NBA Playoff results: Lebron and Donic’s Lakers, Antetokounmpo’s Bucks on the brink

Sunday night saw two potentially seismic results in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Both the LA Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks are staring down the barrel of a Round 1 exit having slipped to a 3-1 deficit in their respective series.

Neither team is playing on Monday, giving both sets of coaches time to reset and regroup before a run of three must-win games to rescue their postseason ambitions.

Can Lebron and Luka save the Lakers?

The LA Lakers’ midseason move for Luka Doncic was one of the most astonishing trades in NBA history, bringing two of the league’s most dynamic stars together in Los Angeles. Even a 40-year-old Lebron James has the talent to win any game and in Doncic the Lakers have a generational offensive talent.

However the midseason trade gave little opportunity to work on a new system that incorporates both outsized talents. The addition of Doncic undoubtedly gave the Lakers more firepower down the stretch in the regular season but it remains to be seen if this team has the chemistry to challenge for a title.

On Sunday, Lakers head coach J. J. Redick bet big on the talents, playing the same five players for the entirety of the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It didn’t pay off. As an unwell Doncic and aging Lebron appeared to tire, the Timberwolves pulled away to take the game and a 3-1 series lead. The Lakers return to Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday knowing that they must win to keep the series alive.

Can the Bucks overtake the Pacers?

Through the regular season there was little to choose between the Milwaukee Bucks (50-32) and the Indiana Pacers (48-34). But that modest difference has looked like a yawning chasm so far in this best-of-seven series, particularly during Sunday’s 129-103 road win for the Pacers.

The Pacers need just one more win to eliminate the Bucks for a second consecutive season and look to be building something special under head coach Rick Carlisle. He has crafted the team to prioritise the collective, with eight players recording 10+ points during Sunday’s win. In stark contrast, only three Bucks players hit that figure.

The pressure will be on Giannis Antetokounmpo to drag Milwauee through but he will have to do it without the presence of Damian Lillard, who looks to be out for the remainder of the season. He was forced to exit in the first quarter on Sunday and looks to have sustained an Achilles tendon injury.

Making things even more difficult, the Pacers will host Game 5 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in front of a fervent home crowd. If Milwaukee can turn this series around it will represent a historic achievement, one that could be one of the biggest playoff shocks of recent years.

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