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In a matchup that will likely determine the new favorite to win the title, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will meet James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with Game 1 starting Saturday night.
Game 1 (7:30 p.m. ET start time) will be televised nationally on TNT, while the rest of the games in the series will be on either ESPN, ABC, TNT or NBA TV. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of the entire Bucks vs Nets series online:
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AT&T TV
Note: You can watch a live stream of every NBA playoff game with AT&T TV
AT&T TV has four different channel packages: “Entertainment”, “Choice”, “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN, TNT and ABC are included in every one, while NBA TV is included in the “Choice” and above bundles, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for AT&T TV, you can watch the Bucks vs Nets live on the AT&T TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the AT&T TV website.
You can also watch the ABC and ESPN games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your AT&T TV credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Sling TV
Note: You can watch a live stream of every NBA playoff game with Sling TV
ESPN, ESPN3 (which will simulcast ABC games) and TNT are included in Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle, while NBA TV is in the “Sports Extra” add-on. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with all the channels for the NBA playoffs, and you can get your first month for just $10 (Sling Orange) or $21 (Sling Orange plus Sports Extra):
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Bucks vs Nets live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch the ABC and ESPN games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Sling TV credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
Note: NBA TV isn’t included with Hulu, so you’ll need another option for those games
You can watch a live stream of ESPN, TNT, ABC and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Bucks vs Nets live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch the ABC and ESPN games live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a TV provider to watch this way, but you can use your Hulu credentials to do that.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Bucks vs Nets Game 1 Preview
Milwaukee won the season series against the Nets, 2-1, but the Bucks never faced the Nets’ three bigs in any of those games, so they have yet to see James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant all on the court together. Both Antetokounmpo (49 points) and Durant (42 points) went off in a big way in the Bucks’ May 2 regular-season victory over Brooklyn, so a high-scoring slugfest could be the story of this series.
The Bucks are fresh from a sweep of the Miami Heat, which avenged their 2020 conference semifinals loss. “It’s a great moment for us, winning 4-0, and beating the team that beat us last year,” Antetokounmpo said after the win. “But at the end of the day we have a long way to go.”
Indeed they do. The Bucks have yet to win a championship since Antetokounmpo’s arrival, but his supporting cast could be the key to helping Milwaukee gets over the hump once and for all.
One key player in the series will be Bucks forward Khris Middleton, who averaged 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the series against the Heat. Middleton led Milwaukee in scoring in two of the four first-round games against Miami, and how well he attacks from the perimeter could be huge in this series.
Jrue Holiday will also be one to watch for the Bucks. The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year has been a solid addition to the team. He scored 15.3 points, snagged 6.8 boards and dished out a team-high 9.8 assists while also averaging 2.3 steals in the series against Miami. If he can get Milwaukee’s talented core the ball in the right situations, this will be one high-scoring series.
On the other side, the Nets surrendered 112.2 points a game in their 4-1 series win over the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Defense hasn’t been the team’s strong suit, but offense sure has. The Nets scored 128 points per 100 possessions against the Celtics, which was the best mark in the postseason over the last 25 years, per Yahoo Sports.
Still, Milwaukee held the Heat to a 95.4 offensive rating in the first round, which was tops in the playoffs so far, so this series is hotly anticipated for a reason. The Big Three scored a combined 85.2 points in the series against the Celtics, and it will be fascinating to watch how Antetokounmpo and company try to contain Harden, especially, when he gets hot from beyond the arc.
For Brooklyn, though, much game-planning will revolve around containing the reigning MVP.
“With any great player, it’s something you do by committee,” Nets star Blake Griffin said about defending Giannis. “It’s not going to be a single person just stopping him. There’s a reason he’s back-to-back MVPs and has had the success he’s had. So yeah, we have some things in place. But like I said, it’s gonna be a team effort. And we’ll be ready for it.”