How to watch NBA Playoffs 2024 — live stream, TV channels, schedule

How do you combat Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving? It's a concern Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics would have been working on anyway, but having spent much of this week watching the Mavericks' deadly duo spur each other on to ever greater heights, alarm bells may now be going off.

Read on and we'll show you how to watch NBA Playoffs 2024 from anywhere with a VPN, and potentially for FREE.

They each racked up 36 points and five assists to send the Mavs into the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, but what makes the achievement all the more notable is that they've done it in style. Nine of their Playoff games have gone down to the wire, and Jason Kidd's men have shown nerves of steel to edge six of them.

Here's where we point out that no No.5 seed has ever lifted the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy before, and the Celtics, with their own top-tier double-act of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, have set the standard all season long, bagging the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for the best regular season record. The Mavericks, however, have created their own sense of destiny. 

Regardless of which way this goes, we can rely on both teams to put on a show. The Celtics racked up the most 3-pointers in the regular season, with the Mavericks in third. They've traded places in the Playoffs.

Here's everything you need to know to watch NBA Playoffs 2024 online, plus the full schedule, TV channels and all the live stream information, with or without cable.

NBA Playoffs games and TV schedule

(All times ET)

Thursday, June 6

• 8:30 p.m. – Game 1: Mavericks vs Celtics | ABC & ESPN3/Sling

Watch NBA Playoffs in the U.S.

In the U.S., the 2024 NBA Playoffs are being shown on TNT, ESPN, ABC/ESPN3 and NBA TV. The Finals will be on ABC and ESPN3.

If you've already cut the cord and don't have a cable package, you can get all of those channels through an OTT cable TV alternative.

Sling TV is one of the better options. It includes TNT, ESPN and ESPN3 in its Orange plan, with prices starting from $40/month and your first month half-price. It also showed the first round of games on NBA TV.

You can get TNT, ESPN and ESPN3 on the Sling TV Orange package. Sling Orange comes with 30-plus channels, including TBS, Comedy Central and Disney Channel. New subscribers get 50% off their first month.

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Fubo is a great alternative to a cable package. The Elite Plan ($89.99 per month) gets you well over 100 channels including ESPN, ABC and NBA TV. And you can try it all out with Fubo's 7-day free trial.

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An even cheaper option for this year is HBO's streaming service Max with its B/R Sports Add-On, which is being included for free for a limited time.

The B/R Sports Add-On brings access to all the NBA Playoffs games on TNT. Max prices start at $9.99/month with ads, going to $15.99/month ad-free. Or there's a special on at the moment with 20% off if you pay for a whole year upfront.

Watch NBA Playoffs from anywhere

Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the NBA basketball on your subscriptions?

You can still watch the NBA Playoffs live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for hoops fans away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market:

There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 5,000 servers, across 60 countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend.

Get 60% off with this NordVPN deal

How to watch NBA Playoffs in the U.K.

TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) has the rights to NBA basketball in the U.K..  

You can get TNT by subscribing to the Discovery Plus Premium plan for £29.99 per month, or you can add TNT Sports through Sky, BT, EE or Virgin Media to watch via your television provider. 

To stream TNT Sports, you'll need Discovery Plus — a combo subscription that allows fans to access TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment all in one place.

The NBA League Pass is another good option, costing from £29.99 for the rest of the season after a 7-day FREE trial.

If you're not in the U.K. right now, you can still watch an NBA Playoffs live stream by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN. 

Watch NBA Playoffs in Canada

TSN has the rights to show 2024 NBA Playoffs live streams in Canada.

If you don't have cable, you could subscribe to TSN+ instead, which lets you get access to all TSN has to offer on an $8/month or $80/year subscription basis.

Watch NBA Playoffs 2024 in Australia

Aussies will find NBA Playoffs live streams on ESPN via Foxtel.

Don't have Foxtel and don't want to subscribe? Specialist streaming service Kayo Sports is also showing the NBA Playoffs, with its affordable, commitment-free plans starting from just $25/month, and hosting plenty of cricket, AFL, rugby, F1 and loads of other live sports besides.

There's also a 7-day FREE trial for anybody who hasn't used the service before.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action on your Kayo account as if you were back home.

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