The Denver Nuggets completed a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. Who will join the Western Conference champs in the NBA Finals?
This year's playoffs saw a number of surprises in the first round, none bigger than the 8-seed Miami Heat -- who emerged from the NBA's play-in tournament -- knocking off the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, who led the NBA with 58 wins in the regular season. In the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers became the second play-in team to advance when they defeated the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies with a resounding 40-point victory in Game 6.
In the second round, the Nuggets became the first team to advance to the conference finals, defeating the Phoenix Suns in six games. The Golden State Warriors entered the playoffs as the defending champions but made their exit with a Game 6 loss against the Lakers.
Meanwhile, the Heat knocked off the New York Knicks to set up an Eastern Conference finals rematch with the Boston Celtics, who needed seven games to oust the Philadelphia 76ers.
All four rounds of the NBA playoffs are a best-of-seven format, as has been the case since 2003. The NBA does not reseed after each round, so the bracket is set at the start of the tournament. (The Celtics, who own the best regular-season record among remaining teams, have home-court advantage throughout the rest of the playoffs.)
The top six teams in each conference automatically qualified for the playoffs, while the teams that finished the regular season in seventh through 10th places advanced to the NBA's play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff teams in each conference.
The NBA Finals are slated to start June 1, with Game 7 -- should the series go that long -- scheduled for June 18. All NBA Finals games will be available on ABC and the ESPN App.
Note: Series odds provided by Caesars Sportsbook and the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI).
MORE: Odds | Picks | Second-round recap | First-round recap
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Denver Nuggets (1) defeat Los Angeles Lakers (7), 4-0
Game 1: Nuggets 132, Lakers 126
Game 2: Nuggets 108, Lakers 103
Game 3: Nuggets 119, Lakers 108
Game 4: Nuggets 113, Lakers 111
LeBron James' final shot misses as the Nuggets hold on to sweep the Lakers.
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Miami Heat (8) tied with Boston Celtics (2), 3-3
Series odds: Boston -355 | Miami +278
ESPN BPI: Celtics (82%)
Game 1: Heat 123, Celtics 116
Game 2: Heat 111, Celtics 105
Game 3: Heat 128, Celtics 102
Game 4: Celtics 116, Heat 99
Game 5: Celtics 110, Heat 97
Game 6: Celtics 104, Heat 103
Game 7: Heat at Celtics | Monday
All games 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Jayson Tatum throws it up to Robert Williams III for the must-see dunk in the second quarter.
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