NBA playoff guide: Who plays when, how to watch, what the odds are
By Canadian Press on May 30, 2025.
The NBA Finals still need an Eastern Conference champion. And Ben Stiller, Timothee Chalomet, Spike Lee and the rest of the Knicks fan base are likely headed back to Indianapolis for a Game 6 on Saturday night.
The New York Knicks controlled virtually the entire game on Thursday night to beat the Indiana Pacers 111-94 and get within 3-2 in the East title series. The winner of that matchup will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
Game 1 of the finals is June 5 in Oklahoma City.
Fending off elimination
The Knicks became the eighth team to win a game when facing elimination this season.
Houston and Denver both successfully fended off elimination twice before seeing their seasons end. Detroit, Golden State, the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston, Oklahoma City and now New York all have done so once.
Indiana is the only team that has yet to play a win-or-else game in these playoffs.
Teams are 10-13 so far in win-or-else games this postseason.
SGA is the MVP
A recap of Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s winning of the NBA MVP award.
The story: Gilgeous-Alexander tops Jokic for MVP award
The reaction: SGA tears up when talking about his wife
Steve Nash speaks: Canada’s 1st MVP thrilled to see SGA follow him
The notebook: Jokic finishes top-2 for 5th straight year, Giannis’ streak ends, LeBron gets votes
Saturday’s national TV schedule
8 p.m. EDT — New York at Indiana (TNT)
Monday’s national TV schedule
8 p.m. EDT — Indiana at New York (TNT), if necessary
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (-750) is an even bigger favorite now to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. Indiana (+700) remains the second choice, followed by New York (+1500).
The Pacers are a 3.5-point favorite over New York on Saturday.
Conference finals schedules
East (all 8 p.m. EDT) — Game 1, Indiana 138, New York 135, OT; Game 2, Indiana 114, New York 109; Game 3, New York 106, Indiana 100; Game 4, Indiana 130, New York 121; Game 5, New York 111, Indiana 94; Game 6 at Indiana on Saturday; Game 7 at New York on Monday.
West — Game 1, Oklahoma City 114, Minnesota 88; Game 2, Oklahoma City 118, Minnesota 103; Game 3, Minnesota 143, Oklahoma City 101; Game 4, Oklahoma City 128, Minnesota 126; Game 5, Oklahoma City 124, Minnesota 94.
NBA Finals schedule
June 5 — Game 1, at Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 8 — Game 2, at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. EDT
June 11 — Game 3, at Indiana or New York, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 13 — Game 4, at Indiana or New York, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 16 — Game 5, at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 19 — Game 6, at Indiana or New York, if necessary, 8:30 p.m. EDT
June 22 — Game 7, at Oklahoma City, if necessary, 8 p.m. EDT
(And good news: No NBA Finals games conflict with Stanley Cup Final dates!)
Award season
The All-NBA team had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell on the first team, and LeBron James — at 40 years old — making an All-NBA team for the 21st time.
Other awards this season:
— Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the MVP award.
— Stephon Castle was a unanimous All-Rookie team selection.
— Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti won executive of the year.
— Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson won coach of the year.
— Boston’s Jrue Holiday won the social justice award and the sportsmanship award.
— Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels won most improved player.
— San Antonio’s Stephon Castle won rookie of the year.
— Golden State’s Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award.
— Golden State’s Draymond Green won the hustle award.
— Cleveland’s Evan Mobley won defensive player of the year.
— New York’s Jalen Brunson won clutch player of the year.
— Boston’s Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year.
Scoring leaders
The highest-scoring games by players so far in this year’s playoffs:
48 — Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland vs. Indiana, May 6
44 — Nikola Jokic, Denver at Oklahoma City, May 13
43 — Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland vs. Indiana, May 9
43 — Jamal Murray, Denver vs. LA Clippers, April 29
43 — Anthony Edwards, Minnesota vs. LA Lakers, April 27
43 — Jalen Brunson, New York vs. Indiana, May 21
42 — Jayson Tatum, Boston at New York, May 12
42 — Nikola Jokic, Denver at Oklahoma City, May 5
40 — Jalen Brunson, New York at Detroit, May 1
40 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City at Minnesota, May 26
39 — Jalen Brunson, New York vs. Boston, May 12
39 — Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers at Denver, April 21
39 — Pascal Siakam, Indiana at New York, May 23
Key upcoming events
Monday — Last possible date for Game 7 of Eastern Conference finals.
June 5 — Game 1, NBA Finals. (Other games: June 8, June 11, June 13, June 16, June 19 and Game 7, if necessary, will be June 22.)
June 25 — NBA draft, first round.
June 26 — NBA draft, second round.
Draft lottery
Dallas had 1.8% odds to win the No. 1 pick in the draft lottery — but overcame those odds and now has the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg. The Mavericks won the lottery last Monday night in Chicago.
— Flagg, just a kid from Maine, hasn’t forgotten his roots
— From Rutgers to the lottery for Harper, Bailey
— A Chinese teen is a draft hopeful, and has big shoes to fill
— Rick Welts has seen this before
Comeback season
The Knicks — again — added to the list in Game 3 of the East finals.
There have been six wins by teams that trailed by 20 points or more so far in these playoffs. That’s the most in any postseason during the play-by-play era, which started with the 1997 playoffs.
The biggest deficits that were successfully overcome:
29 — Oklahoma City at Memphis, April 24 (Thunder won 114-108)
20 — Indiana vs. Milwaukee, April 29 (Pacers won 119-118)
20 — New York at Boston, May 5 (Knicks won 108-105)
20 — Indiana at Cleveland, May 6 (Pacers won 120-119)
20 — New York at Boston, May 7 (Knicks won 91-90)
20 — New York at Indiana, May 25 (Knicks won 106-100)
Last-second Pacers rallies
Indiana has pulled off three last-minute rallies from at least seven points down to win in these playoffs:
— April 29: Trailed Milwaukee 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime, won 119-118.
— May 6: Trailed Cleveland 119-112 with 48 seconds left, won 120-119.
— May 21: Trailed New York 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation, won 138-135 in overtime.
Stats of the day
— The Pacers had only one starter reach double figures in Game 5. The last time that happened by a team in the Eastern Conference finals was exactly 32 years to the day earlier — when Patrick Ewing was the lone Knicks player to reach double figures in a loss to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls on May 29, 1993.
— When the Pacers shoot 45% in these playoffs, they’re 11-0. Otherwise, they’re 0-4.
— Game 6 of the East finals will be New York’s 100th game of the season. It’ll mark only the third time in Knicks history that the team plays 100 games in a season (107 in 1993-94, 101 in 1969-70).
Quote of the day
“We’re fine. We’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything.” — Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton after the Game 5 loss to New York.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
The Associated Press
-104
