2025 NBA playoffs: Western Conference Round 1 takeaways - ESPN

The 2024-25 NBA playoffs are in full swing, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals.

The No. 4 seed Denver Nuggets and No. 5 seed LA Clippers played another close thriller Monday, this time with the Clips grinding out a Game 2 win thanks to Kawhi Leonard's stellar performance. The series now heads to Intuit Dome in Inglewood for the first playoff games at the NBA's newest arena.

On Tuesday, the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder had another dominant win over the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies as they prepare to switch home court for Game 3. The No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers evened things up against the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves behind Luka Doncic's 31 points.

As the West playoffs continue, here's what matters most and what to watch for in all four series.

Jump to a series:
Thunder-Grizzlies | Rockets-Warriors
Lakers-Timberwolves | Nuggets-Clippers

More coverage:
East first-round takeaways
Schedules and results | Offseason guides

Game 2: Lakers 94, Timberwolves 85

What we learned:

If there was one sequence that perfectly illustrated the extra edge the Lakers brought to Game 2 after being pushed around in Game 1, it was Rui Hachimura yanking off his face mask, tossing it to the side and running down the court to keep competing. Hachimura didn't let a hit to the face and a bloodied nose keep him out early on Tuesday, and the Lakers didn't let Minnesota's series-opening surge keep them from looking like the contender they've been rounding into since acquiring Doncic.

L.A. flipped from feeble to forceful on a laundry list of Saturday's issues. After being routed 25-6 in fast-break points, they led 13-6 on Tuesday, and after Minnesota shot 21-for-42 on 3-pointers, the Lakers' perimeter