NBA April 22 slate
- ESPN and local listings showed two playoff games on April 22: Magic vs. Pistons and Suns vs. Thunder. - Orlando (8) at Detroit (1) tip at 6 p.m., Phoenix (8) at OKC (1) at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN and Fubo. - Those matchups put pressure on top seeds to defend home court early in Round 1 during the opening days of the playoffs (jsonline.com).
The National Basketball Association’s April 22 playoff slate had only two games, and both put No. 1 seeds on the floor at home in Game 2. (nba.com) Orlando, the East’s No. 8 seed, visited Detroit at 7 p.m. Eastern, and Phoenix, the West’s No. 8 seed, visited Oklahoma City at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. ESPN carried both games, and Fubo listed both as streaming options. (espn.com) (usatoday.com) Those pairings were set by the play-in tournament that ran from April 14 to April 17. ESPN’s playoff tracker said Orlando beat Charlotte on April 17 to draw Detroit, while Phoenix beat Golden State to draw defending champion Oklahoma City. (espn.com) The first round opened April 18, and every series uses a best-of-seven, 2-2-1-1-1 format. The team with the better regular-season record hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, which is why Detroit and Oklahoma City opened at home. (nba.com) (espn.com) By the end of April 22, Detroit had beaten Orlando 98-83 to tie that series 1-1, and Oklahoma City had beaten Phoenix 120-107 to take a 2-0 lead. ESPN’s schedule listed Cade Cunningham with 27 points for Detroit and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 37 for Oklahoma City. (espn.com) The split in Detroit changed the shape of that matchup immediately after Orlando stole Game 1, 112-101. The official NBA schedule then moved the series to Orlando for Game 3 on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock. (nba.com) (espn.com) Oklahoma City’s position was firmer after two home wins. The NBA’s official bracket showed the Thunder leading 2-0, with Game 3 shifting to Phoenix on Saturday, April 25, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The broader playoff calendar was still in its opening week. NBA.com said the play-in ended April 17, the first round began April 18, and the Finals are scheduled to begin June 3 on ABC. (nba.com) (espn.com) So April 22 was a narrow schedule with outsized stakes: Detroit needed a response after an opening loss, and Oklahoma City had a chance to leave home with a two-game cushion. By midnight Eastern, one top seed had stabilized its series and the other had tightened its grip. (espn.com) (nba.com)
