Cavaliers meet Knicks as NBA conference finals begin today

The NBA’s final four is set, and the conference finals begin Monday, May 18, with two series that arrived by different routes. Oklahoma City opens the Western Conference finals at home against San Antonio on Monday night after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, while New York hosts Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday, May 19, according to NBA.com. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enters the week with another individual honor. The Thunder guard was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for a second straight season on Sunday, one day before Oklahoma City’s West finals opener, according to the NBA and the Associated Press. The bracket also reflects how late the East field settled. (nba.com) Cleveland reached the conference finals by beating Detroit 125-94 in Game 7 on Sunday, while New York advanced earlier with a 4-0 semifinal sweep of Philadelphia, NBA.com’s playoff schedule shows. ### When do the games start, and who has home court? Oklahoma City and San Antonio begin on Monday, May 18, at 8:30 p.m. (apnews.com) ET in Oklahoma City, with NBC and Peacock carrying the game, NBA.com said. The Thunder, listed as the No. 1 seed in the West, host Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 if needed. New York and Cleveland start on Tuesday, May 19, at 8 p.m. (nba.com) ET at Madison Square Garden, with ESPN broadcasting Game 1, according to NBA.com. The Knicks are listed as the No. 3 seed and the Cavaliers as the No. 4 seed, putting New York at home for Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 if necessary. ### How did Oklahoma City and San Antonio get here? (nba.com) Oklahoma City arrived with the cleanest path of the four remaining teams. NBA.com’s playoff page shows the Thunder swept the Lakers 4-0 in the conference semifinals after taking Games 1 through 4 by margins ranging from five to 23 points. San Antonio needed six games to move past Minnesota. (nba.com) The Spurs lost Game 1 of that series 104-102, then won four of the next five, including a 139-109 closeout in Game 6, according to NBA.com’s results page. The matchup puts Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama on the same stage in a best-of-seven series. The Associated Press reported Gilgeous-Alexander became the 14th player to win back-to-back NBA MVP awards. (nba.com) ### Why does the East start a day later? Sunday’s Cleveland-Detroit Game 7 pushed the Eastern Conference finals back one day. (nba.com) NBA.com’s schedule lists the Cavaliers’ 125-94 win over the Pistons on May 17, followed by Cleveland at New York for Game 1 on May 19. New York had more rest. The Knicks swept Philadelphia 4-0 in the semifinals, with NBA.com listing a 144-114 win in Game 4 as the clincher. (apnews.com) Cleveland had to recover quickly after a seven-game series. NBA.com’s bracket shows the Cavaliers dropped the first two games to Detroit, then won four of the next five to advance. (nba.com) ### What is the full conference finals schedule from here? The West finals continue with Game 2 on Wednesday, May 20, in Oklahoma City, then shift to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4 on May 22 and May 24, NBA.com said. (nba.com) Games 5 through 7 are scheduled for May 26, May 28 and May 30 if needed. The East finals follow a similar alternating format. (nba.com) New York hosts Games 1 and 2 on May 19 and May 21, Cleveland hosts Games 3 and 4 on May 23 and May 25, and Games 5 through 7 are set for May 27, May 29 and May 31 if necessary, according to NBA.com. June 3 is the next leaguewide milestone after the conference finals. NBA.com lists Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals for June 3 at 8:30 p.m. (nba.com) ET on ABC, with the East and West champions advancing from the Knicks-Cavaliers and Thunder-Spurs series.