By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
Houston has already won a game to stave off elimination. And now, Phoenix and Denver will look to do the same.
Otherwise, the first round might soon be winding down.
So far, only two conference quarterfinal series — New York vs. Atlanta and Cleveland vs. Toronto — have a Game 6 that’s guaranteed. The other six remaining opening-round matchups still could end in either four or five games.
It’s possible that six first-round series are completed by Wednesday. Some might even end on Monday, when the schedule features three games: Orlando will seek a 3-1 lead at home against Detroit, Phoenix will look to avoid a sweep against Oklahoma City, and Denver looks to stave off elimination against short-handed Minnesota.
If Phoenix beats Oklahoma City, there will be no sweeps in Round 1 — something that hasn’t happened since the 2003 playoffs.
Sunday recaps
— Raptors 93, Cavaliers 89 to tie series at 2-2.
— Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 93 for 3-1 series lead. Wemby has concerns.
— Celtics 128, 76ers 96 for 3-1 series lead. Embiid returned, to no avail.
— Rockets 115, Lakers 96 to get within 3-1 in series. Might Durant play?
Stories of note
— Edwards out, DiVincenzo has surgery
— An interesting year for Tiago Splitter
— There’s a standard in Oklahoma City
— Taylor Jenkins set to return to Milwaukee
— AJ Dybantsa formally enters NBA draft
— Donovan steps down as Chicago’s coach
— Warriors brace for possible Kerr departure
— Some news, notes going into the postseason
— Heat equipment manager needs transplants
Awards watch
Awards season is in full swing in the NBA and will resume Monday with the Rookie of the Year announcement (7 p.m. EDT, Peacock/NBCSN).
The rookie finalists: VJ Edgecombe of Philadelphia, Cooper Flagg of Dallas and Kon Knueppel of Charlotte.
Other awards being announced this week are Basketball Executive of the Year on Tuesday, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year on Wednesday and the Hustle Award on Thursday. They’ll all be announced at 1 p.m. EDT on one of the NBA’s social media channels.
A breakdown on awards handed out to this point:
— San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama became the youngest Defensive Player of the Year, and the first to win the award in a unanimous vote.
— Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nearly became the first unanimous winner of the Clutch Player of the Year award. He got 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes.
— San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson topped Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year, getting 63 first-place votes.
— Boston’s Derrick White was revealed as the Sportsmanship Award winner, as selected by the league’s players. Indiana’s TJ McConnell — who got more first-place votes than anyone else — was second.
— Atlanta now has back-to-back Most Improved Player winners, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker taking that trophy this year. Dyson Daniels won for the Hawks last year.
Among the announcements still to be scheduled:
— Most Valuable Player, which will be either Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
— Coach of the Year, which will be either Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla.
Monday’s games
8 p.m. EDT — Game 4, Detroit at Orlando (NBC/Peacock)
9:30 p.m. EDT — Game 4, Oklahoma City at Phoenix (Peacock/NBCSN)
10:30 p.m. EDT — Game 4, Minnesota at Denver (NBC/Peacock)
Tuesday’s games
7 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Philadelphia at Boston (ESPN)
8 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Atlanta at New York (NBC/Peacock)
9:30 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Portland at San Antonio (ESPN)
Wednesday’s games
7 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Orlando at Detroit (Prime)
7:30 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Toronto at Cleveland (ESPN)
9:30 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Phoenix at Oklahoma City (Prime), if necessary
10 p.m. EDT — Game 5, Houston at LA Lakers (ESPN)
Betting odds
The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (-120) are favorites to win the NBA title, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+400), Boston (+550), Cleveland (+1600), New York (+2500) and the Los Angeles Lakers (+2500).
Denver is +3000, followed by Detroit (+3500). Minnesota, even with a 3-1 series lead entering Monday, is at +20000 after the injuries to Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards.
Key dates
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
Quote of the day
“We need to find the answers before having our back against the wall. But that also shows the strength of our team. In adversity, we stick together. We get closer to each other. We feed off of each other’s energy.” — San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, after the Spurs rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit before blowing out Portland for a 3-1 series lead. It was San Antonio’s league-best ninth win after trailing by 15 or more in a game this season.
Stats of the day
— Boston has beaten Philadelphia by 32 points on two separate occasions so far in their Eastern Conference first-round series. The last time the Celtics had two wins by 32 or more points in the same series was 1965 — in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
— LeBron James’ teams are now 12-3 in Game 4s with a chance to sweep a series. His teams had been 9-0 in such games since 2013, before Sunday night’s loss in Houston.
— Toronto scored 93 points in its Game 4 win. Teams scoring 93 or less are now 3-94 this season — but teams allowing 89 or less (as the Raptors did against Cleveland on Sunday) are 46-0.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba