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Victor Wembanyama led the San Antonio Spurs to a road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty ImagesWhat will Wemby do for an encore? Victor Wembanyama announced himself in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday with an all-time performance. The 7-foot-4 third-year center had 41 points and 24 rebounds to lead the Spurs to a road victory in Game 1 against the defending champion and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Tips for Game 2 tonight at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on NBC and Peacock.
Meanwhile, in the East, the Knicks staged an epic comeback last night to win Game 1 of their series against the Cavaliers. The Knicks trailed by 22 points midway through the fourth quarter and fought back to win the game in overtime, thanks in large part to Jalen Brunson. The Knicks leader scored 16 of his 38 points during New York’s furious fourth quarter. The Eastern Conference finals resume Thursday night with Game 2 on ESPN.
Keep reading to see the Conference Finals TV schedule and the best ways to watch or stream each game.
How to watch the NBA playoffs
Now that we’ve reached the conference finals, you don’t have to worry about NBA games streaming on Prime Video. All remaining playoff games will be televised on ESPN/ABC or NBC.
The Knicks-Cavs series will be broadcast on ESPN, with the exception of Game 3 this Saturday, which will be broadcast on ABC. The Thunder-Spurs series will be broadcast on NBC. You can get these channels with a live TV streaming service. And you can also stream the rest of the NBA playoffs with ESPN Unlimited and Peacock.
Here is the TV schedule for the conference finals. All times ET.
Easter Conference Finals
- Game 1: Knicks 115, Cavs 104 (OT)
- Match 2: Thursday May 21, 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Match 3: Saturday May 23, 8 p.m. on ABC
- Match 4: Monday May 25, 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Match 5*: Wednesday May 27, 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Match 6*: Friday May 29, 8 p.m. on ESPN
- Match 7*: Sunday May 31, 8 p.m. on ESPN
Western Conference Finals
- Match 1: Spurs 122, Thunder 115 (2x OT)
- Game 2: Wednesday, May 20, 8:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
- Game 3: Friday May 22, 8:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
- Game 4: Sunday, May 24, 8 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
- Match 5*: Tuesday May 26, 8:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
- Match 6*: Thursday May 28, 8:30 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
- Match 7*: Saturday May 30, 8 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
*If necessary.
Peacock will broadcast the Western Conference finals. Games on Peacock will also appear on NBC, so you don’t necessarily need Peacock to watch them.
You can stream every NBA playoff broadcast with Peacock’s Premium plan for $11 per month. Read our Peacock review.
With ESPN Unlimited, you can watch every NBA playoff game broadcast on ESPN or ABC. It will broadcast the Eastern Conference Finals as well as the NBA Finals.
The ESPN Unlimited plan costs $30 per month (or $300 per year) and lets you stream all of ESPN’s linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, SEC Network, and ACC Network. You also have access to programming on ESPN on ABC, ESPN Plus, ESPN3, SECN Plus and ACCNX. Read our ESPN Unlimited review.
(There’s also an ESPN Select plan for $13 per month, which is essentially a rebranding of ESPN Plus. With it, you’ll have access to thousands of live games — think small college conferences, whose games you can’t watch anywhere else — but not the NBA.)
Best Live TV Streaming Service for NBA Playoffs
Two of the major live TV streaming services – DirecTV and YouTube TV – offer skinny sports-focused packages with ESPN, ABC and NBC that cost less per month than their full package. These plans put them on par with the monthly cost of Sling. However, not all services broadcast all local networks in all areas, so be sure to check the links below to see which channels are available where you live.
YouTube TV sports packages cost $55 per month for the first year (before increasing to $65 per month) and include ABC, ESPN and NBC. Enter your zip code on the YouTube TV homepage to see which local networks are available in your area.
Read our YouTube TV review.
Live TV streaming services allow you to cancel at any time and require a strong internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our guide to live TV streaming services and our picks for the best sports streaming services.
