The schedule for the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs is out. Follow along here.
The regular season is over and the field is set, which means it's time to get ready for the 2016 NBA Playoffs. It all begin Saturday, April 16 with four games, as the league announced following the conclusion of season finales Wednesday. The Raptors will get things started with a Saturday afternoon game against the Pacers.
Much of the playoff seeding was already set prior to the final day of the season, but there was still some business to be sorted out. The Houston Rockets clinched the No. 8 seed in the West with a win over the Sacramento Kings, while the Miami Heat clinched the East's No. 3 seed by winning their division despite a season finale loss to Boston.
Houston gets the poor fortune of a first-round matchup against the Golden State Warriors, while the San Antonio Spurs will get the injury-ravaged Memphis Grizzlies. The Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers get the Portland Trail Blazers in the other two West matchups.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished first in the East and are set to face the Detroit Pistons in the first round. Toronto finished second and will face Indiana, while a four-way tie for third resulted in the Heat getting home-court advantage against the Hornets and the Hawks squaring off against the Celtics.
The NBA Finals are set to begin June 2 and will be broadcast on ABC. The first-round games will be on several networks, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and NBA TV.
The format
The NBA playoffs consists 16 teams, with eight in each conference. They play best-of-seven series until the East and the West crown their champions. At that point, the two remaining teams square off in the NBA finals.
The teams
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers
No. 2 Toronto Raptors
No. 3 Miami Heat
No, 4 Atlanta Hawks
No. 5 Boston Celtics
No. 6 Charlotte Hornets
No. 7 Indiana Pacers
No. 8 Detroit Pistons
Western Conference
No. 1 Golden State Warriors
No. 2 San Antonio Spurs
No. 3 Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers
No. 5 Portland Trail Blazers
No. 6 Dallas Mavericks
No. 7 Memphis Grizzlies
No. 8 Houston Rockets
Complete first-round schedule
1. Warriors vs. 8. Rockets
GAME 1 - Warriors 104, Rockets 78 (recap)
GAME 2 - Warriors 115, Rockets 106 (recap)
GAME 3 - Rockets 97, Warriors 96 (recap)
GAME 4 - Warriors 121, Rockets 94 (recap)
GAME 5 - Rockets at Warriors: Wed. April 27, TBD, TBD
GAME 6* - Warriors at Rockets, Fri. April 29, TBD, TBD
GAME 7* - Rockets at Warriors, Sun. May 1, TBD, TBD
2. Spurs vs. 7 Grizzlies
GAME 1 - Spurs 106, Grizzlies 74 (recap)
GAME 2 - Spurs 94, Grizzlies 68 (recap)
GAME 3 - Spurs 96, Grizzlies 87 (recap)
GAME 4 - Spurs 116, Grizzlies 95 (recap)
Spurs win series, 4-0
3. Thunder vs. 6. Mavericks
GAME 1 - Thunder 108, Mavericks 70 (recap)
GAME 2 - Mavericks 85, Thunder 84 (recap)
GAME 3 - Thunder 131, 102 Mavericks (recap)
GAME 4 - Thunder 119, Mavericks 108 (recap)
GAME 5 - Mavericks at Thunder, Mon. April 25, TBD, TBD
GAME 6* - Thunder at Mavericks, Thu. April 28, TBD, TBD
GAME 7* - Mavericks at Thunder, Sat. April 30, TBD, TNT
4. Clippers vs. 5. Blazers
GAME 1 - Clippers 115, Blazers 95 (recap)
GAME 2 - Clippers 102, Blazers 81 (recap)
GAME 3 - Blazers 96, Clippers 88 (recap)
GAME 4 - Clippers at Blazers, Mon. April 25, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
GAME 5 - Blazers at Clippers, Wed. April 27, TBD, TBD
GAME 6* - Clippers at Blazers, Fri. April 29, TBD, TBD
GAME 7* - Blazers at Clippers, Sun. May 1, TBD, TBD
1. Cavaliers vs. 8. Pistons
GAME 1 - Cavaliers 106, Pistons 101 (recap)
GAME 2 - Cavaliers 107, Pistons 90 (recap)
GAME 3 - Cavaliers 101, Pistons 91 (recap)
GAME 4 - Cavaliers 100, Pistons 98 (recap)
Cavaliers win series 4-0
2. Raptors vs. 7. Pacers,
GAME 1 - Pacers 100, Raptors 90 (recap)
GAME 2 - Raptors 98, Pacers 87 (recap)
GAME 3 - Raptors 108, Pacers 85 (recap)
GAME 4 - Pacers 100, Raptors 83 (recap)
GAME 5 - Pacers at Raptors, Tue. April 26, TBD, TBD
GAME 6 - Raptors at Pacers, Fri. April 29, TBD, TBD
GAME 7* - Pacers at Raptors, Sun. May 1, TBD, TBD
3. Heat vs. 6. Hornets
GAME 1 - Heat 123, Hornets 91 (recap)
GAME 2 - Heat 115, Hornets 103 (recap)
GAME 3 - Hornets 96, Heat 80 (recap)
GAME 4 - Heat at Hornets, Mon. April 25, TBD, TBD
GAME 5 - Hornets at Heat, Wed. April 27, TBD, TBD
GAME 6* - Heat at Hornets, Fri. April 29, TBD, TBD
GAME 7* - Hornets at Heat, Sun. May 1, TBD, TBD
4. Hawks vs. 5. Celtics
GAME 1 - Hawks 102, Celtics 101 (recap)
GAME 2 - Hawks 89, Celtics 72 (recap)
GAME 3 - Celtics 111, Hawks 103 (recap)
GAME 4 - Celtics 104, Hawks 95 OT (recap)
GAME 5 - Celtics at Hawks, Tue. April 26, TBD, TBD
GAME 6 - Hawks at Celtics, Thu. April 28, TBD, TBD
GAME 7* - Celtics at Hawks, Sat. April 30, TBD, TNT
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