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Buckle up. This NBA postseason is going to be a ride. There has arguably never been more teams with a legitimate shot at winning a championship, and that includes at least one (the No. 7 Brooklyn Nets) that needed to get through the play-in tournament just to make the field. Over the next two-plus months, with a few exceptions as the field thins out, you can pretty much count on playoff games every night.
In the West, the matchups include the top-seeded Phoenix Suns vs. the No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans, the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies vs. No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves, the No. 3 Golden State Warriors vs. the No. 6 Denver Nuggets and the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks vs. the No. 5 Utah Jazz.
The East series includes the No. 1 Miami Heat vs. the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks, the No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. the No. 7 Brooklyn Nets, the No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. the No. 6 Chicago Bulls and the No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers vs. the No. 5 Toronto Raptors.
The 2022 NBA playoff schedule for the first round can be found below and we’ll update the dates and start times as announced. Every game on NBATV, ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC can be streamed via fuboTV (Try for free).
(1) Suns vs. (8) Pelicans
Series tied 1-1
Sun., April 17
Game 1 (West first round)
Suns 110-99
9 p.m.
TNT
Phoenix
Tue., April 19
Game 2 (West first round)
Pelicans 124, Suns 114
10 p.m.
TNT
Phoenix
Fri., April 22
Game 3 (West first round)
Suns at Pelicans
TBD
ESPN
New Orleans
Sun., April 24
Game 4 (West first round)
Suns at Pelicans
9:30 p.m.
TNT
New Orleans
Tue., April 26*
Game 5 (West first round)*
Pelicans at Suns*
TBD*
TBD*
Phoenix*
Thu., April 28*
Game 6 (West first round)*
Suns at Pelicans*
TBD*
TBD*
New Orleans*
Sat., April 30*
Game 7 (West first round)*
Pelicans at Suns*
TBD*
TBD*
Phoenix*
*- if necessary
(4) Mavericks vs. (5) Jazz
Series tied 1-1
Sat., April 16
Game 1 (West first round)
Jazz 99, Mavericks 93
1 p.m.
ESPN
Dallas
Mon., April 18
Game 2 (West first round)
Mavericks 110, Jazz 104
8:30 p.m.
NBATV
Dallas
Thu., April 21
Game 3 (West first round)
Mavericks at Jazz
9 p.m.
NBATV
Salt Lake City
Sat., April 23
Game 4 (West first round)
Mavericks at Jazz
4:30 p.m.
TNT
Salt Lake City
Mon., April 25
Game 5 (West first round)*
Jazz at Mavericks*
TBD*
TBD*
Dallas*
Thu., April 28*
Game 6 (West first round)*
Mavericks at Jazz*
TBD*
TBD*
Salt Lake City*
Sat., April 30*
Game 7 (West first round)*
Jazz at Mavericks*
TBD*
TBD*
Dallas*
*- if necessary
(3) Warriors vs. (6) Nuggets
Golden State leads series 2-0
Sat., April 16
Game 1 (West first round)
Warriors 123, Nuggets 107
8:30 p.m.
ABC
San Francisco
Mon., April 18
Game 2 (West first round)
Warriors 126, Nuggets 106
10 p.m.
TNT
San Francisco
Thu., April 21
Game 3 (West first round)
Warriors at Nuggets
10 p.m.
TNT
Denver
Sun., April 24
Game 4 (West first round)
Warriors at Nuggets
3:30 p.m.
ABC
Denver
Wed., April 27*
Game 5 (West first round)*
Nuggets at Warriors*
TBD*
TBD*
San Francisco*
Fri., April 29*
Game 6 (West first round)*
Warriors at Nuggets*
TBD*
TBD*
Denver*
Sun., May 1*
Game 7 (West first round)*
Nuggets at Warriors*
TBD*
TBD*
San Francisco*
*- if necessary
(2) Grizzlies vs. (7) Timberwolves
Series tied 1-1
Sat., April 16
Game 1 (West first round)
Timberwolves 130, Grizzlies 117
3:30 p.m.
ESPN
Memphis
Tue., April 19
Game 2 (West first round)
Grizzlies 124, Timberwolves 96
8:30 p.m.
NBATV
Memphis
Thu., April 21
Game 3 (West first round)
Grizzlies at Timberwolves
7:30 p.m.
TNT
Minnesota
Sat., April 23
Game 4 (West first round)
Grizzlies at Timberwolves
10 p.m.
ESPN
Minnesota
Tue., April 26*
Game 5 (West first round)*
Timberwolves at Grizzlies*
TBD*
TBD*
Memphis*
Fri., April 29*
Game 6 (West first round)*
Grizzlies at Timberwolves*
TBD*
TBD*
Minnesota*
Sun., May 1*
Game 7 (West first round)*
Timberwolves at Grizzlies*
TBD*
TBD*
Memphis*
*- if necessary
(1) Heat vs. (8) Hawks
Miami leads series 2-0
Sun., April 17
Game 1 (East first round)
Heat 115, Hawks 91
1 p.m.
TNT
Miami
Tue., April 19
Game 2 (East first round)
Heat 115, Hawks 105
7:30 p.m.
TNT
Miami
Fri, April 22
Game 3 (East first round)
Heat at Hawks
7 p.m.
ESPN
Atlanta
Sun., April 24
Game 4 (East first round)
Heat at Hawks
7 p.m.
TNT
Atlanta
Tue., April 26*
Game 5 (East first round)*
Hawks at Heat*
TBD*
TBD*
Miami*
Thu., April 28*
Game 6 (East first round)*
Heat at Hawks*
TBD*
TBD*
Atlanta*
Sat., April 30*
Game 7 (East first round)*
Hawks at Heat*
TBD*
TBD*
Miami*
*- if necessary
(4) 76ers vs. (5) Raptors
Philadelphia leads series 2-0
Sat., April 16
Game 1 (East first round)
76ers 131, Raptors 111
6 p.m.
ESPN
Philadelphia
Mon., April 18
Game 2 (East first round)
76ers 112, Raptors 97
7:30 p.m.
TNT
Philadelphia
Wed., April 20
Game 3 (East first round)
76ers at Raptors
8 p.m.
NBATV
Toronto
Sat., April 23
Game 4 (East first round)
76ers at Raptors
2 p.m.
TNT
Toronto
Mon., April 25*
Game 5 (East first round)*
Raptors at 76ers*
TBD*
TBD*
Philadelphia*
Thu., April 28*
Game 6 (East first round)*
76ers at Raptors*
TBD*
TBD*
Toronto*
Sat., April 30*
Game 7 (East first round)*
Raptors at 76ers*
TBD*
TBD*
Philadelphia*
*- if necessary
(3) Bucks vs. (6) Bulls
Milwaukee leads series 1-0
Sun., April 17
Game 1 (East first round)
Bucks 93, Bulls 86
6:30 p.m.
TNT
Milwaukee
Wed., April 20
Game 2 (East first round)
Bulls at Bucks
9:30 p.m.
TNT
Milwaukee
Fri., April 22
Game 3 (East first round)
Bucks at Bulls
8:30 p.m.
ABC
Chicago
Sun., April 24
Game 4 (East first round)
Bucks at Bulls
1 p.m.
ABC
Chicago
Wed., April 27*
Game 5 (East first round)*
Bulls at Bucks*
TBD*
TBD*
Milwaukee*
Fri., April 29*
Game 6 (East first round)*
Bucks at Bulls*
TBD*
TBD*
Chicago*
Sun., May 1*
Game 7 (East first round)*
Bulls at Bucks*
TBD*
TBD*
Milwaukee*
*- if necessary
(2) Celtics vs. (7) Nets
Boston leads series 1-0
Sun., April 17
Game 1 (East first round)
Celtics 115, Nets 114
3:30 p.m.
ABC
Boston
Wed., April 20
Game 2 (East first round)
Nets at Celtics
7 p.m.
TNT
Boston
Sat., April 23
Game 3 (East first round)
Celtics at Nets
7:30 p.m.
ESPN
Brooklyn
Mon., April 25
Game 4 (East first round)
Celtics at Nets
TBD
TBD
Brooklyn
Wed., April 27*
Game 5 (East first round)*
Nets at Celtics*
TBD*
TBD*
Boston*
Fri., April 29*
Game 6 (East first round)*
Celtics at Nets*
TBD*
TBD*
Brooklyn*
Sun., May 1*
Game 7 (East first round)*
Nets at Celtics*
TBD*
TBD*
Boston*
*- if necessary
