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The home teams took care of business last night, with the Cavaliers, Knicks and Nuggets all winning to go 2-0 up in their respective series. The Knicks needed a wild finish that started with a lucky bounce on a 3-pointer from Jalen Brunson followed by a steal, a scramble and a go-ahead 3-pointer from Donte DiVincenzo in the closing seconds. Madison Square Garden erupted, and the Knicks left the court with a 104-101 victory over the 76ers.
In the nightcap, the Nuggets trailed the Lakers for most of the night as LeBron James was magnificent on both ends of the court. LeBron’s efforts weren’t enough, though, as the Nuggets clawed their way back from a 20-point second-half deficit and won the game 101-99 on a buzzer-beater from Jamal Murray.
Tuesday brings three more contests, with Game 2s coming up for the Suns-Timberwolves, Pacers-Bucks and Mavs-Clippers.
Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the NBA playoffs.
Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves will look to go up 2-0 tonight in their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
How to watch the NBA playoffs
The NBA playoffs are being shown across four channels: ABC, ESPN, TNT 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 TNT broadcasts of playoff games with Max.
What is the playoff schedule for today?
Here’s the schedule for today’s games, and for the next few days (all times ET):
Tuesday, April 23Suns vs. Timberwolves, 7:30 p.m. on TNT (Timberwolves lead series 1-0)Pacers vs. Bucks, 8:30 p.m. on NBA TV (Bucks lead series 1-0)Mavericks vs. Clippers, 10 p.m. on TNT (Clippers lead series 1-0)Wednesday, April 24Heat vs. Celtics, 7 p.m. on TNT (Celtics lead series 1-0)Pelicans vs. Thunder, 9:30 p.m. on TNT (Thunder lead series 1-0)Thursday, April 25Cavaliers vs. Magic, 7 p.m. on NBA TV (Cavaliers lead series 2-0)Knicks vs. 76ers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT (Knicks lead series 2-0)Nuggets vs. Lakers, 10 p.m. on TNT (Nuggets lead series 2-0)Friday, April 26Bucks vs. Pacers, 5:30 p.m. on ESPN (Bucks lead series 1-0)
Clippers vs. Mavericks, 8 p.m. on ESPN (Clippers lead series 1-0)Timberwolves vs. Suns, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN (Timberwolves lead series 1-0)
What does the NBA playoff bracket look like?
The Boston Celtics earned the top spot in the East, and the Oklahoma City Thunder edged the defending champion Denver Nuggets for the top seed in the West. Here’s what the matchups look like for the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs:
Eastern Conference No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 Miami HeatNo. 2 New York Knicks vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ersNo. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 Indiana PacersNo. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Orlando MagicWestern ConferenceNo. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 New Orleans PelicansNo. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 7 Los Angeles LakersNo. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 6 Phoenix SunsNo. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks Sarah Tew/CNET
YouTube TV costs $73 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.
Sling DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream’s $109-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’re 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.
CNET
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $77 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 Plus Live TV review.
Max/Warner Bros. Discovery
The ad-supported plan for Max costs $10 per month and will show TNT broadcasts of NBA playoff games. With just Max, you’ll miss games on ESPN, ABC and NBA TV.
Live sports on Max will soon require the $10-per-month B/R Sports add-on, but you won’t need to shell out for it just yet. Warner Bros. Discovery is delaying charging customers for the add-on for now and includes it in the standard subscription.
Read our Max review.
All the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime, and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.