Knicks clinch Eastern Conference finals berth; Thunder also advance to West finals

The NBA’s official 2026 playoff bracket showed on Friday that the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder had already advanced to their conference finals. The bracket listed New York in the Eastern Conference finals and Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, while two second-round series remained active. (nba.com) NBA.com’s playoff schedule page said the Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 and the Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0. (nba.com) Yahoo Sports’ live bracket page showed the same results, with Cleveland-Detroit and San Antonio-Minnesota still in progress entering Friday. Friday’s league schedule listed Game 6 between the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers, and Game 6 between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves. Those two series will determine the remaining conference finals matchups. ### How did New York get through the East so quickly? (nba.com) New York completed a four-game sweep of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals, according to NBA.com’s playoff schedule. The league page listed scores of 137-98, 108-102, 108-94 and 144-114 in the series. The NBA bracket page placed the Knicks directly into the East finals opposite the winner of Detroit versus Cleveland. (nba.com) That series stood at Cavaliers 3-2 entering Friday’s Game 6, the league schedule showed. ### What did Oklahoma City do in the West semifinals? Oklahoma City swept the Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference semifinals, NBA.com said. (nba.com) The league’s schedule page listed Thunder wins by scores of 108-90, 125-107, 131-108 and 115-110. The official bracket placed the Thunder into the West finals against the winner of the Spurs-Timberwolves series. (nba.com) Yahoo Sports also listed Oklahoma City as through and showed San Antonio holding a 3-2 edge over Minnesota entering Friday. ### Which second-round series were still alive on Friday? Cleveland led Detroit 3-2 before Friday night’s Game 6, according to both NBA.com’s playoff schedule and the league schedule page. (nba.com) If Detroit wins, Game 7 is listed for Sunday, May 17. San Antonio led Minnesota 3-2 before Friday night’s Game 6. NBA.com listed a Game 7 for Sunday, May 17, if necessary. (nba.com) ### Who are the possible conference finals opponents? The Knicks will face either the Pistons or Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals, the NBA bracket showed. The bracket page listed New York on one side of the East final with Detroit-Cleveland still unresolved. (nba.com) The Thunder will face either the Spurs or Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals. NBA.com’s bracket page showed Oklahoma City already in place, awaiting the last remaining West semifinal winner. (nba.com) ### What dates are on the board next? Sunday, May 17, is the date the NBA has listed for potential Game 7s in both unfinished semifinal series. (nba.com) Friday’s schedule page showed those games only as “if necessary.” June 3 is the scheduled start of the 2026 NBA Finals, with ABC as the exclusive broadcaster, according to NBA.com. The conference finals schedule remained listed as TBD as of the league update published May 13. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) (nba.com 3)