ESPN - The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs is here, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game of the Eastern and Western conference semifinals.

The No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers kicked off the East semis Sunday night by taking home-court advantage away from the No. 1-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers with a 121-112 victory. The Cavs fell to the Pacers again Tuesday 120-119 after Tyrese Haliburton drilled a 3-pointer with one second left.

After the No. 7 seed Golden State defeated the No. 6-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves 99-88 on Tuesday, the Wolves bounced back Thursday night defeating the Warriors 117-93 in Game 2 to tie the series.

The East’s third-seeded New York Knicks beat the 2-seed Boston Celtics in overtime in Game 1 behind Jalen Brunson’s 29 points before shocking Boston again Wednesday in a 91-90 comeback victory to take a 2-0 series lead. The 4-seed Denver Nuggets toppled the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the West after a fourth-quarter surge in Game 1, but the Thunder came back in Game 2 to even the series with a 43-point win.

The Minnesota Timberwolves tied their game series to 1-1 in a 117-to-93win last night.

Minnesota came out with the necessary force to even this series, starting Game 2 with a 13-0 run with Julius Randle setting the tone with two assists and five points during that surge. With Stephen Curry on the sideline with a strained left hamstring, Golden State fell behind 25-7. The Warriors’ offense went through Jimmy Butler, but there wasn’t enough offense from him as he took only 13 shots. Buddy Hield, now facing better defenders with Curry out, was held in check for much of the game before finishing with 15 points. Brandin Podziemski contributed 11 points, six rebounds and six assists but will probably have to score 20 or more with Curry out for Golden State to have a chance to win. And after hitting four 3-pointers in Game 1, Draymond Green went 1-for-6 from behind the arc. Steve Kerr -- who played 14 players in the first half, most by a team since 1998 -- found a spark in Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Kuminga hit his first seven shots before finishing with 18 points, and Jackson- Davis had 15 points while making all six of his attempts. But they couldn’t overcome the Wolves, especially with Anthony Edwards returning for the second half after he injured his left ankle. Edwards had 20 points and nine rebounds while Randle added 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Jaden McDaniels also played well with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Golden State got within seven in the third quarter but couldn’t get any closer. The Warriors will head back to San Francisco still looking to find where the offense will come from without Curry.

Game 3 : Wolves at Warriors (Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) What to watch : After being held under 100 in its Game 1 win, Golden State continued struggling to score without Curry in Game 2. Golden State’s 39 points in the first half were the fewest it has scored out of its nine playoff games, and it finished with just 93. Without the surprise contributions from Kuminga (18 points on 8-for-11 shooting) and Jackson-Davis (15 points on 6-for-6 shooting), the Warriors’ offense would have been totally inept. The Warriors struggled from 3, going 9-for-32 (28.1%), and Butler, Hield and Green combined to score just 41 points after combining for 62 in Game 1. They will need to generate more points to stay in this series.

As for the Celtics, Game 1 apparently wasn’t a fluke. Like Game 1, the Celtics pulled ahead in the first half and built a 20-point advantage in the third quarter. Like Game 1, the Knicks came roaring back while Boston’s offense went ice cold -- this time for a nearly nine-minute span without a basket in the fourth quarter. And like Game 1, Jalen Brunson and the cardiac Knicks were able to hold on late and stun the defending champions, who have now blown back-to-back 20-point leads and find themselves down 2-0 heading to Madison Square Garden over the weekend.

We’ll find out in Game 3.

As for the Thunder, the Nuggets lost this game on the court. But you’re going to hear a lot about how three-time MVP Nikola Jokic was refereed in Game 2. Officials called him for two straight offensive fouls, leading to him fouling out toward the end of the third quarter. The Thunder made a great adjustment by switching Jaylin Williams onto him in Game 2 in place of Chet Holmgren after Jokic destroyed the OKC frontline Monday. It’ll be interesting to see Denver’s counter in Game 3.