NBA, NHL Playoffs Roll On; NFL Draft Concludes: What’s on This Weekend in TV Sports (April 27-28)

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

A look at the weekend’s top TV sports events on broadcast, cable and streaming services

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game during Round 1 Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game during Round 1 Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs (Image credit: Getty Images)

The NBA and NHL playoffs dominate the list of live TV sports events airing during the last weekend of April. 

ABC on Saturday will televise game four of the Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers series with the defending NBA champions holding a 3-0 lead over the Lakers. Also on Saturday, TNT will air a tripleheader featuring game four of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Orlando Magic series, and game three of the Oklahoma City Thunder-New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics-Miami Heat series.

On Sunday, ABC will air an afternoon doubleheader, including game four of the New York Knicks-Philadelphia 76ers series and the Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas Mavericks series. TNT’s Sunday doubleheader features game four of the Milwaukee Bucks-Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves-Phoenix Suns series.

The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs continues on Saturday with four games on TBS, including Carolina Hurricanes-New York Islanders, Florida Panthers-Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins-Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars-Vegas Golden Knights. 

On Sunday, TBS will air game four of the Vancouver Canucks-Nashville Predators, New York Rangers-Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers-Los Angeles Kings series, while TNT will televise game four of the Winnipeg Jets-Colorado Avalanche series. 

The NFL draft will continue on Saturday with ABC televising round three, and on Sunday, with the network airing rounds four through seven. 

On the soccer field, USA Network, Peacock and NBC will televise 10 live Premier League soccer matches throughout the weekend. On the bowling lanes, Fox on Sunday will air the Pro Bowlers Association’s Tournament of Champions. 

On the links, CBS and Golf Channel will provide weekend coverage of the PGA Zurich Classic. On the racetrack, NBC will televise Sunday’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama race. 

The Chicago Cubs-Boston Red Sox game will be featured on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. In the octagon, ESPN on Saturday will televise the UFC Fight Night event featuring a main event bout between flyweights Matheus Nicolau and Alex Perez. 

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.