Full First‑Round Schedule
The NBA released the full first‑round playoff schedule with game times and dates for all eight series, and the opening round could run through May 3. (CBS Sports) (cbssports.com)
The National Basketball Association has set the entire first-round playoff calendar, with Game 1s starting Saturday, April 18, and the opening round stretching as late as Sunday, May 3. (nba.com) The schedule covers all eight best-of-seven series, even though two matchups were still waiting on Friday’s Play-In Tournament games: Orlando Magic vs. Charlotte Hornets for the East’s No. 8 seed and Phoenix Suns vs. Golden State Warriors for the West’s No. 8 seed. (nba.com) Six first-round pairings were already locked in by Thursday: Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets. (cbssports.com) The first weekend is split across four games on Saturday and four on Sunday. Saturday opens with Raptors-Cavaliers at 1 p.m. Eastern and closes with Rockets-Lakers at 8:30 p.m. Eastern; Sunday starts with 76ers-Celtics at 1 p.m. Eastern and includes both No. 1 seeds, Oklahoma City and Detroit, later in the day. (cbssports.com) The league’s release also shows how the television package is now divided among Prime Video, ABC, ESPN, NBC and Peacock. Prime Video carries all four Game 1s on Saturday, while Sunday’s slate shifts to ABC, NBC and Peacock. (sportsmediawatch.com) That distribution reflects a broader change in how fans will watch this postseason. The NBA’s official schedule lists the April 14-17 Play-In Tournament as exclusive to Prime Video, and the first round continues to bounce between broadcast television, cable and streaming. (nba.com) The bracket also sets up several recognizable storylines before the ball goes up. Denver and Minnesota are meeting in the playoffs for the third time in four years, and Lakers-Rockets matches LeBron James against Kevin Durant in a playoff series for the first time since the 2018 National Basketball Association Finals. (cbssports.com) The top seeds had to wait an extra day for their openers because their opponents were still being settled through the play-in. Detroit’s Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and Oklahoma City’s starts earlier that day at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. (nba.com) If any series goes the distance, the first round will still be running on May 3. By then, the schedule released this week will have done its job: every tipoff from the opening Saturday to a possible Game 7 is already on the board. (nba.com)
