Tonight’s NBA TV slate
- Two playoff games are on TV tonight: Magic vs. Pistons at 6 p.m. ET and Suns vs. Thunder at 8:30 p.m. ET. (jsonline.com) - The Magic are seeded 8th against the top-seeded Pistons, while the Suns (8) face the Thunder (1). (jsonline.com) - Both games are on ESPN tonight, and viewing requires juggling streaming and cable options per the viewing guides. (jsonline.com)
Thursday’s national NBA playoff window has moved on: the two ESPN games in the early slate were played Wednesday, April 22, not tonight, April 23. (nba.com) Detroit beat Orlando 98-83 in Game 2 on Wednesday, and Oklahoma City beat Phoenix 120-107 later that night. The NBA’s official schedule now lists those series at 1-1 for Pistons-Magic and 2-0 for Thunder-Suns. (nba.com, nba.com) The next three playoff games on Thursday, April 23, are Knicks at Hawks at 7 p.m. Eastern, Cavaliers at Raptors at 8 p.m. Eastern, and Nuggets at Timberwolves at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. The NBA schedule lists those as Game 3s in all three first-round series. (nba.com) ESPN’s playoff guide says the 2026 first round began April 18 and that games are split across ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App. The league schedule for April 23 does not show Magic-Pistons or Suns-Thunder in the live lineup. (espn.com, nba.com) That mix can make a one-day viewing guide go stale fast. NBA.com says Detroit-Orlando resumes Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. Eastern, and Oklahoma City-Phoenix resumes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. (nba.com) Watch ESPN still shows re-air pages for Wednesday’s Magic-Pistons and Suns-Thunder broadcasts, which helps explain why an older TV listing can look current a day later. The live schedule page separates those replays from the day’s upcoming games. (espn.com, espn.com) If you are looking for the next national windows in those two series, the calendar has shifted to Saturday afternoon. The Wednesday doubleheader is over; Thursday’s playoff TV slate belongs to three different Game 3s. (nba.com)
