NBA Play-In Tournament: How to Stream, Schedule, and More
This year's Play-In Tournament features three former MVPs. Here's who is playing and how to watch live on Sling TV.
The NBA regular season wrapped up on Sunday with one of the most exciting finishes in league history. According to NBA PR, it was the first time ever that three teams (Denver, Oklahoma City, and Minnesota) had the same record through 81 games and the chance to grab the No. 1 seed. When it all shook out, the Thunder emerged as the top seed in the West, followed by the Nuggets, then the Timberwolves, who will face the #6 Phoenix Suns in the first round. The #4 LA Clippers will face #5 Dallas Mavericks in the first round in the West, while the East sees #3 Milwaukee facing #6 Indiana and #4 Cleveland taking on #5 Orlando.
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The Thunder and Nuggets, along with the top-seeded Boston Celtics and #2 New York Knicks in the East, will find out their matchups following the conclusion of the Play-In Tournament, which begins Tuesday, April 16 (as a reminder, the winner of the #7-8 games will face the No. 2 seed; the loser of the #9-10 games will be eliminated; and the winner of Friday’s game between the #7-8 loser and #9-10 winner will play the top seed). Here’s a preview of the Play-In games, along with the full schedule of upcoming Play-In and Playoff games, which begin Saturday, April 20. To watch the most NBA games with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange with ESPN and TNT (NBA TV will also be in free preview for all Sling Orange and Blue subscribers from April 19 to May 6).
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NBA Play-In and Playoffs
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Western Conference Play-In - Tues., April 16
Los Angeles Lakers 110, New Orleans Pelicans 106
Golden State Warriors 94, Sacramento Kings 118
#8-seed Game (Winner plays #1 Oklahoma City Thunder, Loser Eliminated)
Friday, April 19, 9:30pm ET - TNT
Sacramento Kings at New Orleans Pelicans
In the first Play-In game, the Pelicans and Lakers were locked in a fierce back-and-forth battle before Zion Williamson strained his hamstring, forcing him to exit the game with 3:13 left. It’s a shame, because Williamson was having arguably the best game of his career, finishing with 40 points and 11 rebounds. He’s not the only Pels star that’s hurting. Brandon Ingram returned to the lineup for New Orleans for the first time in 12 games, but he was limited to 23 minutes, and finished with just 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Lucky for New Orleans, Sacramento is dealing with their own injury issues. Potential Sixth Man of the Year winner Malik Monk has missed time with an MCL sprain, and he’s unsure if he’d be available for the first round even if Sacramento advances. Despite his absence, the Kings stepped up and eliminated the Warriors fairly easily. Now they’ll face a Pelicans team that won all 5 regular season meetings by an average of nearly 20 points. Even without Zion, beating the Pels will be a tough task, but it’s exactly the type of tune-up they’ll need if they want to knock off the top-seeded Thunder.
Eastern Conference Play-In - Wed., April 17
Miami Heat 104, Philadelphia 76ers 105
Atlanta Hawks 116, Chicago Bulls 131
#8-seed Game (Winner plays #1 Boston Celtics, Loser Eliminated)
Friday, April 19, 7:00pm ET - ESPN
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat
Unfortunately, injuries are one of the defining storylines of this year’s Play-In games. Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler will miss “several weeks” according to ESPN, after injuring his MCL in a close loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. That means Butler will sit out on Friday’s game against his former team, the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls made easy work of the Atlanta Hawks in the other Eastern Conference Play-in game, defeating them 131-116 behind Coby White’s career-high 42 points. Butler’s injury is badly-timed, but to be honest, whoever wins Friday’s game would need to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NBA history to get past the No. 1-overall seed Boston Celtics.