Which two teams will reach the NBA Finals? We’ll have complete coverage of the playoffs all the way until the champion is crowned. (The 2025 Finals tip off June 5 on ABC and the ESPN App.)
The league’s conference semifinals wrapped on Sunday with the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasting the Denver Nuggets in this round’s only Game 7. The 125-93 rout moves the Thunder in the Western Conference finals for the first time since Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and led the franchise there in 2016. The win sets up a matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who ran past the Golden State Warriors in five games to return to the WCF for the second consecutive season. The teams split the regular season series 2-2, including each taking a game the last time they met in a February back-to-back.
In the East, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks will reignite their rivalry, this time in the conference finals. The Pacers cruised past the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, while the Knicks closed out a hard fought six-game series against the shorthanded defending champion Boston Celtics. The last time any of these teams made the NBA Finals was the 2011-12 Thunder and the last time any of the franchises won an NBA championship was the 1978-79 Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City).
Note: 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).
Playoff recaps: First round | Second round
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Game 1: Thunder 114, Timberwolves 88
Game 2: Thunder 118, Timberwolves 103
Game 3: Thunder at Timberwolves | Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 4: Thunder at Timberwolves | Monday, May 26, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 5*: Timberwolves at Thunder | Wednesday, May 28, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 6*: Thunder at Timberwolves | Friday, May 30, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 7*: Timberwolves at Thunder | Sunday, June 1, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
* If necessary
0:22
Chet Holmgren T’d up for taunting after poster slam
Chet Holmgren rocks the rim with a one-handed flush for the Thunder.
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EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Game 1: Pacers 138, Knicks 135 (OT)
Game 2: Pacers 114, Knicks 109
Game 3: Knicks at Pacers | Sunday, May 25, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 4: Knicks at Pacers | Tuesday, May 27, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 5*: Pacers at Knicks | Thursday, May 29, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 6*: Knicks at Pacers | Saturday, May 31 8 p.m. ET TNT
Game 7*: Pacers at Knicks | Monday, June 2, 8 p.m. ET (TNT)
* If necessary
0:41
Brunson misses game-tying 3 as Pacers take Game 2
As the clock winds down at MSG, Jalen Brunson heaves a deep 3-pointer, but to no avail.
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