The 2026 NBA playoffs have 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 Cavaliers vs. 5. Toronto Raptors
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 8. Phoenix Suns
2. San Antonio Spurs vs. 7. Portland Trail Blazers
3. Denver Nuggets vs. 6. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Los Angeles Lakers vs. 5. Houston Rockets
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS
Eastern Conference
(1) Detroit Pistons lead (4) Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-0
Game 1: Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101
Game 2: Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97
Game 3: Saturday at Cleveland, 3 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)
Game 4: May 11 at Cleveland, 8 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)
Game 5 (if necessary): May 13 at Detroit
Game 6 (if necessary): May 15 at Cleveland
Game 7 (if necessary): May 17 at Detroit
Cunningham steps back for dagger 3 to seal Pistons' Game 2 win
(3) New York Knicks lead (7) Philadelphia 76ers, 3-0
Game 1: Knicks 137, 76ers 98
Game 2 Knicks 108, 76ers 102
Game 3: Knick 108, 76ers 94
Game 4: Sunday at Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 5 (if necessary): May 12 at New York
Game 6 (if necessary): May 14 at Philadelphia
Game 7 (if necessary): May 17 at New York
Knicks lean on defense late to take 3-0 series lead vs. 76ers
Joel Embiid's return not enough as Sixers pushed to brink of elimination
Western Conference
(1) Oklahoma City Thunder lead (4) Los Angeles Lakers, 2-0
Game 1: Thunder 108, Lakers 90
Game 2: Thunder 125, Lakers 107
Game 3: Saturday at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 4: May 11 at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m. ET (Prime)
Game 5 (if necessary): May 13 at Oklahoma City
Game 6 (if necessary): May 16 at Los Angeles
Game 7 (if necessary): May 18 at Oklahoma City
Wemby rattles in a trey for the Spurs
(2) San Antonio Spurs lead (6) Minnesota Timberwolves, 2-1
Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102
Game 2: Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95
Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108
Game 4: Sunday at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)
Game 5: May 12 at San Antonio (TBD)
Game 6 (if necessary): May 15 at Minnesota
Game 7 (if necessary): May 17 at San Antonio
FIRST ROUND
Eastern Conference
(1) Detroit Pistons eliminate (8) Orlando Magic 4-3
Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
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 76ers eliminate (2) Boston Celtics 4-3
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 Hawks, 4-2
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 Cavaliers eliminate (5) Toronto Raptors 4-3
Game 1: Cavaliers 126, Raptors 113
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 Thunder eliminate (8) Phoenix Suns 4-0
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 Spurs eliminate (7) Portland Trail Blazers 4-1
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 Timberwolves eliminate Denver Nuggets 4-2
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 Lakers eliminate (5) Houston Rockets 4-2
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 Hornets 127, (10) Miami Heat 126 (OT)
(8) Orlando Magic 121, (9) Charlotte Hornets 90
Western Conference
(8) Portland Trail Blazers 114, (7) Phoenix Suns 110
(10) Golden State Warriors 126, (9) LA Clippers 121
