2026 NBA playoffs: Schedule, scores, news and highlights

The 2026 NBA playoffshave reached the second round in what is sure to be an exciting run toward the NBA Finals, which begin June 3 and will be broadcast by ABC.

Can the Oklahoma City Thunder, who locked in their third straight No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, repeat as champions? Which team will emerge from a crowded East field? Could there be surprises throughout?

The first round saw two higher seeds go down, with the East's No. 2 seed Boston Celtics blowing a 3-1 series lead and losing to the No. 7 seed Philadelphia 76ers. In the Western Conference, Nikola Jokic and the No. 3 seed Denver Nuggets were unable to get past the No. 6 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. The East's top seed, the Detroit Pistons, came back from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Orlando Magic, marking the first time in NBA history two teams overcame a 3-1 deficit in the same round.

Four teams from each conference reach the second round and face off in a best-of-seven series to advance. All four rounds of the playoffs are best-of-seven, and teams are not reseeded after each round. The team with the better regular-season record in each series will have home-court advantage for that series. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team with the better record hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7.

Here's what we know about the Eastern and Western Conference playoff brackets:

Full NBA playoff bracket

Eastern Conference

1. Detroit Pistons vs. 8.Orlando Magic

2. Boston Celtics vs. 7. Philadelphia 76ers

3. New York Knicks vs. 6.Atlanta Hawks

4.Cleveland Cavaliersvs. 5.Toronto Raptors

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Phoenix Suns

2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Portland Trail Blazers

3.Denver Nuggetsvs. 6.Minnesota Timberwolves

4.Los Angeles Lakersvs. 5.Houston Rockets

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Eastern Conference

(1)Detroit Pistonstied with (4)Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-2

Game 1:Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101

Game 2:Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97

Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109

Game 4: Cavaliers 112, Pistons 103

Game 5: May 13 at Detroit

Game 6: May 15 at Cleveland

Game 7 (if necessary): May 17 at Detroit

• Mitchell scores 39 in 2nd half as Cavs tie series vs. Pistons


• Bickerstaff calls FT disparity in Game 4 loss 'unacceptable'


• James Harden delivers late to save Cavaliers, quiet 'chatter'


• Cavs' Mitchell on lack of foul calls: 'I don't flop, maybe that's why'


• How Daniss Jenkins helped save Detroit's 1-seed

(3)New York Knickseliminate (7)Philadelphia 76ers, 4-0

Game 1:Knicks 137, 76ers 98

Game 2Knicks 108, 76ers 102

Game 3: Knicks 108, 76ers 94

Game 4: Knicks 144, 76ers 114

• Knicks, fans feel right at home with sweep of 76ers in Philly


• Embiid feeling 'confident' about knee, health going forward


• Embiid to Philly: Don't sell tickets to Knicks fans

Western Conference

(1)Oklahoma City Thundereliminate (4)Los Angeles Lakers, 4-0

Game 1: Thunder 108, Lakers 90

Game 2:Thunder 125, Lakers 107

Game 3: Thunder 131, Lakers 108

Game 4: Thunder 115, Lakers 110

• Thunder ride Ajay Mitchell's star turn to 3-0 lead over Lakers


• Lakers' Redick rips officiating; Reaves feels 'disrespected'


• The King's Court: 23 moments from LeBron James' iconic NBA career

(2) San Antonio Spurslead (6) Minnesota Timberwolves, 3-2

Game 1:Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102

Game 2:Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95

Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108

Game 4: Timberwolves 114, Spurs 109

Game 5: Spurs 126, Timberwolves 97

Game 6: May 15 at Minnesota (9:30 p.m. ET, Prime)

Game 7 (if necessary): May 17 at San Antonio

• Wemby's bounce-back fuels rout as Spurs take 3-2 series lead


• Defiant Edwards says Wolves not worried with season on brink


• Wembanyama ejected from Game 4 for elbowing Reid


• Wembanyama matches Olajuwon, Shaq, Kareem with Game 3 stat line


• Spurs bounce back, beat Timberwolves by 38 to even series

FIRST ROUND

Eastern Conference

(1)Detroit Pistonseliminate (8)Orlando Magic4-3

Game 1:Magic 112, Pistons 101

Game 2:Pistons 98, Magic83

Game 3:Magic 113, Pistons 105

Game 4:Magic 94, Pistons 88

Game 5:Pistons 116, Magic 109

Game 6:Pistons 93, Magic 79

Game 7:Pistons 116, Magic 94

(7) Philadelphia 76erseliminate (2)Boston Celtics4-3

Game 1:Celtics 123, Sixers 91

Game 2:76ers 111, Celtics 97

Game 3: Celtics 108, 76ers 100

Game 4:Celtics 128, 76ers 96

Game 5:76ers 113, Celtics 97

Game 6:76ers 106, Celtics 93

Game 7:76ers 109, Celtics 100

(3) New York Knicks eliminate (6) Atlanta Hawks4-2

Game 1: Knicks 113, Hawks 102

Game 2: Hawks 107, Knicks 106

Game 3:Hawks 109, Knicks 108

Game 4:Knicks 114, Hawks 98

Game 5:Knicks 126, Hawks 97

Game 6:Knicks 140, Hawks 89

(4) Cleveland Cavalierseliminate (5) Toronto Raptors4-3

Game 1:Cavaliers 126, Raptors113

Game 2:Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105

Game 3:Raptors 126, Cavaliers 104

Game 4:Raptors 93, Cavaliers, 89

Game 5:Cavaliers 125, Raptors 120

Game 6: Raptors 112, Cavaliers 110 (OT)

Game 7:Cavaliers 114, Raptors 102

Western Conference

(1) Oklahoma City Thundereliminate (8) Phoenix Suns4-0

Game 1:Thunder 119, Suns 84

Game 2:Thunder 120, Suns 107

Game 3:Thunder 121, Suns 109

Game 4: Thunder 131, Suns 122

(2) San Antonio Spurseliminate (7) Portland Trail Blazers4-1

Game 1: Spurs 111, Trail Blazers 98

Game 2: Trail Blazers 106, Spurs 103

Game 3:Spurs 120, Trail Blazers 108

Game 4:Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 93

Game 5:Spurs 114, Trail Blazers 95

(6) Minnesota TimberwolveseliminateDenver Nuggets4-2

Game 1:Nuggets 116, Timberwolves 105

Game 2: Timberwolves 119, Nuggets 114

Game 3:Timberwolves 113, Nuggets 96

Game 4:Timberwolves 112, Nuggets 96

Game 5:Nuggets 125, Timberwolves 113

Game 6:Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98

(4) Los Angeles Lakerseliminate (5) Houston Rockets4-2

Game 1:Lakers 107, Rockets 98

Game 2: Lakers 101, Rockets 94

Game 3: Lakers 112, Rockets 108 (OT)

Game 4:Rockets 115, Lakers 96

Game 5:Rockets 99, Lakers 93

Game 6:Lakers 98, Rockets 78

NBA Finals schedule

The 2026 NBA Finals will begin Wednesday, June 3, with each game tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET. ABC will broadcast each game.

Game 1: Wednesday, June 3

Game 2: Friday, June 5

Game 3: Monday, June 8

Game 4: Wednesday, June 10

Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, June 13

Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 16

Game 7 (if necessary): Friday, June 19

Play-in tournament

Eastern Conference

(7) Philadelphia 76ers 109, (8) Orlando Magic 97

(9)Charlotte Hornets127, (10) Miami Heat 126 (OT)

(8) Orlando Magic 121, (9) Charlotte Hornets 90

Western Conference

(8)Portland Trail Blazers114,(7)Phoenix Suns 110

(10) Golden State Warriors 126, (9) LA Clippers 121

(7)Phoenix Suns 111, (10) Golden State Warriors 96

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