Tonight's NBA line-up
- Two NBA playoff games tonight are scheduled on ESPN: Orlando Magic at Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns at Oklahoma City Thunder. - The matchups list the Magic as the 8 seed at the Pistons, and the Suns as the 8 seed at the Thunder, with tip times at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. ET. - Early first-round results are already shaping series leverage as top seeds try to assert control in Game 2s ( )).
Two National Basketball Association playoff games are on the schedule tonight, with Orlando at Detroit and Phoenix at Oklahoma City both airing on ESPN. (espn.com) The Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons are set for 7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, April 22, at Little Caesars Arena, and the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder follow at 9 p.m. Eastern at Paycom Center. (espn.com) Detroit entered the series as the East’s No. 1 seed after a 60-22 regular season, while Orlando arrived as the No. 8 seed at 45-37. Oklahoma City opened as the West’s No. 1 seed and defending champion, with Phoenix slotted eighth in the bracket. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) The early pressure point in both matchups was Game 2 leverage. Orlando stunned Detroit in Game 1 before the Pistons answered with a 98-83 win to even the series, while Oklahoma City beat Phoenix again to move ahead 2-0. (sports.yahoo.com) (espn.com) (espn.ph) Detroit’s Game 2 win snapped what The Associated Press, via ESPN, described as the National Basketball Association’s longest home playoff losing streak. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 27 points and 11 assists in that game. (espn.com) Oklahoma City got 37 points and nine assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in its 120-107 Game 2 win over Phoenix. The Thunder also had an injury scare when forward Jalen Williams left with a left hamstring issue and did not return. (espn.ph) (news9.com) This postseason is also the first under the league’s new split-rights setup, with games spread across ESPN and ABC, NBC and Peacock, and Prime Video. That puts these two ESPN windows inside a broader shuffle of where playoff games air from night to night. (sportingnews.com) (espn.com) The next games in both series are scheduled for Friday, April 25, when Orlando returns to Detroit at 1 p.m. Eastern and Phoenix goes back to Oklahoma City at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. By then, one bracket could be tied and the other could already be tilting hard toward the Thunder. (espn.com)
