied 56 RBIs and has scored 45 runs. In 419 plate appearances, he has recorded a .280 BA, .356 OBP and .439 SLG with a 10.7% walk rate and a 14.3% strikeout rate. He has been effective on the base paths, recording seven steals on nine attempts.
  • In 369 plate appearances, Jose Ramirez is hitting .234/.334/.386 with a .720 OPS and 28 steals on 30 attempts. He has hit 10 long balls, driven in 35 runs and scored 52 times.
  • Miguel Vargas is hitting for a .234 BA, .341 OBP and .468 SLG with an 18.2% strikeout rate and a 12.8% walk rate. His OPS is .809 and he has scored 76 runs. In 500 plate appearances, he has hit 24 home runs (16th in MLB) and driven in 67 runs. Vargas has recorded 12 steals on 14 attempts.
  • In 471 plate appearances, Chase Meidroth has posted a 22.9% strikeout rate and a 9.8% walk rate while slashing .274/.351/.405 with 11 home runs, 44 RBIs and 67 runs scored.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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