Two Playoff Games Tonight

Two first-round NBA series shift on Saturday after Detroit and Oklahoma City grabbed control Wednesday night. (nba.com) The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 98-83 in Game 2 on April 22 to even that East series at 1-1. Cade Cunningham scored 33 points, and the series moves to Orlando for Game 3 at 1 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, April 25. (espn.com) The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 120-107 in Game 2 on April 22 and lead that West series 2-0. Oklahoma City won Game 1 by 35 points, 119-84, before heading to Phoenix for Game 3 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday. (espn.com) Detroit entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after a 60-22 regular season, while Orlando arrived as the No. 8 seed after the play-in round. Orlando still stole Game 1 in Detroit, 112-101, before the Pistons answered in Game 2. (espn.com) Oklahoma City is the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and Phoenix is the No. 8 seed. Through two games, the Thunder have outscored the Suns by 48 points combined. (espn.com) Those results changed the shape of both matchups in two nights. Detroit avoided falling behind 0-2 at home, and Oklahoma City protected home court before the series shifts to Phoenix. (nba.com) The first round began on April 18 after the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament ran from April 14 through April 17. Under the league schedule, first-round series use the standard best-of-seven format with Games 3 and 4 at the lower seed’s arena. (nba.com) The national TV setup has also changed this postseason. The Sporting News reported that the 2026 playoffs are being carried across ESPN and ABC, NBC and Peacock, and Prime Video under the league’s new media-rights arrangement. (sportingnews.com) For now, the next pressure point is simple: Detroit needs a road win after splitting at home, and Phoenix needs one after losing both games in Oklahoma City. By Saturday night, both series will look either newly open or close to decided. (nba.com)