If the NBA had screenwriters, not even they could come up with a start this good to the conference finals.
Victor Wembanyama has 41 points and 24 rebounds. San Antonio goes into Oklahoma City and beats the defending champion Thunder. New York trails by 22 points with about eight minutes left in regulation, then beats Cleveland. Both games go to overtime, a conference finals first. And the score at the end of regulation in both games — 101-101.
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Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) fouls San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) during the first half of Game 1 in a third-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 18, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson reacts after a basket during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Spike Lee celebrates during a break in the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates with teammates after winning Game 1 in a third-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday, May 18, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) celebrates with teammates after scoring a three-point basket during the first overtime of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Well done, Spurs and Knicks.
If there was a common trend in both games, it was that the best player on the winning teams decided to become the best player on the floor at crunch time. On Monday night, it was Wembanyama for the Spurs. On Tuesday night, it was Jalen Brunson for the Knicks — who led a 44-11 run over the last 13 minutes.
That's right, 44-11.
“I don't know if I've seen that in a playoff game,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I take my hat off to my group.”
Game 2 of Spurs-Thunder is Wednesday. Game 2 of Knicks-Cavaliers is Thursday. The drama is only going to keep building.
“Found a way. ... We got some stops,” Brunson said. “Kept fighting, kept believing, kept chipping away.”
The numbers — from both games — are of the video game variety.
Start with what happened at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. A 44-11 run doesn't happen in the NBA, certainly not in the conference finals. Teams that led by 22 points or more in the fourth quarter were 452-1 this season, including playoffs. They're 452-2 now. In the playoffs, teams had won 330 consecutive games when leading by 22 or more points in the fourth quarter since 2013. They're 330-1 now.
Make it make sense.
“I don't have an answer,” Brunson said.
Neither did the Cavaliers, either as it was happening or in the immediate aftermath.
“We got a little unlucky,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Brunson obviously took over at the end. ... We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter, they dominated us in the fourth quarter.”
A 41-point, 24-rebound game doesn't happen that often, either. Wembanyama was brilliant in his conference finals debut, as was Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper. The Spurs, like the Cavs, wasted a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and settled for overtime; San Antonio's lead was 10, not 22, but still double digits.
Unlike the Cavs, they found a way to settle down — repeatedly, really — in the two extra periods Monday night.
“That game was in the balance multiple times for both teams,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Tuesday. “You can't get preoccupied with the outcome because there was so much in the balance that could have went either way.”
In short, stealing home-court advantage by winning Game 1 doesn't mean the Spurs think the series is over. And the Thunder know that Game 1 is meaningful — but not a deciding game by any stretch.
“The cumulative experience just teaches you that it’s a series,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Tuesday. “Game 1’s a starting point, not an end point. We’ve lost playoff series that we’ve won Game 1 pretty convincingly. And we’ve also won series that we won Game 1. So, every series is different. It’s the first to four. They’re 25% of the way there and we’re at zero right now. But there’s a lot of basketball left to be played. I think this team kind of understands the length of the series, the length of the playoff run and the length of a playoff game.”
The defending champions are feeling some pressure. New York is rocking. Wembanyama's star keeps rising. The Cavaliers — winners of two Game 7s in these playoffs — need to dig their way out of trouble, again.
The start to these conference-final stories was stellar. Chapter 2 awaits.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) fouls San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet (7) during the first half of Game 1 in a third-round NBA basketball playoffs series Monday, May 18, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson reacts after a basket during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Spike Lee celebrates during a break in the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates with teammates after winning Game 1 in a third-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday, May 18, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) celebrates with teammates after scoring a three-point basket during the first overtime of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
ATLANTA (AP) — Derek Dooley will compete against Rep. Mike Collins for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in a June 16 runoff, as neither received at least 50% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary to win outright.
Collins, 58, represents a district east of Atlanta. Dooley, 57, is a lawyer and former football coach running for office the first time.
Candidate Rep. Buddy Carter, 68, did not qualify for the runoff.
The winner of the runoff will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, 39, in November. Ossoff is the only Democratic senator in the country seeking reelection this year in a state that President Donald Trump won in 2024. Republicans are hopeful that they can oust him and prevent Democrats from gaining a Senate majority.
Meanwhile, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic nomination to be Georgia’s next governor on Tuesday, setting up a November election where she hopes to win a seat that has eluded her party for more than two decades.
Bottoms snagged a rare endorsement from former President Joe Biden after serving in his administration. She has argued to voters that she was “battle-tested,” trying to make a virtue out of a mayoral term where she had to manage crime, disorder and the COVID-19 pandemic before her surprise decision not to seek reelection.
Following her win Tuesday night, Bottoms said she was going to work to make sure “every Georgian has an opportunity to succeed."
“It means stopping Donald Trump every time his policies hurt Georgia, and also taking action here to make life better for people across the state,” she said.
She cites protecting the right to vote and expanding healthcare, affordable housing and better education as among her top issues.
Democrats have not won the Georgia governor’s office for 24 years. It’s the third consecutive time that Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman as their candidate for governor, reflecting a party that relies on support from Black women as its most loyal voters.
In the Republican primary for governor, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare billionaire Rick Jackson have advanced to the June 16 runoff, extending a bruising campaign battle.
Trump endorsed Jones last year, and Jones thanked him Tuesday night. A Jones win would boost the president's influence in a critical battleground state. Trump's kingmaker record in Georgia had been shaky, failing to dislodge Gov. Brian Kemp and others in 2022 and backing Herschel Walker in a Senate loss that year.
Ossoff, 39, had no opposition in Tuesday's primary. This is his first reelection campaign.
He's the only Democratic senator in the country seeking reelection this year in a state that Trump won in 2024, making his race one of the most closely watched in the country. He has positioned himself as a critic of political corruption, targeting Trump and his sons for business dealings that have enriched the first family.
Meanwhile, the Republican primary has been a test of fealty to the president.
Carter has attacked Collins over a House ethics complaint accusing him of abusing taxpayer funds by paying the girlfriend of a top aide for work she allegedly didn't perform. The Office of Congressional Conduct, after an initial inquiry, has referred the matter to the House Ethics Committee.
Collins denies wrongdoing.
“If taxpayers can’t trust you to properly steward their money, how can they trust you to be a U.S. senator?” Carter asked Collins in a primary debate.
“Buddy,” Collins shot back, “I can tell through your voice that you know how the polling is going out there.”
Collins sponsored the Laken Riley Act, a 2025 law that requires immigrants be detained when charged with certain crimes. Republicans believe the issue damages Ossoff because he initially voted against the measure before supporting it after Trump’s 2024 victory.
Collins criticized Ossoff during remarks Tuesday night. He talked up his support for the Lake Riley Act and looked ahead to the general election.
“You can replace a Democrat with an actual conservative,” he said.
More than $125 million has been spent on advertising in the Republican primary for governor, with more than $66 million of that spent by Jackson’s campaign, according to the latest figures from ad-tracking firm AdImpact. By contrast, Democrats running for governor have only spent about $4 million.
Jones argues that his conservative record as a state senator and lieutenant governor, combined with Trump's support, should make him the clear choice for Republican voters.
“I think Georgia just spoke, y’all,” Jones said at his election night party. “The reason why I know we’re gonna win is because of friends and family members."
Jackson is betting that his outsider pitch will win over antiestablishment conservatives. On Tuesday night, he called Jones a political insider who is “working inside the system for his own benefit.”
“I cannot be bought, and I will not back down,” Jackson said.
Democrat Jasmine Clark won her party’s nomination on Tuesday to succeed Rep. David Scott for a two-year term representing Georgia’s 13th Congressional District after Scott died in April while seeking another term.
Clark is a state representative, microbiologist and a lecturer at Emory University who has promised to prioritize science in Congress. Her candidacy was boosted by more than $2 million in outside spending by cryptocurrency interests, but Clark said she did not court the support.
Clark will be the odds-on favorite to succeed Scott for a full term starting next January, with Jonathan Chavez unopposed to become the Republican nominee.
In the 11th District northwest of Atlanta, Loudermilk announced his retirement and endorsed staffer Rob Adkerson, who's challenged by neurologist John Cowan and Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore. Cowan has advanced to the runoff.
In the 10th District east of Atlanta, state Rep. Houston Gaines is the top Republican seeking to take the departing Collins' seat. Jim Kingston, the son of longtime U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, is the top Republican to take Carter's seat in coastal Georgia's 1st District.
In northeast Georgia's 9th District, three-term Republican incumbent Andrew Clyde fended off primary challenges from former Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon and Hall County Commissioner Gregg Poole.
Tuesday is the general election for Georgia's judgeships. The posts are technically nonpartisan, but eight of the nine justices on the state Supreme Court were appointed by Republicans governors. Democrats are supporting Miracle Rankin in her challenge to Justice Charlie Bethel. They hope a strong Democratic turnout could produce the first defeat of an incumbent justice since 1922.
Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren won over Democrat-supported former state Sen. Jen Jordan on Tuesday. A third justice, Ben Land, is unopposed for a six-year term.
The state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which investigates allegations of wrongdoing by judges, said in statements dated Sunday that Jordan and Rankin violated rules of judicial conduct by publicly endorsing each other and making statements supporting the restoration of abortion rights.
The commission said it reached its conclusions, which are not a final determination, after receiving and reviewing a complaint about each candidate.
State Democratic Party Chair Charlie Bailey called the commission's statements “a cynical attempt by a mere bureaucratic arm of the Georgia Republican establishment to hide the truth about this race from Georgia voters.”
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This article has been corrected to show it's the Laken Riley Act, not the Lake Riley Act.
Amy is a former Associated Press reporter. Associated Press reporter Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, contributed.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Derek Dooley speaks at a campaign stop at Farmview Market in Madison, Ga., on May 8, 2026. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Georgia gubernatorial candidate Burt Jones meets with supporters during a primary election night watch party, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Jackson, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., speaks to supporters in Acworth, Ga., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy)
Georgia Republican candidate for governor Burt Jones speaks to supporters Tuesday, May 12, 2026, in Smyrna, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson speaks to voters during a campaign stop, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Hiram, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, arrives to vote early in the Georgia Primary Election, Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
