Play‑In matchups set
The NBA’s play‑in schedule lists the Heat at Hornets (7:30 p.m. ET) and Trail Blazers at Suns (10 p.m. ET) as the Tuesday slate to decide which teams reach the postseason bracket. (Social) (x.com).
The National Basketball Association’s play-in bracket opens Tuesday, April 14, with Miami at Charlotte in the East and Portland at Phoenix in the West. (nba.com) The league’s official schedule lists Heat-Hornets for 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and Trail Blazers-Suns for 10 p.m. Eastern time, with both games part of the April 14-17 play-in window. The National Basketball Association said all play-in games will air exclusively on Prime Video. (nba.com) The format is different in the two Tuesday games. Miami, the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, visits No. 9 Charlotte in an elimination game, while No. 8 Portland visits No. 7 Phoenix with the winner moving straight into the Western Conference’s No. 7 playoff spot. (nba.com) The play-in tournament uses the No. 7 through No. 10 teams in each conference to settle the final two postseason berths. The No. 7 and No. 8 seeds get two chances to qualify, while the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds must win twice to reach the first round. (nba.com) That setup leaves Charlotte one win from a second game for the East’s No. 8 seed, while Miami has to survive on the road just to stay alive. In the West, Phoenix can clinch immediately Tuesday night, but Portland would still get another game if it loses. (nba.com) The rest of the bracket is already partly in place. The Oklahoma City Thunder finished No. 1 in the West at 64-18, and the San Antonio Spurs took No. 2 at 62-20, while the Detroit Pistons secured the East’s No. 1 seed at 60-22 and the Boston Celtics landed No. 2 at 56-26. (nba.com) Phoenix enters with the better seed but not much cushion. The Suns closed the regular season at 45-37, three games ahead of Portland at 42-40, according to the league’s play-in bracket. (nba.com) Charlotte finished 44-38 and earned home court over Miami, which ended 43-39. The Hornets also beat Phoenix 127-107 on April 2 behind 25 points from Miles Bridges, a recent result that underscored how strong Charlotte looked late in the season. (nba.com) (espn.com) The play-in round ends Friday, April 17, and the first round of the playoffs starts Saturday, April 18. Tuesday’s winners move closer immediately; Tuesday’s losers either go home or, in Portland’s case, wait for one more shot. (nba.com)
