The NBA postseason officially got underway on Tuesday as the Western Conference Play-In began with the Lakers pulling out a 110-106 win over the Pelicans despite a 40-point game from Zion Williamson (who got injured late in the fourth quarter).
With that result, the Lakers locked up the 7-seed and a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets. With that series set, ESPN and ABC made their decisions on the order for Saturday’s Game 1s. The opening game will be Magic-Cavs, followed by Suns-WolvesUnsurprisingly, they will put Nuggets-Lakers in primetime on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET, with the Knicks in the 6 p.m. ET slot on ESPN against whoever wins the East 7-seed on Wednesday night.
The Sunday schedule of what games are in what time slots is still to be determined, but will see East 8-Celtics, Pacers-Bucks, West 8-Thunder, and Mavs-Clippers in some order. Pacers-Bucks would be the most likely for the early game, with West 8-Thunder in the midday, and either the Celtics or Mavs-Clippers in primetime, depending on who ends up with the 8-seed in the East.
Saturday TV Schedule
Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers – 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves – 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Miami Heat/Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks – 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets – 8:30 p.m ET, ABC