The field for the 2025 NBA playoff conference finals is now finalized. In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 on Sunday to earn their spot. They will now compete against the Minnesota Timberwolves for a chance at the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference Finals will feature a matchup between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. Both of these highly anticipated series are scheduled to commence this week.
This marks the first time the Thunder have reached the conference finals since the 2016 season, when their team, featuring Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, was eliminated by the Golden State Warriors. The current Thunder squad, powered by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, finished the regular season as the top seed in the West and are considered favorites to win the championship as the conference finals begin.
The New York Knicks are returning to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the year 2000. They secured their spot by defeating the defending champion Boston Celtics in Game 6 of their second-round series on Friday.
Both the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves are making their second consecutive appearance in the conference finals, having both been eliminated at this stage last year. Notably, the elimination of the Celtics extends a trend: this is now the sixth straight season that the reigning NBA champion has failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs.
2025 NBA Playoff Bracket
2025 NBA Playoffs: Schedule & Scores
Second-Round Schedule and Scores
All times Eastern
Sunday, May 4
Game 1: Pacers 121, Cavaliers 112
Monday, May 5
Game 1: Knicks 108, Celtics 105 (OT)
Game 1: Nuggets 121, Thunder 119
Tuesday, May 6
Game 2: Pacers 120, Cavaliers 119
Game 1: Warriors 99, Timberwolves 88
Wednesday, May 7
Game 2: Knicks 91, Celtics 90
Game 2: Thunder 149, Nuggets 106
Thursday, May 8
Game 2: Timberwolves 117, Warriors 93
Friday, May 9
Game 3: Cavaliers 126, Pacers 104
Game 3: Nuggets 113, Thunder 104 (OT)
Saturday, May 10
Game 3: Celtics 115, Knicks 93
Game 3: Timberwolves 102, Warriors 97
Sunday, May 11
Game 4: Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
Game 4: Pacers 129, Cavaliers 109
Monday, May 12
Game 4: Knicks 121, Celtics 113
Game 4: Timberwolves 117, Warriors 110
Tuesday, May 13
Game 5: Pacers 114, Cavaliers 105 (Indiana wins 4-1)
Game 5: Thunder 112, Nuggets 105
Wednesday, May 14
Game 5: Celtics 127, Knicks 102
Game 5: Timberwolves 121, Warriors 110 (Minnesota wins 4-1)
Thursday, May 15
Game 6: Nuggets 119, Thunder 107
Friday, May 16
Game 6: Knicks 119, Celtics 81 (New York wins 4-2)
Sunday, May 18
Game 7: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93 (OKC wins 4-3)
Conference Finals Schedule
All times Eastern
Tuesday, May 20
Game 1: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Wednesday, May 21
Game 1: Knicks vs. Pacers, 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Thursday, May 22
Game 2: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Friday, May 23
Game 2: Knicks vs. Pacers, 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Saturday, May 24
Game 3: Timberwolves vs. Thunder, 8:30 p.m., ABC/fubo
Sunday, May 25
Game 3: Pacers vs. Knicks 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Monday, May 26
Game 4: Timberwolves vs. Thunder, 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Tuesday, May 27
Game 4: Pacers vs. Knicks 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Wednesday, May 28
*Game 5: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Thursday, May 29
*Game 5: Knicks vs. Pacers, 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Friday, May 30
*Game 6: Timberwolves vs. Thunder, 8:30 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Saturday, May 31
*Game 6: Pacers vs. Knicks, 8 p.m., TNT/Max
Sunday, June 1
*Game 7: Thunder vs. Timberwolves, 8 p.m., ESPN/fubo
Monday, June 2
*Game 7: Knicks vs. Pacers, 8 p.m., TNT/Max
First-Round Scores
Saturday, April 19
Game 1: Pacers 117, Bucks 98
Game 1: Nuggets 112, Clippers 110 (OT)
Game 1: Knicks 123, Pistons 112
Game 1: Timberwolves 117, Lakers 95
Sunday, April 20
Game 1: Thunder 131, Grizzlies 80
Game 1: Celtics 103, Magic 86
Game 1: Cavaliers 121, Heat 100
Game 1: Warriors 95, Rockets 85
Monday, April 21
Game 2: Pistons 100, Knicks 94
Game 2: Clippers 105, Nuggets 102
Tuesday, April 22
Game 2: Pacers 125, Bucks 115
Game 2: Thunder 118, Grizzlies 99
Game 2: Lakers 94, Timberwolves 85
Wednesday, April 23
Game 2: Celtics 109, Magic 100
Game 2: Cavaliers 121, Heat, 112
Game 2: Rockets 109, Warriors 94
Thursday, April 24
Game 3: Knicks 118, Pistons 116
Game 3: Thunder 114, Grizzlies 108
Game 3: Clippers 117, Nuggets 83
Friday, April 25
Game 3: Magic 95, Celtics 93
Game 3: Bucks 117, Pacers 101
Game 3: Timberwolves 116, Lakers 104
Saturday, April 26
Game 3: Cavaliers 124, Heat 87
Game 4: Thunder 117, Grizzlies 115 (Oklahoma City wins 4-0)
Game 4: Nuggets 101, Clippers 99
Game 3: Warriors 104, Rockets 93
Sunday, April 27
Game 4: Knicks 94, Pistons 93
Game 4: Timberwolves 116, Lakers 113
Game 4: Celtics 107, Magic 98
Game 4: Pacers 129, Bucks 103
Monday, April 28
Game 4: Cavaliers 138, Heat 83 (Cleveland wins 4-0)
Game 4: Warriors 109, Rockets 106
Tuesday, April 29
Game 5: Pacers 119, Bucks 118 (Indiana wins 4-1)
Game 5: Pistons 106, Knicks 103
Game 5: Celtics 120, Magic 89 (Boston wins 4-1)
Game 5: Nuggets 131, Clippers 115
Wednesday, April 30
Game 5: Rockets 131, Warriors 116
Game 5: Timberwolves 103, Lakers 96 (Minnesota wins 4-1)
Thursday, May 1
Game 6: Knicks 116, Pistons 113 (New York wins 4-2)
Game 6: Clippers 111, Nuggets 105 (Series tied, 3-3)
Friday, May 2
Game 6: Rockets 115, Warriors 107
Saturday, May 3
Game 7: Nuggets 120, Clippers 101 (Denver wins 4-3)
Sunday, May 4
Game 7: Warriors 103, Rockets 89 (Golden State wins 4-3)
2025 NBA Play-In Tournament Schedule and Scores
All times Eastern
Tuesday, April 15
Magic 120, Hawks 95
Warriors 121, Grizzlies 116
Wednesday, April 16
Heat 109, Bulls 90
Mavericks 120, Kings 106
Friday, April 18
Heat 123, Hawks 114 (OT)
Grizzlies 120, Mavericks 106
2025 NBA Playoffs: Key Dates
- April 15-18: Play-In Tournament
- April 19: Playoffs begin
- May 5-6 (or May 3-4): Second round begins
- May 12: NBA Draft Lottery
- May 20-21 (or May 18-19): Conference finals begin
- June 5: NBA Finals begin
Jasper Hawthorne