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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Liam McKeone & Dan Lyons

Updated NBA Playoff Bracket for Second Round With Conference Semifinal Series Officially Set

NBA Eastern Conference Thunder

The NBA playoffs are off and running. After a wild first round, the conference semifinals begin on Monday night.

In the East, three of the four series went the distance. The No. 3-seed Knicks got a tough early run from the No. 6 Hawks, but ultimately took the series in six games and looked dominant down the stretch. The No. 1 Pistons overcame a 3–1 series deficit to beat the No. 8 Magic, while the No. 7 76ers stunned the No. 2 Celtics with a 3–1 comeback of their own. The No. 4 Cavaliers outlasted the No. 5 Raptors in a seven-game series in which the home team won each game.

The West was a bit more cut-and-dry but presented plenty of drama as well. The No. 1 Thunder rolled to a four-game sweep over the No. 8 Suns and the No. 2 Spurs dropped just one game to the No. 7 Trail Blazers, dominating outside of Victor Wembanyama’s mid-series concussion absence. The No. 4 Lakers needed six games to get by the No. 5 Rockets in an injury-riddled series. The No. 6 Timberwolves, with Anthony Edwards headlining a lengthy list of injuries, still knocked off the No. 3 Nuggets in three games.

As a refresher, here’s a look at the playoff bracket as it stood after the play-in tournament.

NBA playoff picture for 2026 postseason

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives past Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn. — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will be a strong favorite to win their second straight NBA title. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Western Conference playoff standings:

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (64–18)
2. San Antonio Spurs (62–20)
3. Denver Nuggets (54–28)—ELIMINATED
4. Los Angeles Lakers (53–29)
5. Houston Rockets (52–30)—ELIMINATED
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (49–33)
7. Portland Trail Blazers (42–40)* (defeated Suns for seventh seed)—ELIMINATED
8. Phoenix Suns (45–37)* (defeated Warriors for eighth seed) —ELIMINATED

Eastern Conference playoff standings:

1. Detroit Pistons (60–22)
2. Boston Celtics (56–26)—ELIMINATED
3. New York Knicks (53–29)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (52–30)
5. Toronto Raptors (46–36)—ELIMINATED
6. Atlanta Hawks (46–36)—ELIMINATED
7. Philadelphia 76ers (45–37)* (defeated Magic for seventh seed)
8. Orlando Magic (45–37)* (defeated Hornets for eighth seed)—ELIMINATED

NBA playoffs 2026 bracket after the first round

Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant talks with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. — The Rockets, led by Kevin Durant, will take on LeBron James’s Lakers in the first round of this year’s playoffs. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Thunder were the first team to advance out of the first round, sweeping the Suns in a dominant four-game series. The Spurs followed one day later, taking down the Trail Blazers in five games. Several other teams are on the brink of elimination, with the 76ers, Nuggets, Rockets and Pistons all facing win-or-go-home games in the coming days.

The 2026 NBA playoff bracket after the first round. | Sports Illustrated

Eliminated playoff teams

The NBA’s play-in tournament gave us our first group of eliminated teams. Phoenix was the next to join them after getting swept by the reigning champions, followed by the Blazers.

TEAM	ELIMINATED BY	DATE ELIMINATED	ROUND
Miami Heat	Charlotte Hornets	April 14	Play-in
Los Angeles Clippers	Golden State Warriors	April 15	Play-in
Charlotte Hornets	Orlando Magic	April 17	Play-in
Golden State Warriors	Phoenix Suns	April 17	Play-in
Phoenix Suns	Oklahoma City Thunder	April 27	First round
Portland Trail Blazers	San Antonio Spurs	April 28	First round
Atlanta Hawks	New York Knicks	April 30	First round
Denver Nuggets	Minnesota Timberwolves	April 30	First round
Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers	May 1	First round
Boston Celtics	Philadelphia 76ers	May 2	First round
Orlando Magic	Detroit Pistons	May 3	First round
Toronto Raptors	Cleveland Cavaliers	May 3	First round

On April 14, the Heat were eliminated in an exciting overtime affair that saw Bam Adebayo leave early due to injury.

On April 15, the Clippers were eliminated after failing to stop a Steph Curry avalanche, marking a disappointing end to Kawhi Leonard’s most complete season in years.

On April 17, the Warriors and Hornets both met their ends. Golden State fell to the Suns as Jalen Green exploded for a big night, while Charlotte got bullied into submission by a Magic team that seemed on the brink.

On April 27, the Thunder completed their sweep of the Suns with a 131–122 win in Phoenix, sending Oklahoma City through to the second round as the team looks to defend its title. It was the third straight first-round sweep for the Thunder.

On April 28, the Spurs beat the Trail Blazers to win their first-round series in five games. It marks Victor Wembanyama’s first career playoff series win and serves as an announcement to the NBA at large that this young San Antonio team is ready to compete for a title.

April 30 saw two eliminations. After going up 2–1 early in their series against the Knicks, the Hawks dropped three consecutive games as New York flexed its muscle and ran Atlanta off the court. The Timberwolves scored perhaps the most stunning first-round upset given the circumstances, beating the Nuggets in Game 6 despite being down their top three guards.

The Rockets were able to make their series vs. the Lakers competitive after going down 3–0, but the absence of Kevin Durant proved too much and they were eliminated in Game 6 on May 1.

The 76ers were the first team to come back from down 3–1 this season, stunning the second-seeded Celtics, who were without Jayson Tatum for Game 7 on May 2.

May 3 saw a pair of Game 7s play out to finish the first round. The Pistons put the screws to the Magic to complete their own 3–1 comeback and avoid a disastrous first-round upset after landing the No. 1 seed. The Cavaliers completed the conference semifinal field with a solid Game 7 win over the Raptors.

NBA playoff schedule

The final day of the NBA’s regular season took place on April 12. The play-in tournament spanned from April 14–17.

On April 18, the first round began in earnest. All eight first-round series played Game 1 on April 18 or April 19, and the round ran through Sunday, May 3.

The NBA is wasting no time getting into the second round, with games tipping off on Monday, May 4. Here is the schedule for each series: