Overview
- Atlanta erased a double-digit hole in the fourth quarter Monday to edge New York 107-106 at Madison Square Garden, with CJ McCollum scoring 32 points to knot the series 1-1.
- Cleveland protected home court with a 115-105 Game 2 win over Toronto, as Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley combined for 82 points to push the Cavaliers ahead 2-0.
- Minnesota outlasted Denver 119-114 on Monday to tie the series 1-1, with Anthony Edwards, who was questionable pregame because of right knee soreness, matching Jamal Murray with 30 points.
- Availability is shaping rotations, as Knicks wing OG Anunoby played through a left ankle sprain, the Raptors listed Immanuel Quickley questionable with a right hamstring strain before Game 2, and the Cavaliers kept Thomas Bryant out with a left calf strain.
- These results flip or reinforce home-court control early, a critical hinge in best-of-seven series where 2-0 leads are often decisive and road Game 2 wins can swing pressure onto higher seeds for Games 3 and 4.