NBA Playoffs 2025: TV Schedule, First Round Matchups, How to Watch Today’s Games

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The Boston Celtics have begun their title defense in search of the franchise’s 19th NBA championship. They entered the NBA playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the East and have a first-round matchup against the No. 7 Orlando Magic. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the top seed in the East and are taking on the Miami Heat, who are the No. 8 seed coming out of the play-in tournament.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won an NBA-best 68 games this season and are the top seed in the West behind what is likely to be an MVP campaign for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the league in scoring at 32.7 points a game. If SGA doesn’t win MVP honors, then it will be Nikola Jokić winning his fourth MVP in the last five years. The Denver Nuggets center became just the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double for the season, finishing third in scoring (29.6 points per game) and rebounds (12.7 per game) and second in assists (10.2 per game). 

The most interesting development in the league this season was the shocking trade that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, pairing him with LeBron James. Luka, LeBron and the Lakers are the No. 3 seed in the West and are battling Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round.

The first round of the NBA playoffs is in full swing. Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the NBA playoffs.

What is the NBA playoffs schedule for today?

Here is the schedule for today’s games and through the weekend (all times ET): 

Wednesday, April 23

• Game 2: Magic at Celtics, 7 p.m. on TNT, TruTV and Max 
• Game 2: Heat at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV 
• Game 2: Warriors at Rockets, 9:30 p.m. on TNT, TruTV and Max 

Thursday, April 24

• Game 3: Knicks at Pistons, 7 p.m. on TNT
• Game 3: Thunder at Grizzlies, 9:30 p.m. on TNT 
• Game 3: Nuggets at Clippers, 10 p.m. on NBA TV

Friday, April 25

• Game 3: Celtics at Magic, 7 p.m. on ESPN
• Game 3: Pacers at Bucks, 8 p.m. on ESPNU and NBA TV
• Game 3: Lakers at Timberwolves, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN

Saturday, April 26

• Game 3: Cavaliers at Heat, 1 p.m. on TNT
• Game 4: Thunder at Grizzlies, 3:30 p.m. on TNT 
• Game 4: Nuggets at Clippers, 6 p.m. on TNT
• Game 3: Rockets at Warriors, 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC

Sunday, April 27

• Game 4: Knicks at Pistons, 1 p.m. on ABC
• Game 4: Lakers at Timberwolves, 3:30 p.m. on ABC 
• Game 4: Celtics at Magic, 7 p.m. on TNT
• Game 4: Pacers at Bucks, 9:30 p.m. on TNT

What does the NBA playoff bracket look like?

The Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the East, and the Oklahoma City Thunder ran away with the top seed in the West. Here’s what the matchups look like for the 2024 NBA Playoffs and where each series stands heading into Wednesday’s first-round games:

Eastern Conference 

• No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Heat (Cavs lead series 1-0)
• No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 7 Orlando Magic (Celtics lead series 1-0)
• No. 3 New York Knicks vs. No. 6 Detroit Pistons (series tied 1-1)
• No. 4 Indiana Pacers vs. No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks (Pacers lead series 2-0)

Western Conference

• No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 Grizzlies (Thunder lead series 2-0)
• No. 2 Houston Rockets vs. No. 7 Golden State Warriors (Warriors lead series 1-0)
• No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (series tied 1-1)
• No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 5 Los Angeles Clippers (series tied 1-1)

How to watch the NBA playoffs

The NBA playoffs will be shown across ABC, ESPN, TNT/TruTV and NBA TV. You can watch the games with a cable subscription or a live TV streaming service. 

Three of the five major services offer all four channels. Hulu with Live TV lacks NBA TV, which will show only a handful of playoff games. Fubo lacks TNT, which shows a big portion of the NBA playoffs, making Fubo a poor choice for hoops fans. You can also watch the TNT/TruTV broadcasts of playoff games with Max.

YouTube TV costs $83 per month and includes all four channels needed to watch every game of the NBA playoffs. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.

Read our YouTube TV review.

DirecTV Stream’s $90-per-month Choice plan includes ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV. You can use its channel lookup tool to see if ABC is available where you live. If you are willing to skip the handful of games on NBA TV, you can get the other three channels with DirecTV Stream’s basic $80-per-month Entertainment package.

Read our DirecTV Stream review.

Hulu with Live TV costs $83 per month and includes ABC, ESPN and TNT. It’s the only service that doesn’t offer NBA TV, even as part of an add-on package. Click the “View channels in your area” link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.

Read our Hulu with Live TV review.

You need the $17-a-month Standard plan to watch live sports on Max. (Either that or the $21-a-month Premium plan that adds 4K streaming.) Max will show the TNT/TruTV broadcasts for the NBA playoffs. With just Max, however, you’ll miss games on ESPN, ABC and NBA TV.

Read our Max review.

All the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.