NBA Play-In Tournament bracket: Hornets defeat Heat in a thriller
NBA Play-In Tournament bracket: Hornets defeat Heat in a thriller
In the opening game, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Miami Heat 127-126 in a dramatic, back-and-forth overtime matchup of the Eastern Conference’s No. 9 and No. 10 seeds. Coby White forced overtime with a stunning three-pointer in the final 15 seconds. Miami was without Bam Adebayo for more than half of the contest. Miami’s center exited during the second quarter due to a lower back issue and did not come back for the remainder of the game.
In the opening game, the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Miami Heat 127-126 in a dramatic, back-and-forth overtime matchup of the Eastern Conference’s No. 9 and No. 10 seeds. Coby White forced overtime with a stunning three-pointer in the final 15 seconds. Miami was without Bam Adebayo for more than half of the contest. The Miami Heat’s frontcourt player was forced to leave in the second quarter because of a lower back problem and didn’t return to action.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns are set to face the Portland Trail Blazers in Tuesday night’s opening matchup of the Western Conference.
The victor earns the No. 7 seed in the playoffs and a first-round series against the No. 2 seed San Antonio Spurs.
The play-in competition continues on Wednesday, April 15, with two additional games. The night opens with the Philadelphia 76ers facing the Orlando Magic, with the victor receiving the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a matchup against the No. 2 Boston Celtics. The loser of this game would face the Hornets at home on Friday, April 17, for the No. 8 seed and a matchup with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
The Los Angeles Clippers will host the Golden State Warriors in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader. The loser of this game can begin making vacation preparations as the season comes to a close. The winner will travel to face the loser of the Suns-Trail Blazers game on Friday, competing for the Western Conference’s eighth seed and a first-round meeting against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Here’s the updated bracket and schedule for the 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament, as well as the first-round matchups in the NBA playoffs:
NBA Play-In Tournament results and schedule.
The losers of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 games will be eliminated from the playoffs. The winners of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 games will secure the No. 7 seed in the NBA playoffs.The teams that fall short in those matchups will go on to play against the victors from the No. 9 seed contests vs. No. 10 games to determine the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. All play-in games will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
All times are Eastern.
Tuesday, April 14.
- East:Â No. 9 Charlotte Hornets 127, No. 10 Miami Heat 126 (OT)
- West: No. 8 Portland Trail Blazers at No. 7 Phoenix Suns, 10 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15.
- East: No. 8 Orlando Magic at No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 p.m.
- West: No. 10 Golden State Warriors at No. 9 L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m.
West: On Friday, April 17,
- East:Â Charlotte Hornets at No. 7/8 loser, 7:30 p.m.
- West:Â No. 9/10 winner at No. 7/8 loser, 10 p.m.
NBA Playoffs bracket — first-round matchups
Eastern Conference
- (1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Play-In Winner
- (4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Toronto Raptors
- (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Atlanta Hawks
- (2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Play-In Winner
NBA Playoffs Game 1 Schedules (all timings are Eastern)
Western Conference
- (1) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (8) Play-In Winner
- (4) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Houston Rockets
- (3) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Minnesota Timberwolves
- (2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Play-In Winner
NBA Playoffs Game 1 schedules
(All times Eastern)
Saturday, April 18.
- Raptors at Cavaliers, 1 p.m. | Prime
- Timberwolves at Nuggets, 3:30 p.m. | Prime
- Hawks at Knicks, 6 p.m. | Prime
- Rockets at Lakers, 8:30 p.m. | ABC
On Sunday, April 19,
- East No. 7 seed at Celtics, 1 p.m. | ABC
- West No. 8 seed at Thunder, 3:30 p.m. | ABC
- East No. 8 at Pistons, 6:30 p.m. | NBC and Peacock
- West No. 7 at Spurs, 9 p.m. | NBC and Peacock