The highly anticipated Western Conference Finals begin tonight, May 18, as the San Antonio Spurs head to Oklahoma City to take on the reigning NBA champion OKC Thunder.
The clash marks the first time since 1998 that two 62-win teams have met in the playoffs, promising a spectacular battle of young talent and elite defense.
The top-seeded Thunder enter Game 1 with a perfect 8-0 postseason record after completing back-to-back sweeps of the Suns in Round 1 and Lakers in Round 2. They’ll face a Spurs squad that has won eight of their last eleven games and boasts a dominant 4-1 regular-season record against Oklahoma City this year.
NBA Western conference finals: what to know
- What: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- When: May 18, 8:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
- Channel: NBC
- Streaming: DIRECTV (try it free)
The primary headline of the series centers on Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren in what has quickly become the league’s most exciting young rivalry, and while two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads a battle-tested, defending champion Thunder squad with home-court advantage, the Spurs’ elite rim protection and defensive schemes give them an opportunity to slow the game down.
The next game in the Western Conference Finals is scheduled for Wednesday night.
Spurs vs. Thunder start time:
Game 1 between the Spurs and the Thunder is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET tonight, May 18.
How to watch Spurs vs. Thunder for free:
If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the game for free.
DIRECTV is our top pick for watching basketball live for free — its five-day free trial includes NBC (plus nearly every other channel you’ll need for the rest of the NBA postseason). When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $44.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.
You can also stream the NBA playoffs with a subscription to Peacock, which costs $16.99/month after a seven-day free trial.
NBA Western Conference Finals schedule
- Game 1: Monday, May 18 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
- Game 2: Wednesday, May 20 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
- Game 3: Friday, May 22 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)
- Game 4: Sunday, May 24 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)
- Game 5: Tuesday, May 26 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)*
- Game 6: Thursday, May 28 (8:30 ET, NBC/Peacock)*
- Game 7: Saturday, May 30 (8 ET, NBC/Peacock)*
* if necessary
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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
