2026 NBA playoffs first-round series odds: Knicks, Nuggets favored to get even in Game 4s

Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets are small favorites to even the series on the road in Game 4. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images Share article22The road teams won all three games in Friday’s Game 3s. The San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics regained home-court advantage and the Los Angeles Lakers are now up 3-0 without their two leading scorers. Saturday’s quadruple-header starts with the two No. 1 seeds, the Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder, on the road before the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves go for 3-1 leads at home. The road team is favored in all four games. This is a look at the odds for all eight first-round series in the NBA playoffs. It will be updated daily throughout the playoffs, as the odds to win each series will shift with results. Series odds: Pistons -255, Magic +210 The Pistons entered Wednesday’s Game 2 having lost 11 straight home playoff games. That’s the kind of streak that should be impossible. Richard Hamilton was in attendance on Wednesday. Hamilton, who is 48 years old and has been retired for 13 years, was playing for the Pistons the last time Detroit won a home playoff game in 2008. That’s why the Pistons’ 30-3 run to start the third quarter must have been so cathartic for Pistons fans. The game was tied at halftime, but suddenly the Pistons held a 27-point lead. Detroit won by 15. The series is tied as it heads to Orlando. The Pistons are small favorites on the road for Game 3. Series odds: Celtics -1400, 76ers +850 Jayson Tatum’s return from an Achilles injury has been remarkable. He may not be quite peak Tatum, but he is already playing at an All-Star level. Tatum’s contested pull-up 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds of Friday’s Game 3 sealed a crucial road win for Boston. Tatum’s shot put the Celtics up six in a 108-100 win. He and Jaylen Brown each scored 25 points. In a tight fourth quarter in a tied series, Boston’s shot makers came up with the plays needed to regain the series lead. Philadelphia will now have to win in Boston again to advance. The Celtics were favored to win the series even after losing Game 2, but are once again overwhelming favorites after the Game 3 win. Series odds: Hawks -130, Knicks +100 We could be witnessing the CJ McCollum series, which is not a thing many people expected to be considering. After go-ahead shots in the final minute of back-to-back games, McCollum is etching his name in Knicks history as a name to cause trauma to fans. McCollum drilled a fadeaway jumper over OG Anunoby to put the Hawks up by a point with 12.4 seconds left. The Knicks couldn’t get a shot off on the ensuing possession, and Atlanta won 109-108. The Hawks now lead the series 2-1 and have become the favorites to win it. The odds imply it is still nearly a coin flip, but Atlanta is favored. The Knicks are slight favorites to win Game 4, and a win would flip things back around. Series odds: Cavaliers -900, Raptors +600 Desperately in need of a win on Thursday, the Raptors used a 16-0 run late in the fourth quarter to put Game 3 away. Toronto won 126-104 to defend home court and ensure a return trip to Cleveland. Cleveland’s high scorer was James Harden with only 18 points. Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley shot a combined 4-for-21 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Toronto got 33 points each from RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes. The Cavs are favored by 3.5 points for Game 4 and remain clear favorites to advance, but Toronto at least kept things interesting. It really becomes a series if Toronto evens things up on Sunday. Series odds: Thunder -20000, Suns +6000 The Thunder were favored by 17.5 points in a playoff game on Wednesday, which is a crazy thing to think about. The Suns won 45 games in the regular season. They aren’t scrubs. Yet, the Thunder are a dominant force, especially at home. OKC didn’t cover in Game 2, winning by 13 after Phoenix made a rally to get within 10 points with less than four minutes remaining. Still, the Thunder are a virtual lock to advance in the betting odds. The Thunder are favored by “only” 9.5 for Game 3 in Phoenix. Series odds: Spurs -1600, Trail Blazers +900 No Wemby, no problem. The Spurs won on the road while Victor Wembanyama sat out Game 3 with a concussion. Spurs fans can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their team can not only win without Wembanyama, but there is now also less reason to rush him back. It shouldn’t be overlooked that the Spurs were able to win a playoff game on the road without their franchise cornerstone. As the Spurs push to win it all, showing the supporting cast is still a playoff-level team is a good sign for the Spurs’ status as true title contenders. Stephon Castle scored 33 points and rookie Dylan Harper had 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Castle is 21 years old and Harper is 20. Throw in 22-year-old Wemby and it’s easy to see why the Spurs should only continue to get better. Scary. Will the Spurs give Wemby more time knowing they already have regained home-court advantage? Series odds: Nuggets -110, Timberwolves -110 Jade McDaniels talked a lot of smack about the Nuggets after Minnesota won Game 2 on the road. Then McDaniels and his teammates backed it up again in Thursday’s Game 3 in Minneapolis. Really, though, it wasn’t Denver’s lack of defense that was the story. Anthony Edwards shot just 6-for-15 from the field and was held to 17 points. No Minnesota starter scored more than 20 points (McDaniels had 20). It was Ayo Dosunmu who led the Timberwolves with 25 points off the bench. The story was how Minnesota locked down the Nuggets and specifically Nikola Jokić. Jokić racked up 27 points, but he shot just 7-for-26 from the field. Jamal Murray was 5-for-17 and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Aaron Gordon didn’t play due to a calf injury, which gives a semi-reasonable excuse for Denver’s 113-96 loss. It also helps explain why the Nuggets still have the same odds as the Wolves to advance despite a 2-1 series deficit. Regardless, it puts a lot of pressure on Denver to deliver in Saturday’s Game 4, in which the Nuggets are small favorites. Series odds: Lakers -1400, Rockets +850 In a first round that has seen a number of higher seeds labor, the Lakers are the first team to take a 3-0 series lead. The Lakers that weren’t even favored to advance at the start of the series. After Friday’s overtime win in Game 3, the Lakers can take their time with the injured Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. What a luxury. LeBron James had a steal and 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to tie the game and the Lakers ended up winning in overtime. The 41-year-old is still adding legendary plays to his collection. Things are impossibly bleak for the Rockets, which were without Kevin Durant for the second game this series. If Durant gets healthy before the Lakers’ pair, Houston may have a shot at a comeback, but it’s a steep mountain at this point. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms