NBA postseason guide: Schedule, stories, betting odds, how to watch and more
Finally, we have a Round 2 matchup set in these NBA playoffs.
Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal series between San Antonio and Minnesota — which ousted Denver — will be Monday night in Texas.
It'll be the third series between the franchises, after the Spurs beat the Timberwolves in both 1999 and 2001. Both of those were first-round, best-of-five matchups where San Antonio prevailed in four games.
New York is through to Round 2 as well, after a 51-point rout in Atlanta eliminated the Hawks.
The Knicks await the Philadelphia-Boston winner; that series is going to Game 7, after the 76ers staved off elimination yet again with a win on Thursday night. The Timberwolves are about to enter a showdown of French centers — Rudy Gobert for Minnesota, Victor Wembanyama for the Spurs.
On Friday, Detroit (trailing 3-2) plays at Orlando, Cleveland (up 3-2) goes to Toronto and the Los Angeles Lakers (up 3-2 after losing closeout chances in Games 4 and 5) head to Houston.
— Game 6, Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Orlando, 3-2.
Odds: Detroit by 3.5.
Eighth-seeded Orlando let a 3-1 lead slip away against top-seeded Detroit in Round 1 in 2003. The Magic get another chance Friday night to ensure that such a fate won’t happen again this time.
— Game 6, Cleveland at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Cleveland, 3-2.
Odds: Cleveland by 3.5.
The Raptors pushed Cleveland to the limit in Game 5 even with Brandon Ingram (heel) limited to one point in 11 minutes. The Cavaliers went 18 of 36 from 3-point range to win Game 5 at home.
— Game 6, LA Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime)
Series: Lakers, 3-2.
Odds: Houston by 3.5.
The Lakers are 0-2 in closeout chances in this series, and a Rockets team that isn’t lacking for swagger suddenly looks to be brimming with confidence. Lakers do not seem to be panicked, yet.
— Game 7, Philadelphia at Boston, 7:30 p.m. EDT (NBC/Peacock)
Series: Tied, 3-3.
Odds: Boston by 7.5.
The Celtics are 27-10 all-time in Game 7s, the 76ers are 6-12 in such games and are 0-4 in them since 2001. It'll be the ninth Game 7 between these two franchises, with Boston going 6-2 in the previous ones.
— Knicks 140, Hawks 89 to win series 4-2. Inside NY's numbers, and Atlanta's collapse.
— 76ers 106, Celtics 93 to even series at 3-3. George goes from ‘rock bottom’ to Game 7.
— Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98 to win series 4-2. Nikola Jokic wants to stay in Denver.
A breakdown of this season's NBA awards:
— Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year: DeAndre Jordan, New Orleans.
— Hustle Award: Moussa Diabaté, Charlotte.
— Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio.
— Clutch Player of the Year: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City.
— Sixth Man of the Year: Keldon Johnson, San Antonio.
— Sportsmanship Award: Derrick White, Boston.
— Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta.
— Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Dallas.
— Executive of the Year: Brad Stevens, Boston.
Among the announcements still to come:
— Most Valuable Player: Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic.
— Coach of the Year: Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson or Boston's Joe Mazzulla.
Defending champion Oklahoma City (-130) is favored to win the NBA title, oddsmakers say.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+425), Boston (+600), Cleveland (+1300), New York (+1800), the Los Angeles Lakers (+2500) and Detroit (+3500). Philadelphia (+12500) is next, followed by Minnesota (+20000).
Orlando, even with a 3-2 series lead on Detroit, entered Friday at +25000. The only teams that entered Friday with longer odds than the Magic were Houston (+50000) and Toronto (+100000).
— Sunday, Monday and/or Tuesday: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
“If we were in Serbia, we would all get fired." — Denver's Nikola Jokic, after the Nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs by short-handed Minnesota.
— Boston led by five on Thursday, then lost by 13. Denver led by five on Thursday, then lost by 12. Atlanta led by four on Thursday ... then lost by 51.
— The Knicks are the first reigning NBA Cup champion to win a playoff series. The Los Angeles Lakers (the 2023 Cup champs) and the Milwaukee Bucks (the 2024 Cup champs) both lost in Round 1 of those season's playoffs.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
