The 2011 NBA Playoffs, featuring the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and other terrific teams, start Saturday, April 16. InsideHoops.com dives into full coverage Thursday and Friday.

NBA Playoffs Second Round

EAST Mia 4 Bos 1 Chi 4 Atl 2

WEST Dal 4 LAL 0 OKC 3 Mem 3

2011 NBA PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND RESULTS

NBA Playoffs First Round

EAST Bos 4 NY 0 Chi 4 Ind 1 Mia 4 Phi 1 Atl 4 Orl 2

WEST Mem 4 SA 2 LAL 4 NO 2 Dal 4 Por 2 OKC 4 Den 1

Wednesday, May 11
• Heat eliminate Celtics in five games
• Durant, Thunder ease past Grizzlies 99-72 in Game 5

Tuesday, May 10
• Rose leads Bulls past Hawks 95-83 in Game 5

Monday, May 9 [More recaps below]
• Thunder tie series with Memphis with 3 OT thriller
• James, Wade lead Heat past Celtics 98-90 in OT of Game 4

Sunday, May 8 [More recaps below]
• Mavs eliminate Lakers, sweep Phil Jackson to retirement
• Smith, Teague lead Hawks past Bulls 100-88 in Game 4
Saturday, May 7
• Grizzlies rally from 16 down, go up 2-1 on Thunder
• Rondo returns and helps Celtics beat Heat 97-81 in Game 3

Friday, May 6
• Dirk scores 32, Mavs take 3-0 lead on Lakers
• Bulls rout Hawks 99-82 in Game 3

Tuesday, May 3
• Thunder tie series with Grizzlies with 111-102 win
• Heat beat Celtics 102-91 to take 2-0 series lead

Monday, May 2
• Hawks beat Bulls 103-95 in Game 1
• Mavericks rally to stun Lakers 96-94 in Game 1

Sunday, May 1
• Dwyane Wade scores 38, Heat beat Celtics 99-90 in Game 1
• Z-Bo, Gasol power Grizzlies past Thunder to win Game 1

Friday, April 29
• Grizzlies finish off top-seeded Spurs in 6 games

Thursday, April 28
• Nowitzki scores 33, Mavs eliminate Blazers
• Bryant, Lakers, eliminate Hornets in style
• Joe Johnson leads Hawks past Magic, into 2nd round

Wednesday, April 27
• Durant scores 41, Thunder close out Nuggets 100-97
• Spurs survive Game 5 OT thriller vs Grizzlies
• Wade scores 26, Heat advance past Sixers 97-91

Tuesday, April 26
• Kobe dunks help Lakers beat Hornets 106-90 in Game 5
• Rose, Bulls eliminate Pacers, 116-89 in Game 5
• Magic extend series with 101-76 win over Hawks

Monday, April 25
• Ty Lawson scores 27, Nuggets stay alive vs Thunder
• Tyson Chandler steps up, Mavs win Game 5 vs. Trail Blazers
• Grizzlies grab 1st ever 3-1 series lead over Spurs


Sunday, April 24
• CP3 triple-double helps Hornets beat Lakers; series tied
• Jamal Crawford scores 25, Hawks beat Magic for 3-1 lead
• Celtics hold on to complete sweep of Knicks
• 76ers rally to beat Heat 86-82 in Game 4

Saturday, April 23
• Ibaka steps up for Thunder in Game 3 win over Nuggets
• Memphis now win at home, go up 2-1 over Spurs
• Roy has 24 in Blazers 84-82 Game 4 win over Mavs
• Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination

Friday, April 22
Kobe scores 30, Lakers beat Hornets 100-86 in Game 3
Jamal Crawford scores 23, Hawks beat Magic 88-84 in Game 3
Live blog of Celtics beating Knicks in Game 3

Thursday, April 21
• Matthews scores 25 as Blazers beat Mavs 97-92 in Game 3
• Wade scores 32, Heat beat 76ers 100-94 for 3-0 series lead
• D-Rose leads Bulls past Pacers for 3-0 lead

Wednesday, April 20
• Lakers grind past Hornets, even playoff series
• Ginobili returns, Spurs beat Grizzlies 93-87 in Game 2
• Thunder rock Nuggets 106-89, take 2-0 lead

Tuesday, April 19
• Melo scores 42, but Celtics beat Knicks 96-93 in Game 2
• D-Howard scores 33, Magic beat Hawks 88-82 in Game 2
• Dirk scores 33, Mavs beat Blazers 101-89 in Game 2

Monday, April 18
• LeBron scores 29, Heat roll to 2-0 lead over 76ers, 94-73
• Rose scores 36 as Bulls top Pacers 96-90 in Game 2

Sunday, April 17
• Grizzlies stun No. 1 Spurs for first playoff win
• Durant scores 41, Thunder beat Nuggets 107-103 in Game 1
• Ray Allen scores 24, Celtics edge Knicks 87-85 in Game 1
• Chris Paul dominates, Hornets beat Lakers 109-100 in Game 1

Saturday, April 16
• Dirk scores 28, Mavs beat Blazers 89-81 in Game 1
• Dwight Howard scores 46 but Hawks beat Magic in Game 1, 103-93
• Bosh scores 25, Heat beat 76ers in Game 1, 97-89
• Rose scores 39, Bulls beat Pacers 104-99 in Game 1

2010 NBA CONFERENCE FINALS

Game 1: Celtics beat Magic 92-88
Game 1: Kobe scores 40, Lakers wreck Suns
Game 2: Celtics beat Magic 95-92 to take 2-0 lead
Game 2: Gasol scores 29, Lakers beat Suns

Each day, read NBA game previews with quick notes on each matchup, and game recaps.

Also, hit our NBA Playoffs blog which is updated anywhere from 3-8 times each day.

The series-by-series NBA playoffs schedule for the first round shows all the initial matchups. In the East it's Cavs vs. Bulls, Magic vs Bobcats, Hawks vs. Bucks, and Celtics vs. Heat. In the West, it's Lakers vs. Thunder, Mavericks vs. Spurs, Suns vs Trail Blazers, and Nuggets vs. Jazz.

For a complete overview of the 2010 NBA playoffs picture, read our Playoffs preview. We review who the top contenders are, and briefly touch on the rest of the post-season teams and what their outlook is.

How the NBA Playoffs Work: Of 30 NBA teams, 16 make the playoffs: eight in the Eastern conference and eight in the West. The East teams keep playing other East teams until there's one East team left. Same with the West. The NBA Finals features that one remaining East team going up against the one remaining West team, and they play for the NBA championship. There are four NBA playoff rounds, including the Finals. Each round is best-of-seven, which means that the first team to win four games wins the series and advances to the next round.

2010 NBA Playoffs Team Seedings:

The East playoffs seedings:
1) Cavaliers, 2) Magic, 3) Heat, 4) Celtics, 5) Heat, 6) Bucks, 7) Bobcats, 8) Bulls.

The West playoff seedings:
1) Lakers, 2) Mavericks, 3) Suns, 4) Nuggets, 5) Jazz, 6) Trail Blazers, 7) Spurs, 8) Thunder.

PICTURES OF KEY 2010 NBA PLAYOFFS STARS

















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2009 NBA Playoffs

PLAYOFFS: FINALS

LAL 4 Orl 1

PLAYOFFS: ROUND 3

East: Orl 4 Cle 2
West: LAL 4 Den 2

PLAYOFFS: ROUND 2

EAST
Cle 4 Atl 0
Orl 4 Bos 3
WEST
Den 4 Dal 1
LAL 4 Hou 3

PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1

EAST
Cle 4 Det 0
Orl 4 Phi 2
Bos 4 Chi 3
Atl 4 Mia 3
WEST
Dal 4 SA 1
LAL 4 Uta 1
Den 4 NO 1
Hou 4 Por 2


Brief 2009 NBA Playoffs First Round Recap:

In the 2009 first round Eastern conference, the Cavaliers totally outclassed the Pistons (4 games to 0), the Celtics edged the Bulls in an amazing, overtime-filled seven game series (4-3), the Magic overcame some scares from the 76ers to advance (4-2), and the Heat and Hawks have gone seven games in a strange series with lots of blowouts.

In the West's first round, the Lakers were far suprior to the Jazz (and won 4-1), the Nuggets totally outclassed the disappointing Hornets (4-1), the Mavericks smoked the Manu Ginobili-less Spurs (4-1), and the Rockets beat the Blazers (4-2). It's the first time Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady have advanced past the first round of the playoffs, though T-Mac is out injured and the team did it without his services.

The East NBA playoffs team seedings: 1. Cleveland Cavaliers (66-16), 2. Boston Celtics (62-20), 3. Orlando Magic (59-23), 4. Atlanta Hawks (47-35), 5. Miami Heat (43-39), 6. Philadelphia 76ers (41-41), 7. Chicago Bulls (41-41), 8. Detroit Pistons (39-43)

The West NBA playoffs team seedings: 1. Los Angeles Lakers (65-17), 2. Denver Nuggets (54-28), 3. San Antonio Spurs (54-28), 4. Portland Trail Blazers (54-28), 5. Houston Rockets (53-29), 6. Dallas Mavericks (50-32), 7. New Orleans Hornets (49-33), 8.-Utah Jazz (48-34)


2009 NBA PLAYOFFS CONFERENCE FINALS SCHEDULE

Nuggets vs Lakers Schedule

Game 1 - Tue May 19 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 2 - Thu May 21 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 3 - Sat May 23 L.A. Lakers at Denver 8:30PM ET ABC/R
Game 4 - Mon May 25 L.A. Lakers at Denver 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 5 * Wed May 27 Denver at L.A. Lakers 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 6 * Fri May 29 L.A. Lakers at Denver 9:00PM ET ESPN/R
Game 7 * Sun May 31 Denver at L.A. Lakers 8:30PM ET ABC/R

Cavs vs Magic Schedule

Game 1 - Wed May 20 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 2 - Fri May 22 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 3 - Sun May 24 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 4 - Tue May 26 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 5 * Thu May 28 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 6 * Sat May 30 Cleveland at Orlando 8:30PM ET TNT/R
Game 7 * Mon June 1 Orlando at Cleveland 8:30PM ET TNT/R

*The final three games of each series are “if necessary.”