2026 NBA playoff bracket: Matchups, schedule with first round underway
The 2026 NBA playoffs are underway with eight first-round matchups
The first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs continued Friday and the first two games of the night came down to the wire. First was a thriller in Philadelphia. The upset-minded 76ers had a chance to take a 2-1 series lead over the Celtics, but Boston pulled away late and won 108-100 behind a huge fourth-quarter performance from Jayson Tatum.
Later on Friday, the Rockets -- with Kevin Durant out again -- blew a six-point lead in the final 30 seconds of regulation and then lost a heartbreaker to the Lakers in overtime. Los Angeles now has a 3-0 lead and can complete the surprising sweep on Sunday.
In the nightcap, the Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama (concussion) in Game 3 against the Trail Blazers, but got spectacular performances from Stephon Castle (33 points) and Dylan Harper (27 points, 10 rebounds) to pull out a 120-108 road win.
The postseason field was already trimmed from 20 teams to 16 as the Play-In Tournament wrapped up Friday night. The Heat, Clippers, Hornets and Warriors were all knocked out during the play-in, while the 76ers, Magic, Trail Blazers and Suns made the playoff field.
Here's a look at the up-to-date 2026 NBA playoff bracket.
2026 NBA playoff bracket
2026 NBA playoffs schedule
All times Eastern. Games on ABC and ESPN are streaming on fubo (Try for free).
Saturday, April 18
- Game 1: No. 4 Cavaliers 126, No. 5 Raptors 113
- Game 1: No. 3 Nuggets 116, No. 6 Timberwolves 105
- Game 1: No. 3 Knicks 112, No. 6 Hawks 102
- Game 1: No. 4 Lakers 107, No. 5 Rockets 98
Sunday, April 19
- Game 1: No. 2 Celtics 123, No. 7 76ers 91
- Game 1: No. 1 Thunder 119, No. 8 Suns 84
- Game 1: No. 8 Magic 112, No. 1 Pistons 101
- Game 1: No. 2 Spurs 111, No. 7 Trail Blazers 98
Monday, April 20
- Game 2: Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105
- Game 2: Hawks 107, Knicks 106
- Game 2: Timberwolves 119, Nuggets 114
Tuesday, April 21
- Game 2: 76ers 111, Celtics 97
- Game 2: Trail Blazers 106, Spurs 103
- Game 2: Lakers 101, Rockets 94
Wednesday, April 22
- Game 2: Pistons 98, Magic 83
- Game 2: Thunder 120, Suns 107
Thursday, April 23
- Game 3: Hawks 109, Knicks 108
- Game 3: Raptors 126, Cavaliers 104
- Game 3: Timberwolves 113, Nuggets 96
Friday, April 24
- Game 3: Celtics 108, 76ers 100
- Game 3: Lakers 112, Rockets 108 (OT)
- Game 3: Spurs 120, Trail Blazers 108
Saturday, April 25
- Game 3: Magic vs. Pistons, 1 p.m., Peacock
- Game 3: Suns vs. Thunder, 3:30 p.m., NBC
- Game 4: Hawks vs. Knicks, 6 p.m., NBC
- Game 4: Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, 8:30 p.m., ABC/fubo
Sunday, April 26
- Game 4: Raptors vs. Cavaliers, 1 p.m., ESPN/fubo
- Game 4: Trail Blazers vs. Spurs, 3:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
- Game 4: 76ers vs. Celtics, 7 p.m., NBC
- Game 4: Rockets vs. Lakers, 9:30 p.m., NBC
Monday, April 27
- Game 4: Magic vs. Pistons, 8 p.m., NBC
- Game 4: Suns vs. Thunder, 9:30 p.m., Peacock
- Game 5: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, 10:30 p.m., NBC
Tuesday, April 28
- Game 5: Celtics vs. 76ers, TBD
- Game 5: Knicks vs. Hawks, TBD
- Game 5: Spurs vs. Trail Blazers, TBD
Wednesday, April 29
- *Game 5: Pistons vs. Magic, TBD
- *Game 5: Cavaliers vs. Raptors, TBD
- *Game 5: Thunder vs. Suns, TBD
- *Game 5: Lakers vs. Rockets, TBD
Thursday, April 30
- *Game 6: 76ers vs. Celtics, TBD
- *Game 6: Hawks vs. Knicks, TBD
- *Game 6: Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, TBD
Friday, May 1
- *Game 6: Magic vs. Pistons, TBD
- *Game 6: Raptors vs. Cavaliers, TBD
- *Game 6: Suns vs. Thunder, TBD
- *Game 6: Rockets vs. Lakers, TBD
Saturday, May 2
- *Game 7: Celtics vs. 76ers, TBD
- *Game 7: Knicks vs. Hawks, TBD
- *Game 7: Spurs vs. Trail Blazers, TBD
- *Game 7: Nuggets vs. Timberwolves, TBD
Sunday, May 3
- *Game 7: Pistons vs. Magic, TBD
- *Game 7: Cavaliers vs. Raptors, TBD
- *Game 7: Thunder vs. Suns, TBD
- *Game 7: Lakers vs. Rockets, TBD
Play-In Tournament schedule, scores
Tuesday, April 14
- No. 9 Hornets 127, No. 10 Heat 126 (OT) -- Miami is eliminated
- No. 8 Trail Blazers 114, No. 7 Suns 110 -- Portland wins West No. 7 seed
Wednesday, April 15
- No. 7 76ers 109, No. 8 Magic 97 -- Philadelphia wins East No. 7 seed
- No. 10 Warriors 126, No. 9 Clippers 121 -- Los Angeles is eliminated
Friday, April 17
- Magic 121, Hornets 90 -- Magic win East No. 8 seed, Hornets eliminated from postseason
- Suns 111, Warriors 96 -- Suns win West No. 8 seed, Warriors eliminated from postseason
