#How to stream the NBA playoffs: Live stream and TV schedule

Here’s how to stream NBA games throughout the playoffs.

• The NBA playoff games will stream on ESPN, TNT, and ABC.
• Miami leads Boston 2-1 in the East Finals. Game 4 is Wednesday.
• The Lakers beat the Nuggets in Game 2 on Sunday, with a miracle Anthony Davis 3-pointer at the buzzer making the difference. Game 3 is on Tuesday.
• All the games are being played in Orlando.
• The finals will start Sept. 30, wrapping up by Oct. 13.

NBA playoffs: Conference final matchups

Western Conference

• (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Denver Nuggets

Eastern Conference

• (3) Boston Celtics vs. (5) Miami Heat

NBA playoffs TV schedule

Here’s where to stream NBA playoff games.

Tuesday, Sept. 22

• 9pm ET: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (TNT)

Wednesday, Sept. 23

• 8:30pm ET: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (ESPN)

Thursday, Sept. 24

• 9pm ET: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Denver Nuggets (TNT)

Friday, Sept. 25

• 8:30pm ET: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat (ESPN)

NBA League Pass: How to stream the NBA live

NBA League Pass is basically the all-you-can-watch plan. You’ll get all the out-of-market hoops you can handle starting at $28.99 during the 88-game sprint to the playoffs. While you won’t get your local team live if there’s a local broadcast carrying that, it will be reviewable for three days on your League Pass account once the final whistle blows.

If you want NBA TV and your streaming service doesn’t carry it (which we’ll cover in the next section), you can get NBA TV plus the All Teams, No Commercial version of League Pass for under $60. If you’re doing that, you might want to block out the two-week Return to Play, as there are some afternoon start times on a lot of the days—plus, NBA TV will give you coverage and insights to help satiate you between tip-offs.

NBA TV Live	$19.99
All Teams	$28.99
Premium (All Teams, No Commercials)	$39.99
Premium + NBA TV	$59.98

* pricing for remainder of 2019-20 season (Return to Play)

Which streaming services carry ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, and TNT?

Here’s where to catch an NBA live stream.

Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV is a great way to stream live TV, as it comes with access to Hulu’s massive library of on-demand content. You’ll be able to choose from movies, shows, and Hulu’s original programming, and keep up with what’s new each month. Hulu plans even include a bundle option where you can access Disney+ and ESPN+ along with Hulu.

Hulu Live TV sets you up with local channels and has a broad spectrum of entertainment and sports channels to review, including Cartoon Network, FX, HGTV, and even deep cuts like National Geographic and Syfy. It also hooks you up with NBA live stream options. The service carries ESPN and TNT, plus ABC in some markets. (You’ll need NBA League Pass to get NBA TV.)

Hulu Live TV	$54.99
Hulu Live TV (no ads on Hulu content)	$60.99

Sling TV

If you’re looking for a streamlined, cost-effective streaming package, check out Sling TV. It offers two basic cable packages, Sling Orange and Sling Blue, each of which costs $30 per month. There’s also the third option of getting Sling Orange + Blue for just $45 per month. You’ll get more Sling TV channels by choosing Sling Blue, with its 40 channels including sports favorites like FS1 and NBCSN and cable mainstays like Food Network and Discovery Channel. But Sling Orange brings must-haves Disney Channel and ESPN as part of its package. Sling also has a number of add-ons, including robust international packages organized by languages all over the globe.

To get ESPN on Sling, you need to go Sling Orange or Sling Orange + Blue, whereas all three options get you TNT. While ABC isn’t conventionally gettable on Sling, Air TV will allow you to get an NBA live stream that way.

How to use AirTV with Sling

AirTV solves one of the Sling’s biggest problems: The inability to receive all of your local channels. By purchasing a basic AirTV for $79.99 or the AirTV Player for $119.99, you can merge those local channels into your Sling TV, (or on your mobile device if you have the basic AirTV). As the Daily Dot wrote in its AirTV review, “It’s practically magic.”

The basic AirTV is a dual-tuner streaming device, while the AirTV Player is basically an upgraded Chromecast that has Netflix preinstalled. You’ll still need to own an HD antenna because even though AirTV gets you access to your local channels, it doesn’t actually physically show them to you.

But AirTV—which has no monthly fee—gives Sling users the ability to access all local channels to add to whichever Sling package is the best fit for them.

FuboTV

FuboTV started as a streaming service geared toward sports fans, but it’s evolved into a broadly-appealing option with entertainment and news options alongside its robust sports choices. Depending on the package, you can access as many as 181 FuboTV channels. If you’re looking to be entertained, Bravo, IFC, MTV, and VH1 are options even at Fubo’s most basic tier. The Fubo channel list still includes plenty of sports, including the Fubo Sports Network, which has original programming mixing sports and humor. The FuboTV cost starts at $54.99 a month. Disney Media favorites like the Disney Channel are coming on board in 2020, some who were on the fence about Fubo are giving it another look.

Of course, that also means ESPN and ABC are on the way but maybe not in time for Return to Play. If you’re at the Elite level, you can get NBA TV with the Sports Extra add-on, but TNT isn’t an option at any level. Your best bet as a Fubo subscriber is to splurge for League Pass.

Standard	$59.99
Family	$64.99
Family with Showtime	$74.99 ($69.99 for first 3 mos.)
Elite	$79.99

YouTube TV

The YouTube TV channel list includes local channels, sports options including ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, and NBA TV, and plenty to keep kids (and kids at heart) occupied, including Disney Channel and its companion channels, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network—all in one easy-to-access package. It even comes with a few Spanish-language channels like Telemundo and NBC Universo. YouTube add-ons include HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz. YouTube TV packages have some advantages over their competitors, including a generous DVR and multiple screens package. From one account, each user can create an individual profile to track favorite shows.

Good news if you’re a YouTube TV subscriber: It sets you up with all four of the channels carrying Return to Play games. You won’t get all the action, but you’ll have games every day.

1 Month	$64.99
Sports Plus	$10.99/mo.

AT&T TV Now

If you’re already looking to AT&T for your wireless needs, you might consider AT&T TV Now to cover streaming for you. AT&T TV Now channels start with Plus and Max, which even include HBO. Then, AT&T plans expand from there, approaching cable selection and pricing with AT&T TV Now’s biggest packages. AT&T streaming also comes with Cloud DVR, letting you record up to 20 hours of TV per month. You’ll get ESPN, TNT, and ABC in all plans, but you’ll need to graduate to Xtra or Ultimate to get NBA TV.

Plus	$65
Max	$80
Entertainment	$93
Choice	$110
Xtra	$124
Ultimate	$135
Premier	$183
Optimo Mas	$86

Vidgo

Vidgo offers a package for under $40 a month that pulls together more than 60 English-language channels into its National English Package. Its channels include ABC, Fox, the ESPN family of channels (including ESPN Deportes), and it’s one of the few streaming services that carries BeIN Sports. But it’s like Fubo in that, even though it started out for streaming sports, it carries a lot more now. So while NBA TV and TNT aren’t options, you can watch the ABC and ESPN games and chat about those online via Vidgo’s Social TV platform.

Core	$40
Plus	$45
Latino	$15
Latino Mas	$25

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