NBA playoffs 2025: Conference finals news, schedule, scores and highlights
Which two teams will reach the NBA Finals? We’ll have complete coverage of the playoffs all the way until the champion is crowned. (The 2025 Finals tip off June 5 on ABC and the ESPN App.)
After the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of the conference semifinals, the Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference finals to reach the Finals. Oklahoma City’s appearance in the WCF was its first since Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and led the franchise there in 2016. The Timberwolves ran past the Golden State Warriors in five games to return to the WCF for the second consecutive season. The Thunder and the Wolves split the regular season series 2-2, including each taking a game the last time they met in a February back-to-back.
In the East, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks reignite their rivalry, this time in the conference finals. The Pacers cruised past the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, while the Knicks closed out a hard fought six-game series against the shorthanded defending champion Boston Celtics. The last time any of these teams made the NBA Finals was the 2011-12 Thunder and the last time any of the franchises won an NBA championship was the 1978-79 Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City).
Note: All four rounds of the NBA playoffs are best-of-seven, and teams are not reseeded after each round. The team with the better regular-season record in each series will have home-court advantage for that series. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team with the better record hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary).
Playoff recaps: First round | Second round
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
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0:16
Josh Hart fires a dart to Mitchell Robinson for a Knicks slam
Mitchell Robinson slams home the dime from Josh Hart to pad the Knicks’ lead.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
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Caruso feeds SGA for an open 3
Alex Caruso dishes out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who breaks the 30-point mark with a 3-pointer.
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