Stephen A. Smith explains why the Warriors face an uphill battle against the Rockets without Jimmy Butler on the floor. (0:52) Why Stephen A. isn't writing off the Warriors without Jimmy Butler against Houston (0:52) Open Extended Reactions The first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs tips has begun, and fans can expect an action-filled postseason. Eight teams from each conference reach the first round and face off in a best-of-seven series to advance.
All four rounds of the NBA 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 (if necessary).
After a historic season of dominance, the Cleveland Cavaliers have claimed the No. 1 seed in the East. The defending champions Boston Celtics wrapped up the No.
2 seed, led by Jayson Tatum and reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown. The New York Knicks clinched the No. 3 spot, with the No.
4 Indiana Pacers and No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks behind them. The Detroit Pistons, one of the biggest storylines this season, return to the playoffs as the No.
6 seed. The No. 7 Orlando Magic advanced via the play-in tournament, as did the Miami Heat after becoming the first team clinch the No.
8 seed after finishing 10th in the regular season. In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder landed the No. 1 seed for a second straight season behind MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Finishing at No. 2 were the Houston Rockets, one of the season's most improved teams. LeBron James and Luka Doncic led the Los Angeles Lakers to a No.
3 seed, while three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets clinched the No. 4 seed. The LA Clippers finished at No.
5, followed by the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves. The Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies advanced as the No.
7 and No. 8 seed, respectively, from the play-in tournament. We'll have complete coverage of the NBA playoffs all the way through the 2025 NBA Finals, which tip off June 5 on ABC and the ESPN App.
Each series picked through the Finals | Offseason guides EASTERN CONFERENCE Game 1, April 20: Cavaliers 121, Heat 100 Game 2, April 23: Cavaliers 121, Heat 112 Game 3, April 26: Cleveland at Miami (1 p.m. ET, TNT) Game 4, April 28: Cleveland at Miami (TBD) Game 5, April 30 (if necessary): Miami at Cleveland (TBD) Game 6, May 2 (if necessary): Cleveland at Miami (TBD) Game 7, May 4 (if necessary): Miami at Cleveland (TBD) play 2:15 Donovan Mitchell's late-game takeover fuels Cavs to 2-0 series lead Donovan Mitchell tallies 30 points, including 17 points in the fourth quarter, in the Cavaliers' Game 2 win vs. the Heat. More: Game 1, April 20: Celtics 103, Magic 86 Game 2, April 23: Celtics 109, Magic 100 Game 3, April 25: Boston at Orlando (7 p.m.
ET, ESPN) Game 4, April 27: Boston at Orlando (7 p.m. ET, TNT) Game 5, April 29 (if necessary): Orlando at Boston (TBD) Game 6, May 1 (if necessary): Boston at Orlando (TBD) Game 7, May 3 (if necessary): Orlando at Boston (TBD) play 2:06 Jaylen Brown's 36-point night powers Celtics to Game 2 win Jaylen Brown goes off for 36 points to make up for the absence of Jayson Tatum, leading the Celtics to a Game 2 win over the Magic. More: Game 1, April 19: Knicks 123, Pistons 112 Game 2, April 21: Pistons 100, Knicks 94 Game 3, April 24: Knicks 118, Pistons 116 Game 4, April 27: New York at Detroit (1 p.m.
ET, ABC) Game 5, April 29: Detroit at New York (TBD) Game 6, May 1 (if necessary): New York at Detroit (TBD) Game 7, May 3 (if necessary): Detroit at New York (TBD) play 1:49 KAT bounces back with 31-point showing in Game 3 win Karl-Anthony Towns bounces back from a poor second half in Game 2 with 31 huge points in the Knicks' Game 3 win over the Pistons. More: Game 1, April 19: Pacers 117, Bucks 98 Game 2, April 22: Pacers 123, Bucks 115 Game 3, April 25: Indiana at Milwaukee (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU/NBA TV) Game 4, April 27: Indiana at Milwaukee (9:30 p.m.
ET, TNT) Game 5, April 29 (if necessary): Milwaukee at Indiana (TBD) Game 6, May 2 (if necessary): Indiana at Milwaukee (TBD) Game 7, May 4 (if necessary): Milwaukee at Indiana (TBD) play 2:08 Haliburton's double-double pushes Pacers to 2-0 series lead over Bucks Tyrese Haliburton notches 21 points with 12 assists as the Pacers defeat the Bucks 123-115 in Game 2. More: WESTERN CONFERENCE Game 1, April 20: Thunder 131, Grizzlies 80 Game 2, April 22: Thunder 118, Grizzlies 99 Game 3, April 24: Thunder 114, Grizzlies 108 Game 4, April 26: Oklahoma City at Memphis (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT) Game 5, April 28 (if necessary): Memphis at Oklahoma City (TBD) Game 6, May 1 (if necessary): Oklahoma City at Memphis (TBD) Game 7, May 3 (if necessary): Memphis at Oklahoma City (TBD) play 0:26 Jalen Williams cuts Grizzlies' lead to 8 with 3-pointer to end third Jalen Williams splashes home a 3-pointer to cut the Memphis lead to eight heading into the fourth quarter.
More: (2) Houston Rockets tied with (7) Golden State Warriors, 1-1 Game 1, April 20: Warriors 95, Rockets 85 Game 2, April 23: Rockets 109, Warriors 94 Game 3, April 26: Houston at Golden State (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Game 4, April 28: Houston at Golden State (10 p.m. ET, TNT) Game 5, April 30: Golden State at Houston (TBD) Game 6, May 2 (if necessary): Houston at Golden State (TBD) Game 7, May 4 (if necessary): Golden State at Houston (TBD) play 2:22 Jalen Green bounces back from Game 1 woes to score 38 Jalen Green goes off for 38 points as the Rockets blow out the Warriors to win Game 2.
More: Game 1, April 19: Timberwolves 117, Lakers 95 Game 2, April 22: Lakers 94, Timberwolves 85 Game 3, April 25: Los Angeles at Minnesota (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) Game 4, April 27: Los Angeles at Minnesota (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Game 5, April 30: Minnesota at Los Angeles (TBD) Game 6, May 2 (if necessary): Los Angeles at Minnesota (TBD) Game 7, May 4 (if necessary): Minnesota at Los Angeles (TBD) play 0:17 Doncic cooks Gobert for a baseline jumper Luka Doncic shows off his moves on Rudy Gobert en route to a baseline jumper for the Lakers.
More: (4) Denver Nuggets tied with (5) LA Clippers, 1-1 Game 1, April 19: Nuggets 112, Clippers 110 (OT) Game 2, April 21: Clippers 105, Nuggets 102 Game 3, April 24: Clippers 117, Nuggets 83 Game 4, April 26: Denver at LA (6 p.m. ET, TNT) Game 5, April 29: LA at Denver (TBD) Game 6, May 1 (if necessary): Denver at LA (TBD) Game 7, May 3 (if necessary): LA at Denver (TBD) play 2:13 Clippers rout the Nuggets to take 2-1 series lead James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell all score at least 20 points as the Clippers beat the Nuggets by 34 points to take control of the series. More:
