| Advertisement |
MIAMI, April 22 (UPI) -- First-round NBA playoff series, a PGA Tour golf tournament and Formula 1 and NASCAR races fill this weekend's sports schedule. Dozens of regular-season NHL, MLB and domestic soccer league games also air from Friday through Sunday.
Advertisement
Tyson Fury also will defend his WBC heavyweight title belt in a bout with Dillian Whyte Saturday in London.
But the NBA playoffs will be the main event this weekend, as the league's 16 remaining teams look to either sweep their first-round foes, stave off elimination or force series to extend into next week.
NBA playoffs
The Miami Heat, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, faces the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 to lead off the weekend basketball slate. That game tips off at 7 p.m. EDT Friday and airs on ESPN. The Heat owns a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.
The No. 6 Chicago Bulls face the No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks in the third game of that series at 8:30 p.m. Friday on ABC. The No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans host the Phoenix Suns, the top seed in the Western Conference, in the final game of the night at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Both of those series are tied 1-1.
Four more first-round playoff games air Saturday. The No. 5 Toronto Raptors host the No. 4 Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 at 2 p.m. EDT on TNT. The No. 5 Utah Jazz follow with another Game 4 against the No. 4 Dallas Mavericks at 4:30 p.m. on the same network.
The No. 2 Boston Celtics face the No. 7 Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of that series at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. The No. 7 Minnesota Timberwolves host the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies in Saturday's night cap. That Game 3 game tips off at 10 p.m. on ESPN.
Another four Game 4s are scheduled for Sunday. The Bulls host the Bucks in the first matchup at 1 p.m. EDT on ABC. The No. 6 Denver Nuggets then battle the No. 3 Golden State Warriors at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
The Hawks host the Heat at 7 p.m. on TNT. The Pelicans then host the Suns in the final game of the weekend at 9:30 p.m. on the same network.
Golf
Several of the top players in the Official World Golf Ranking teed off Thursday for the Zurich Classic, which runs through Sunday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
The Zurich Classic airs on Golf Channel and CBS.
The tournament features a unique two-man team format. The first- and third-round will be four-ball, or best-ball, format. The second and fourth rounds will be foursomes.
In four-ball, players on each team will each play their own ball for the entirety of the round. Only the best score on each hole will be recorded.
In foursomes play, players exchange shots until they make the ball in the hole.
The starting field features 160 total players who make up 80 teams. No. 2 Collin Morikawa and No. 5 Viktor Hovland are favored for the title. No. 4 Patrick Cantlay and No. 12 Xander Schauffele and the team of No. 6 Cameron Smith and No. 45 Marc Leishman are among the other expected contenders.
Each player from the first-place team will receive $1.19 million.
Weekend schedule (all times EDT)
Friday
Golf
Zurich Classic: Second round from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Golf Channel
MLB
Cardinals at Reds at 6:30 p.m. on Apple TV+
Rangers at Athletics at 9:30 p.m. on Apple TV+
NHL
Senators at Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Kraken at Wild at 8 p.m. on NHL Network
Avalanche at Oilers at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
Capitals at Coyotes at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+
NBA playoffs
Game 3: Heat at Hawks at 7 p.m. on ESPN
Game 3: Bucks at Bulls at 8:30 p.m. on ABC
Game 3: Suns at Pelicans at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday
Soccer
Premier League: Manchester United at Arsenal at 7:30 a.m. on USA
Premier League: Watford at Manchester City at 10 a.m. on USA
Premier League: Aston Villa at Leicester City at 10 a.m. on CNBC
Serie A: AS Roma at Inter Milan at noon on beIN Sports
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur at Brentford at 12:30 p.m. on NBC
Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund at Bayern Munich at 12:30 p.m. on ABC
MLS: Houston at Dallas at 3 p.m. on TUDN/Twitter
MLS: Montreal at Philadelphia at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
Ligue 1: Lens at PSG at 3 p.m. on beIN Sports
Copa Del Rey: Valencia at Real Betis at 4 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Chicago at Minnesota at 5 p.m. on ESPN
MLS: New England at DC United at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Vancouver at Austin at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Columbus at Kansas City at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Charlotte at Colorado at 9 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Salt Lake at Portland at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Seattle at San Jose at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Nashville at Los Angeles Galaxy at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+
NHL
Islanders at Sabres at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Penguins at Red Wings at 12:30 p.m. on NHL Network
Hurricanes at Devils at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Rangers at Bruins at 3 p.m. on ABC
Canadiens at Senators at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Predators at Lightning at 7 p.m. on NHL Network
Maple Leafs at Panthers at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Kraken at Stars at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Blackhawks at Sharks at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Canucks at Flames at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Blues at Coyotes at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
Ducks at Kings at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Golf
Zurich Classic: Third round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; From 3 to 6 p.m. on CBS
NBA playoffs
Game 4: 76ers at Raptors at 2 p.m. on TNT
Game 4: Mavericks at Jazz at 4:30 p.m. on TNT
Game 3: Celtics at Nets at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Game 4: Grizzlies at Timberwolves at 10 p.m. on ESPN
MLB
White Sox at Twins at 4 p.m. on FS1
Dodgers at Padres at 8:30 p.m. on MLB Network
NASCAR
Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at 4 p.m. on Fox
Boxing
Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
Sunday
Soccer
Premier League: West Ham at Chelsea at 8 a.m. on USA
Premier League: Everton at Liverpool at 11 a.m. on USA
La Liga: Rayo Vallecano at Barcelona at 3 p.m. on ESPN+
MLS: Atlanta at Miami at 1 p.m. on ESPN
MLS: New York Red Bulls at Orlando at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
MLS: LAFC at Cincinnati at 5 p.m. on FS1
MLS: Toronto at NYCFC at 5 p.m. on ESPN+
Formula 1
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at 8:55 a.m. on ESPN
Golf
Zurich Classic: Final round from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel; From 3 to 6 p.m. on CBS
NBA playoffs
Game 4: Bucks at Bulls at 1 p.m. on ABC
Game 4: Warriors at Nuggets at 3:30 p.m. on ABC
Game 4: Heat at Hawks at 7 p.m. on TNT
Game 4: Suns at Pelicans at 9:30 p.m. on TNT
NHL
Red Wings at Devils at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Hurricanes at Islanders at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Oilers at Blue Jackets at 1 p.m. on ESPN+
Penguins at Flyers at 4 p.m. on TNT
Lightning at Panthers at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Maple Leafs at Capitals at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Avalanche at Jets at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Bruins at Canadiens at 7 p.m. on ESPN+
Wild at Predators at 8 p.m. on ESPN+
Blues at Ducks at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Sharks at Golden Knights at 10 p.m. on ESPN+
NASCAR
Cup Series Geico 500 at 3 p.m. on Fox
MLB
Brewers at Phillies at 7 p.m. on ESPN
