On April 7, the Denver Nuggets became the final team to secure a direct berth in the playoff bracket, qualifying as the sixth seed in the Western Conference and relegating the Minnesota Timberwolves to the play-in tournament.
After losing Kyle Lowry in game 3 with a hamstring strain, the Heat dominated the Hawks down the stretch, outscoring Atlanta in the final three quarters 85–60.
Kevin Durant notably struggled in the second half, going 0–10 from the floor and committing 4 turnovers as Boston outscored Brooklyn 59–42 in the final two quarters.
In Devin Booker's return from the hamstring injury that had kept him out the previous three games, Chris Paul scored 33 points on a perfect 14-for-14 from the field (including one three-pointer) and 4-for-4 from the free throw line as the Suns advanced.
Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole combined for 54 points, along with Klay Thompson shooting six three-pointers en route to a 3–0 series lead.
Down 0–1 in the series and without their star Luka Dončić, the Mavericks won due to a career-high 41 points from Jalen Brunson, along with the franchise record of fewest turnovers ever in a postseason game, with 3.
Luka Dončić made his return after missing the first three games of the series due to a "calf strain" and scored a double-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Bojan Bogdanović then missed a game-winning three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left on the clock to hand the Mavericks their first series win since their championship run in 2011.
[51] Without Joel Embiid, who suffered an orbital fracture and concussion in the final minutes of game 6 against Toronto, the 76ers were unable to overcome missing their star player, with Philadelphia shooting 17.6% from beyond the arc, their second-worst percentage of the season.
The 76ers were unable to rally without their star Joel Embiid for the second straight game, with four Heat players scoring 18-plus points (Adebayo, Butler, Herro and Oladipo), along with shooting 48.3% from the three-point line.
Tyrese Maxey led the way for Philadelphia with 34 points, but a 10–0 run in the fourth turned an eight-point Miami lead into an 18-point advantage, sealing the win.
Dallas matched its 20 three-pointers (20-of-44) from a similar Mother's Day rout of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011, a win that completed a four-game sweep in the second round.
During the final seconds of the game, Suns center Bismack Biyombo was fouled on a dunk attempt by Mavericks forward Marquese Chriss.
[56] Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, and the Warriors overcame Draymond Green's first-half ejection to edge the Grizzlies 117–116.
With Warriors head coach Steve Kerr out after testing positive for COVID-19 and Ja Morant out for Memphis after injuring his right knee, Mike Brown took over head coaching duties for the Warriors and led Golden State on an 11–5 run to end the game, with Stephen Curry converting eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds to finish the game with 32 points.
Klay Thompson knocked down eight 3-pointers en route to 30 points and Stephen Curry scored 29 with six 3-pointers to send the Warriors to the Western Conference finals for the sixth time in the last eight years.
Jayson Tatum had 29 points and Jaylen Brown had 24, but were without starters Marcus Smart (foot) and Al Horford (health and safety protocols).
Along with being outscored 39–14 in the third quarter, Boston failed to score a field goal in the first six minutes of the second half—the slowest start to a half in any of the Celtics' 94 games this season.
Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each had 24 as the Celtics went on a massive first-half run to roll past the Heat on the road.
After a blowout loss in Miami that cost them home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat jumped to a 26-point first-half lead over the Celtics in game 3.
Bam Adebayo scored 31 points with 10 rebounds, filling a void left by injured all-star Jimmy Butler, while also putting up six assists and four of the Heat's franchise postseason record 19 steals.
Despite being without Marcus Smart due to a right ankle sprain, the Celtics jumped out to a 26–4 first quarter lead and never trailed en route to dominating the Heat in game 4.
With Marcus Smart returning to the starting lineup for Boston and Tyler Herro ruled out for Miami due to a groin injury, the first half was a low-scoring affair with the score at halftime 42–37 in favor of the Heat.
[58] With Miami facing elimination, Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 47 points (shooting 16-for-29) to go with 9 rebounds, 8 assists, and four steals as the Heat forced a game 7.
Many fans and media members compared Butler's performance to that of LeBron James when he was with the Heat during game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals (also against the Celtics), in which he scored 45 points, 15 rebounds & five assists on the road while facing elimination.
However, Jimmy Butler missed a three-point shot, and Al Horford grabbed the defensive rebound, leading to two free throws that made it a 4-point game with 11 seconds to go.
[59] Jayson Tatum won the inaugural Eastern Conference finals MVP award, averaging 25.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5.6 assists on 46% from the field, 35% from beyond the arc, and 86% from the free throw line.
[61] Stephen Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins both scored 19 as the Warriors took game 1 at home, with Golden State holding Dallas to their lowest field goal percentage of the playoffs (36.0%).
The Warriors, however, thanks in part to Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, rallied a comeback attempt, decreasing the deficit to 8 with 3:23 left in the 4th quarter, resulting in Steve Kerr to bring back in his starters.
In Canada, the home market of the Toronto Raptors, national broadcast rights were split approximately equally between the Sportsnet and TSN groups of channels.