2024 NBA playoffs: Schedule, times, TV info with dates set for first round, Play-In wraps up Friday (2024)

The NBA postseason has arrived. Two months of postseason basketball got started on Tuesday night with the opening games of the Play-In Tournament, and the playoffs will keep going through the NBA Finals in June. Most playoff seeds were determined on Sunday in a hectic day to close the regular season, but the Play-In Tournament is setting the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in both conferences.Here's a look at the complete playoff picture.

In the East, the 76ers came from behind to beat the Heat on Wednesday night to get the No. 7 seed and a first-round meeting with the Knicks. In the nightcap, the Bulls ended the Hawks' season, advancing in the Play-In Tournament to face Miami for the No. 8 seed on Friday.

The Lakers and Kings were victorious in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night. The Lakers grabbed the West's No. 7 seed in the process, and the Kings ousted the Warriors. It will be Kings vs. Pelicans on Friday night to determine the West's No. 8 seed.

The six first-round series set in stone right now are Nuggets-Lakers, Timberwolves-Suns, Clippers-Mavericks, Bucks-Pacers, Cavaliers-Magic and Knicks-76ers. The NBA recently unveiled dates for every first-round game, including game times and TV/streaming info for the first four games of every series.

Below is the up-to-date 2024 NBA playoffs schedule.

All NBA playoff games airing on ABC, ESPN and NBA TV will be streaming on fubo (try for free).

Play-In Tournament schedule, scores

(All times Eastern)

Tuesday, April 16
No. 8 Lakers 110, No. 7 Pelicans 106
No. 9 Kings 118, No. 10 Warriors 94

Wednesday, April 17
No. 7 76ers 105, No. 8 Knicks 104
No. 9 Bulls 131, No. 10 Hawks 116

Friday, April 19
Heat vs. Bulls, 7 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Pelicans vs. Kings, 9:30 p.m., TNT

2024 NBA playoffs schedule: First round

(All times Eastern)

Saturday, April 20
Game 1: Cavaliers vs. Magic, 1 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 1:Timberwolvesvs. Suns, 3:30, ESPN/fubo
Game 1: Knicks vs. 76ers, 6 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 1: Nuggets vs. Lakers, 8:30 p.m., ABC/fubo

Sunday, April 21
Game 1: Celtics vs. East No. 8, 1 p.m., ABC/fubo
Game 1:Clippersvs.Mavericks, 3:30 p.m., ABC/fubo
Game 1: Bucks vs. Pacers, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 1: Thunder vs. West No. 8, 9:30 p.m., TNT

Monday, April 22
Game 2: Cavaliers vs. Magic, 7 p.m., NBA TV/fubo
Game 2: Knicks vs. 76ers, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 2: Nuggets vs. Lakers, 10 p.m., TNT

Tuesday, April 23
Game 2: Timberwolves vs. Suns, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 2: Bucks vs. Pacers, 8:30 p.m., NBA TV/fubo
Game 2: Clippers vs. Mavericks, 10 p.m., TNT

Wednesday, April 24
Game 2: Celtics vs. East No. 8, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 2: Thunder vs. West No. 8, 9:30 p.m., TNT

Thursday, April 25
Game 3: Magic vs. Cavaliers, 7 p.m., NBA TV/fubo
Game 3: 76ers vs. Knicks, 7:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3: Lakers vs. Nuggets, 10 p.m., TNT

Friday, April 26
Game 3: Pacers vs. Bucks, 5:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 3: Mavericks vs. Clippers, 8 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Game 3: Suns vs. Timberwolves, 10:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo

Saturday, April 27
Game 4: Magic vs. Cavaliers, 1 p.m., TNT
Game 3: West No. 8 vs. Thunder, 3:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3: East No. 8 vs. Celtics, 6 p.m., TNT
Game 4: Lakers vs. Nuggets, 8:30 p.m., ABC/fubo

Sunday, April 28
Game 4: Knicks vs. 76ers, 1 p.m., ABC/fubo
Game 4: Mavericks vs. Clippers, 3:30 p.m., ABC/fubo
Game 4: Pacers vs. Bucks, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 4: Suns vs. Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m., TNT

Monday, April 29
Game 4: East No. 8 vs. Celtics, TBD
Game 4: West No. 8 vs. Thunder, TBD
Game 5*: Nuggets vs. Lakers, TBD

Tuesday, April 30
Game 5*: Knicks vs. 76ers, TBD
Game 5*: Bucks vs. Pacers, TBD
Game 5*: Cavaliers vs. Magic, TBD
Game 5*: Timberwolves vs. Suns, TBD

Wednesday, May 1
Game 5*: Celtics vs. East No. 8, TBD
Game 5*: Thunder vs. West No. 8, TBD
Game 5*: Clippers vs. Mavericks, TBD

Thursday, May 2
Game 6*: 76ers vs. Knicks, TBD
Game 6*: Pacers vs. Bucks, TBD
Game 6*: Suns vs. Timberwolves, TBD
Game 6*: Lakers vs. Nuggets, TBD

Friday, May 3
Game 6*: East No. 8 vs. Celtics, TBD
Game 6*: Magic vs. Cavaliers, TTBD
Game 6*: Mavericks vs. Clippers, TBD
Game 6*: West No. 8 vs. Thunder, TBD

Saturday, May 4
Game 7*: Knicks vs. 76ers, TBD
Game 7*: Bucks vs. Pacers, TBD
Game 7*: Timberwolves vs. Suns, TBD
Game 7*: Nuggets vs. Lakers, TBD

Sunday, May 5
Game 7*: Celtics vs. East No. 8, TBD
Game 7*: Cavaliers vs. Magic, TBD
Game 7*: West No. 8 vs. Thunder, TBD
Game 7*: Clippers vs. Mavericks, TBD

2024 NBA playoff dates

  • April 20-21: Start of first round
  • May 4-7: Start of second round
  • May 19-22: Start of Conference Finals
  • June 6: NBA Finals Game 1
  • June 23: NBA Finals Game 7 (if necessary)
2024 NBA playoffs: Schedule, times, TV info with dates set for first round, Play-In wraps up Friday (2024)

FAQs

How to watch NBA playoffs 2024? ›

The NBA playoffs will broadcast on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. Most traditional cable/satellite subscriptions have packages including some or all of these channels.

How many games are in the first round of the NBA playoffs? ›

Each series within these rounds adheres to a best-of-seven format, where a team must win four games to advance to the next stage.

What channel are the NBA Finals on tonight? ›

NBA Finals schedule

The 2024 NBA Finals will begin June 6, airing on ABC.

How to watch NBA playoffs for free? ›

Fans can livestream tonight's game and other NBA playoff games for free by using the free trials offered by DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV. If both of those have already been used, then fans can get an affordable Sling subscription and receive a first month discount.

What channel are the NBA Playoffs on? ›

The NBA Playoffs will air on ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV.

What is the new NBA playoff format? ›

The tournament format was introduced in the 2020-2021 season, and in July 2022, the format was made a permanent feature of the postseason. The bracket for each conference is as follows: The 7th and 8th place teams play each other, and the winner becomes the 7-seed. The 9th and 10th place teams play each other.

How does first round of NBA playoffs work? ›

Each series is played as the best of seven games, with the team winning four advancing to the next round. Teams are reseeded after each round, so the highest-seeded remaining team always plays against the lowest-seeded team. The NBA playoffs typically begin in April and end in June.

How is the NBA playoff bracket setup? ›

The NBA Playoffs has 16 total teams, with the top 8 teams from each conference participating. Teams in each conference will be seeded from 1 to 8 based on their record. The teams with the best record in their conferences will be the overall number 1 seeds, 2nd best record will be number 2 seeds and so on.

How long does the first round of the NBA playoffs last? ›

The playoffs start on Week 20 and run through the end of the NBA's regular season (4½ weeks). Round 1 takes place during Weeks 20 and 21 (two weeks), and Round 2 takes place during Weeks 22 and 23 (2½ weeks).

What channel are the Celtics on tonight? ›

The NBA playoff second round matchups continue tonight, as the Boston Celtics play against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

How to watch the Celtics tonight? ›

You can watch today's game with the Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle. The bundle features 95 channels, including ABC, TNT, local network affiliates and ESPN. It also includes the ESPN+ streaming service.

Where can I watch Celtics game 2? ›

How can I stream the Cavs vs. Celtics Game 2 NBA playoff game? Fans can stream the game with a valid subscription login via Watch ESPN or by using the ESPN app.

How to watch the playoffs? ›

Sling TV is our top choice to stream the NBA Playoffs. There are 40 channels to watch in total, including ABC, NBC and Fox (where available). You get access to NBA games airing on TNT.

Is NBA app free to watch? ›

All live streams are located within the “Watch” tab of the NBA App. Is NBA CrunchTime Free To Watch? Yes! NBA CrunchTime is free for all users in the U.S. An NBA League Pass subscription is not required.

How to watch Celtics vs Cavs? ›

What channel is the Cavs vs. Celtics game on? Game 2 of the Eastern Conference series will be televised on ESPN. You can also watch it on Fubo TV, which offers a free trial.

Where can you stream NBA Playoffs? ›

Watch today's game, the 2024 NBA playoffs, MLB this season and network-aired NFL games next season with Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle. Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+. It's priced at $77 per month after a three-day free trial.

How can I watch the NBA Finals playoffs? ›

One of the most cost-effective ways to stream today's NBA playoff game is through a subscription to Sling TV. To watch today's game, you'll need a subscription to the Orange tier, which includes TNT and ESPN.

Can I watch the NBA Finals on Amazon Prime? ›

Yes. An active Prime membership is required to sign up for either the annual or monthly NBA TV plans.

Does Hulu have NBA Playoffs? ›

Watch the NBA with Hulu + Live TV

Don't miss a moment of the NBA playoffs. Watch over 95+ live channels plus Hulu's entire streaming library, along with access to Disney+ and ESPN+. No Cable Required.

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