The Scoop: Lawson played five minutes of garbage time as the Mavericks were dismantled by the Thunder down the stretch. Dallas will be hoping to reverse the result in Game 2, hoping to head home with the series locked at 1-1.

 The Scoop: Hardaway returned to action following a four-game absence as a result of an ankle injury. While he does, in theory, provide Dallas with another scoring option off the bench, that was not the case here. If they are to trouble the Thunder, Hardaway is going to need to be more of a reliable threat.

 The Scoop: Gobert has now tied Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for the most DPOY awards in NBA history with four. Gobert was the anchor Minnesota defense, which boasted a league-best 108.4 defensive rating. The defensive stalwart's 2.1 blocks per game ranked sixth in the NBA while his 12.9 rebounds per contest ranked second.

 The Scoop: Gordon played with tons of energy and tried to spark the rest of the team throughout the game, but his efforts were unsuccessful. This game snapped a three-game streak of Gordon not being able to reach double-digit figures in the scoring column, and Gordon needs to remain a valuable offensive alternative for the Nuggets if they want to have a shot at turning the series around, especially given the struggles of both Jamal Murray and Michael Porter.

 The Scoop: Jokic can change a game by himself at any point of a contest and is dominant enough to carry Denver to victory on a regular basis, but he hasn't been able to do it in the first two games of the current series. The two-time MVP winner is averaging 27.0 points, 15.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game through seven playoff contests. While he remains an absolute stud in fantasy regardless of what happens with the Nuggets as a team, he needs his teammates to take a step forward to avoid an early exit in their quest to win back-to-back NBA titles.

 The Scoop: Jackson exited the contest with eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and considering the deficit Denver faced when he left, it seems unlikely that he'll return. He'll be considered day-to-day until the team provides additional details on his status.

 The Scoop: Anderson will take Rudy Gobert's (personal) spot in the starting lineup. Anderson didn't factor in much during Game 1, finishing with two points, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes of action. While Anderson is set to draw the start, look for Naz Reid to play a key role off the bench after dropping 14 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday's Game 1.

 The Scoop: Gobert was added to the team's injury report earlier in the day due to a personal matter, and he's since been downgraded to out after Charania confirmed the birth of Gobert's first child. Look for Naz Reid, who put up 16 points in Game 1, and Kyle Anderson to see an increased workload in the frontcourt Monday night.

 The Scoop: Wembanyama was the clear favorite for this year's Rookie of the Year honors, averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.6 blocks in 29.7 minutes per appearance over 71 games during his first NBA campaign. It's also worth noting that the 7-foot-4 center is one of three finalists for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, which speaks to the monumental impact he had on both ends of the court this season for the Spurs.

 The Scoop: Porter didn't play during the opening-round series and will remain sidelined to start the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Even if the undrafted rookie is cleared, he isn't guaranteed playing time in the postseason.