The Oklahoma City Thunder began their 2026 playoffs and title defense with a bang.
The Detroit Pistons began their postseason with a dud.
After a couple days off, the No. 1 seeds in the Western and Eastern conferences return to the court on Wednesday, April 22 for their respective Game 2s.
Their openers of their best-of-seven series were quite the contrast. The Thunder blasted the Phoenix Suns by 35 points with MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way, while the Pistons never led in losing their Game 1 to the Orlando Magic by double figures.
The Pistons-Magic and Thunder-Suns are the only two games on the NBA playoff schedule for April 22.
The other six series (three in each conference) have all played two games, with four of them a 1-1 split.
Can the Magic follow up their big Game 1 victory or will the Pistons finally snap their playoff home losing streak (at 11 games dating to 2008)? And will the Thunder pick up where they left off or can the Suns find a way to be competitive?
Here’s more on the NBA playoffs on April 22, including start times, where to watch, an updated bracket and scores:
What NBA games are on tonight? NBA playoff games start times
Game 2s in the 1 vs. 8 first-round matchups in the Eastern and Western conferences play on Wednesday, April 22:
Times are Central
What channel are the NBA playoffs on? Where to watch the NBA today on TV, stream
It’s an ESPN doubleheader.
After the playoff games aired on NBC and streamed on Peacock April 20-21, ESPN will air both games on April 22 as the carousel of TV stations and streaming services continues. The games can be streamed on Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Stream the NBA playoffs on Fubo
NBA playoff bracket
Here’s the 2026 NBA playoff bracket with the status of each first-round series, which are all best-of-seven:
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Who won the NBA playoff games? NBA playoff scores, results
Saturday, April 18
Sunday, April 19
Monday, April 20
Tuesday, April 21
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: NBA playoff TV schedule today, times, where to watch games, stream
Reporting by Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
