NBA
2024 NBA Playoff bracket: matchups, game dates and times of the Eastern and Western conferences
With the regular season finished and the play-in tournament over, we now know every match-up in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The NBA regular season is done and dusted, as is the play-in tournament. Congratulations to the Boston Celtics, who finished top of the Eastern Conference, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who clinched top spot in the Western Conference, just squeezing out the Nuggets.
In the play-in tournament, meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans completed the playoff picture in the West at the expense of the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors. The Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat did likewise in the East, leaving the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks disappointed.
That means we know that in round 1 we’ll see the following matchups:
Eastern Conference
Celtics vs Heat
Knicks vs 76ers
Bucks vs Pacers
Cavaliers vs Magic
Western Conference
Thunder vs Pelicans
Nuggets vs Lakers
Timberwolves vs Suns
Clippers vs Mavericks
NBA play-in tournament results
Before we the playoffs proper, the play-in tournament took place to decide spots seven and eight in each conference.
In each conference, number seven played number eight, with the winner getting the seventh seed spot. The loser played the winner of the game between ninth and tenth to see who got the eighth seed spot.
Tuesday, April 16
No. 7 Pelicans 106-100 No. 8 Lakers
No 9 Kings 118-94 No. 10 Warriors
Wednesday, April 17
No. 7 76ers 105-104 No. 8 Heat
No 9 Bulls 131-116 No. 10 Hawks
Friday April 19
East No. 8 Heat 112-91 vs East No. 9 Bulls
West No. 7 Pelicans 105-98 West No. 9 Kings
NBA Playoffs schedule
With the top eight seeds now settled after the play-in tournament, it’s time for the playoffs proper.
The first round starts on Saturday, April 20 with, as usual, each series being the best of seven games. The team with the best regular-season record has home-court advantage, which means they play games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at home, and games 3, 4 and 6 on the road.
The NBA has now confirmed dates for every first-round playoff game, although some tip-off times have yet to be decided.
Eastern Conference first-round playoff schedule
(1) Celtics vs (8) Heat
Game 1: Heat @ Celtics, 21 April, 1pm ET
Game 2: Heat @ Celtics, 24 April, 7pm ET
Game 3: Celtics @ Heat, 27 April, 6pm ET
Game 4: Celtics @ Heat, 29 April, TBD
Game 5: Heat @ Celtics, 1 May, TBD
Game 6: Celtic @ Heat, 3 May, TBD
Game 7: Heat @ Celtics, 5 May, TBD
(2) 76ers vs (7) Knicks
Game 1: 76ers @ Knicks, 20 April, 6pm ET
Game 2: 76ers @ Knicks, 22 April, 7:30pm ET
Game 3: Knicks @ 76ers, 25 April, 7:30pm ET
Game 4: Knicks @ 76ers, 28 April, 1pm ET
Game 5: 76ers @ Knicks, 30 April, TBD
Game 6: Knicks @ 76ers, 2 May, TBD
Game 7: 76ers @ Knicks, 4 May, TBD
(3) Bucks vs (6) Pacers
Game 1: Pacers @ Bucks, 21 April, 7pm ET
Game 2: Pacers @ Bucks, 23 April, 8:30pm ET
Game 3: Bucks @ Pacers, 26 April, 5:30pm ET
Game 4: Bucks @ Pacers, 28 April, 7pm ET
Game 5: Pacers @ Bucks, 30 April, TBD
Game 6: Bucks @ Pacers, 2 May, TBD
Game 7: Pacers @ Bucks, 4 May, TBD
(4) Cavaliers vs (5) Magic
Game 1: Magic @ Cavaliers, 20 April, 1pm ET
Game 2: Magic @ Cavaliers, 22 April, 7pm ET
Game 3: Cavaliers @ Magic, 25 April, 7pm ET
Game 4: Cavaliers @ Magic, 27 April, 1pm ET
Game 5: Magic @ Cavaliers, 30 April, TBD
Game 6: Cavaliers @ Magic, 3 May, TBD
Game 7: Magic @ Cavaliers, 5 May, TBD
Western Conference first-round playoff schedule
(1) Thunder vs (8) Pelicans
Game 1: Pelicans @ Thunder, 21 April, 9:30pm ET
Game 2: Pelicans @ Thunder, 24 April, 9:30pm ET
Game 3: Thunder @ Pelicans, 27 April, 3:30pm ET
Game 4: Thunder @ Pelicans, 29 April, TBD
Game 5: Pelicans @ Thunder, 1 May, TBD
Game 6: Thunder @ Pelicans, 3 May, TBD
Game 7: Pelicans @ Thunder, 5 May, TBD
(2) Nuggets vs (7) Lakers
Game 1: Lakers @ Nuggets, 20 April, 8:30pm ET
Game 2: Lakers @ Nuggets, 22 April, 10pm ET
Game 3: Nuggets @ Lakers, 25 April, 10pm ET
Game 4: Nuggets @ Lakers, 27 April, 8:30pm ET
Game 5: Lakers @ Nuggets, 29 April, TBD
Game 6: Nuggets @ Lakers, 2 May, TBD
Game 7: Lakers @ Nuggets, 4 May, TBD
(3) Timberwolves vs (5) Suns
Game 1: Suns @ Timberwolves, 20 April, 3:30pm ET
Game 2: Suns @ Timberwolves, 23 April, 7:30pm ET
Game 3: Timberwolves @ Suns, 26 April, 10:30pm ET
Game 4: Timberwolves @ Suns, 28 April, 9:30pm ET
Game 5: Suns @ Timberwolves, 30 April, TBD
Game 6: Timberwolves @ Suns, 2 May, TBD
Game 7: Suns @ Timberwolves, 4 May, TBD
(4) Clippers vs (5) Mavericks
Game 1: Mavericks @ Clippers, 21 April, 3:30pm ET
Game 2: Mavericks @ Clippers, 23 April, 10pm ET
Game 3: Clippers @ Mavericks, 26 April, 8pm ET
Game 4: Clippers @ Mavericks, 28 April, 3:30pm ET
Game 5: Mavericks @ Clippers, 1 May, TBD
Game 6: Clippers @ Mavericks, 3 May, TBD
Game 7: Mavericks @ Clippers, 5 May, TBD
Remember that each team must win four matches in the series to progress to the next round. Once one team has won four games, the series is over and the remaining games will not be played.
NBA playoffs schedule
After the first round the remainder of the postseason will be played as follows:
May 4-7: Start of second round
May 19-22: Start of Conference Finals
June 6: NBA Finals Game 1
June 23: NBA Finals Game 7, where required
The Golden State Warriors, who have been the most successful team in NBA over the last decade or so with four championship victories since 2015, failed to qualify for the playoffs, losing to the Kings in the play-in tournament.