Celtics to begin NBA playoffs on Sunday against play-in game winner; See the schedule for all of the Game 1s
After this week's play-in games, the first round of the NBA playoffs is scheduled to begin on Saturday, when Game 1 for the Bucks-Pacers (1 p.m., ESPN), Clippers-Nuggets (3:30 p.m., ESPN), Pistons-Knicks (6 p.m., ESPN), and Timberwolves-Lakers (8:30 p.m., ABC) series will be played.
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On Sunday, Game 1s will be held in the other series: East No. 8 seed at Cleveland, East No. 7 at Boston, West No. 8 at Oklahoma City, and West No. 7 at Houston. Times and television plans were not announced.
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The play-in games begin Tuesday with the Hawks-Magic at 7:30 p.m., followed by Grizzlies-Warriors at 10 p.m. The Grizzlies-Warriors winner will advance to face the seventh-seeded Rockets on Sunday.
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On Wednesday, the Heat face the Bulls at 7:30 p.m. and the loser is eliminated. The winner faces the Hawks-Magic loser on Friday and the winner of that game becomes the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Cavaliers.
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Also Wednesday, the Mavericks and Kings meet in an elimination game, with the winner advancing to a Friday matchup with the Grizzlies-Warriors loser. Friday's winner becomes the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and will face the Thunder on Sunday.
The remainder of the schedule for the first round has not been set.
The Celtics (61-21)
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