Getty Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will open the series at home against Serge Ibaka and the Toronto Raptors.
The Milwaukee Bucks will host the Toronto Raptors at the Fiserv Forum for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of TNT on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
TNT is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including TNT.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
PS Vue — which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch — offers four different live-TV channel packages, all of which include TNT, but if you plan on keeping Vue for the rest of the NBA playoffs, you can get the “Core” bundle (65-plus channels, including ESPN, TNT and NBA TV) for $10 off your first two months right now.
You can start a free five-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Raptors vs Bucks Game 1 Preview
The Raptors made the Eastern Conference finals on the strength of the first game-winning final buzzer-beater in a Game 7 in NBA history, a Kawhi Leonard fadeaway that bounced on the rim four times before dropping through.
“It was great,” Leonard said after the 92-90 victory, according to the Associated Press. “That’s something I never experienced before, Game 7, a game-winning shot. It was a blessing to be able to get to that point and make that shot and feel that moment.”
Leonard received an inbound at the top of the key with 4.2 seconds remaining, then raced toward the right side of the baseline to launch the high-arcing shot. Toronto ran a similar play in the team’s first-round series with the Orlando Magic. That time, Leonard received the pass and shot without taking a dribble.
“Remembering that moment, I knew I had some time to try to get some space, rather than just catch and shoot the ball,” Leonard added. “I ended up finding a spot that I like, that I work on. I just knew I had to shoot it high.”
The 2014 NBA Finals MVP scored 41 points on 16-of-39 shooting, adding eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
“He was awesome at both ends,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said per AP. “That’s his uniqueness. Not only can he get you 30 and anywhere upwards from that, but there’s moments when he can just decide you’re not scoring, either.”
The 76ers shot better from the field (43.1 percent to 38.2 percent) and from deep (33.3 percent to 23.3 percent), but the Raptors turned the ball over just 10 times to Philly’s 15, and crushed their opponents on the offensive glass, 16-5.
“We did a lot of things that we could have done better but we found a way to win the game,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said, per AP. “That’s all that matters.”
The top-seeded Bucks dropped Game 1 of their second-round series to the Boston Celtics before responding with four straight victories, the last of which came one week before Game 1 of the East finals.
“When you think about it and you know how the series started and the way we felt after Game 1 against Boston, you just try to not have the feeling again,” Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Try to avoid that embarrassment that we had after Game 1, because we weren’t ourselves. Everybody is aware of what happened, the way the team was feeling.
“Against Boston, you can go down 1-0 and still be fine. But against Toronto, it’s hard to be in that spot when you lose the first game in your home.”